Every so often, I treat myself to one of George Carlin's stand-up comedy specials. There was a period there where he was showing a bit of a nasty streak and I didn't find him as funny and perhaps not as honest. But most of his career involved a stunning quantity of solid, perceptive comedy, There were other guys who, if you went to see them live, you got to hear a lot of material they'd already done on a record, a cable special or a talk show. Carlin always seemed to have something new. That was one of the many things about him that was to be admired.
I met him a few times. He guested on Welcome Back, Kotter on an episode my partner Dennis and I mostly wrote and he was funny off-stage, too. His old specials hold up pretty well and I probably should link you to some of them here. But one thing he did you might not have seen or heard was this appearance in 1999 at the National Press Club in Washington. It's more speech than stand-up but if you liked Carlin, you'll like this…