I wonder though if his bit being political in nature may alienate some voters.

You bring up an interesting point, that I was also thinking of as he said it last night. I was wondering how the political humor would go over, especially as it put Ralphie on the "conservative" side of the line, political-correctness-wise. Of course, that was all part of the schtick.

But it went over well. First, I'm sure that most of that audience is in Vegas on vacation, and therefore would represent an area larger than south Nevada. I also realized that Ralphie had tapped into something in the mood of the American Public. To read this board, one would think that the nation is 80% liberal... but the truth is that it's not, and that Americans are solidly behind the war effort in the Middle East.

Ralphie wasn't making his audience laugh, he was making them cheer! He was leading them on in a motivational rah-rah pep talk session. And it worked. They clearly got behind him.

Will he lose some votes? Probably, from the very bitter Leftists that wanted the madman Saddam kept in power and America humbled by 9/11, that wouldn't be laughing at anybody's jokes on this show. But by and large, I'll bet he's tapped a wellspring of support. It was not only good comedy on Ralphie's part... it was good strategy!

Contradictions don't exist. If you are faced with a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong. -- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged