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Fall 2008 And you think you’ve had some stinkers Lifetime of achievement Should shield law shield bloggers too? The joke’s on politicians When life gives you lemons… Better race reporting All talk Teaching the next generation

PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING NEW YORK TIMES columnist Maureen Dowd says she enjoys political comedy and says it's a perfectly appropriate approach to writing about politics.

But she says traditional political journalists often try to discourage it.

In an interview with the Harvard Political Review, Dowd recalled some advice she got early in her career, advice that she (thankfully) chose to ignore.

“When I first started my columns, Michael Kinsley and Bill Safire said to me, 'You have to stop doing humor columns because you'll be seen as too girly,'“ Dowd said in the interview. “And I said I would never take humor out of politics. I think it's a fantastic way to tell the truth, but to take a fresh angle that can lure people in and tell them something true.”

She said she grew up loving Jonathan Swift and Evelyn Waugh and that she now enjoys watching political satire shows like “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.”

“There is a lot of news on their shows, a lot of information as well as the humor. So, I think it's fantastic. I think it's analogous to kids reading Harry Potter, inspiring kids to read.” *