Rich Lowry's idea of humor: Hitting Hillary Clinton with a car, bin Laden's polygamy

Written by Josh Kalven

Published

In an August 5 speech before the Young America's Foundation's National Conservative Student Conference, National Review editor Rich Lowry lightened up the crowd of high school and college-aged conservatives with jokes on such topics as Osama bin Laden's reputed polygamy and Lowry's fantasy of hitting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) with a car. Lowry is a frequent guest on PBS' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Lowry discussed President Bush's efforts since the September 11 terrorist attacks to combat terrorism; he noted that U.S. authorities have failed to capture Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who as recently as December 2004 has released statements supporting the violent insurgency in Iraq. But “it's not a very comfortable existence on the run,” Lowry explained, because the U.S.-led war on terror has disrupted his “quiet weekends” with his numerous wives:

LOWRY: But he [Bush] got what was most needful and what needed to be done in the wake of 9-11. We obviously went in to Afghanistan and cleared out the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Osama bin Laden is still on the run, but it's not a very comfortable existence on the run. Osama bin Laden watchers say prior to 9-11 he liked to spend quiet weekends at home with his wife, his wife, his wife, his wife, and his children -- and that's no longer the case.

Earlier in the speech, Lowry disclosed that he lived in New York City and followed with this quip:

LOWRY: In New York we also have a very famous junior senator, and when people ask me about her I always say I'm the wrong person to ask because the people I hang out with in New York, we put our “Run, Hillary, Run” bumper stickers on the front of our cars.

In his speech, Lowry also pondered that given EPA-mandated “environmentally correct” toilets, "[h]ow is it possible to flush a Quran down the toilet?"

The Young America's Foundation billed the conference as an opportunity to “Meet and ask questions of your conservative heroes” and “Gain a better understanding of conservative principles.” The roster of speakers included numerous conservative media figures and commentators, including Robert D. Novak, Ann Coulter, David Brooks, Michelle Malkin, and David Horowitz.