They beg differentiation. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Glenn Beck are commentators first, and find humor in the subject matter at times. Jon Stewart; a little less so on the commentary first. Stewart primarily uses humor first, to illustrate his commentary and is often brilliant. Colbert, IMHO, is primarily a clown; good for a laugh at someone else's expense (at least if the object of scorn is a Republican). Bill Maher is just a hateful miscreant who thinks defaming Republican's is a spectator sport, and the excuse for his venom is, "I'm just a comedian".

That's my analysis.............back to you, Chet.