British actor/comedian Peter O’Toole once said, “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard..” And recent events bear him out.

As Bill Maher and Rush Limbaugh dangle in the harsh winds of their poor judgement, it needs to be noted that none of it was necessary. Both men went to extremes in their attempts to be funny, and both failed miserably. And now both find themselves in an odd misogynistic alliance.

One could say that Bill Maher should have known better than to pile on Sarah Palin, and use a word that is universally offensive to men, women, and Rachel Maddow. He’s an accomplished, experienced comedian. Most good comics will tell you that that word only works in bordellos and the odd one-nighter in Kentucky. Definitely not before a national audience.

And Limbaugh? He took the bait when the Democrats passed off an experienced politico as a young struggling law student, and called her a word that if someone said that about your sister, fisticuffs would ensue.

So what did they do wrong?

Well, two things. One, there were cameras. Maher’s HBO show that serves as a self serving GOP punching bag is seen by millions and Limbaugh’s audience can see him via his “ditto cam,” a grainy little surveillance image that makes him look like Art Bell from his trailer in Nevada desert. Bad words are worse when we can see the lips move.

And two, whenever in doubt, self deprecate. Woody Allen joked that he could never engage in a Ménage à trois because he didn’t want to disappoint two women. Thats funny. Until Maher started taking himself so seriously, he excelled at using himself as a punch line. Now he envisions himself as a modernly profane Will Rogers. Rush? He’s a long way from funny and living proof that Peter O’Toole was right about comedy. And the dying part? For both Rush and Maher, the jury’s still out.