Although most of the 650 audience members probably knew him for his voice, political satirist Harry Shearer offered a witty and knowledgeable speech Tuesday as the keynote speaker of Iowa State’s Politics and Humor Week.

Shearer, who provides the voices for several characters on the pop culture television hit, “The Simpsons,” offered an unique perspective on matters from “Monica Mania” to his opinions of today’s premier political satirists.

Shearer started political commentary when Ronald Reagan was in office, and he said political satirists have the gift of “saying things that have been socialized out of other people.”

He spent a portion of his speech addressing President Bill Clinton’s latest dilemma, namely allegations that he had a sexual affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

The evidence against Clinton, which at the start of the scandal appeared abundant, was “disappearing at a frantic rate,” he said.

“Bill Clinton may have been brought to the brink of disaster by the one woman he didn’t sleep with,” Shearer said, adding he thought it is a “55 to 45 percent” chance that Clinton didn’t have an affair with Lewinsky.

Shearer said the image the media has portrayed of Clinton is that of a “fat kid from the South who discovered that Henry Kissinger was right — power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.”

He compared the outrage Republicans are feeling about Clinton’s high approval ratings to the frustration the Democrats felt at the time Nixon was getting tangled in Watergate.

He said Clinton has survived in part because he made himself the butt of the jokes early on in his presidency, and that has prevented the current Lewinsky matter from doing to him “what potato did to Dan Quayle.”

Shearer left most of his allotted speech time open to questions from the audience, during which he revealed his thoughts on several topics.

He said many politicians today don’t have a “love for language,” and he praised Bill Maher, the host of “Politically Incorrect,” as the sharpest political satirist of this generation.

He also said comedian Dennis Miller is “very smart,” but he feels that late-night talk show hosts David Letterman and Jay Leno cannot truly be considered political satirists.

“[They don’t assume] their audience has enough intellect or interest,” Shearer said, adding they do “topical comedy,” such as limiting their jokes about Clinton to “girls and burgers.”

Although in the promotion for his speech it was emphasized Shearer was a writer and cast member of Saturday Night Live, he didn’t veil his contempt for the show.

“I hated it before I joined, I really hated it while I was there, and I barely watch it now,” Shearer said, when an audience member remarked that SNL has become a “boring show.”

Shearer called SNL the “great graveland of missed opportunities for political humor.”

When an audience member asked if SNL gave any constrictions for writing skits, Shearer replied, “No, that would be too fair.”

“You write your ass off with no known set of criteria,” Shearer said, adding that even though he was especially hired to write political skits, none of his material ever was televised.

“The amount of wasted energy [on SNL] could run a Baltic country for a year,” he said.

Some of the audience members were especially interested in “The Simpsons,” a show Shearer is decidedly more proud of than SNL.

He said the mix of humor on the “The Simpsons,” which combines both low and high-brow humor, is the “genius of the show.”

He also responded to an audience member’s question, “Is Smithers gay?” by quickly replying, “Have you ever seen the show?”

“I felt very badly that Ellen got all that publicity,” Shearer said, adding he thinks the comedy with the lovelorn Smithers is better. Shearer also obliged the audience and did several voices, including Smithers, during his presentation.

As for the future of politics and possible comedy-worthy candidates, Shearer said as a citizen he is dreading the next presidential election, but as a satirist, he is licking his chops.

He said Newt Gingrich is a very “funny” political figure, comparing him to Clinton because of their “weight-control issues” and “hubris leading to a fall.”

“Newt’s good for a lot of mileage,” Shearer said.

He also added he was pleased former Vice President Dan Quayle might make a bid for the presidency.

“That’s good news for comedy,” Shearer said.

The audience seemed thoroughly entertained by Shearer’s presentation.

“Harry Shearer’s speech was a barrel of wit,” said Michael Dahlstrom, freshman in journalism and performing arts. He added although he has an interest in politics, he came because of Shearer’s “Simpsons” connections.

“I was impressed,” Dahlstrom said about Shearer’s political knowledge. “It was a pleasant surprise.”

Shearer was also one of the creators of “This is Spinal Tap,” and he has made numerous appearances in television and movies, including “ER,” “Murphy Brown” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”