Instead of turning into a limp pile of skin and bones the first time someone brands her as being “the C word,” the bisexual, Asian-American comedian Margaret Cho has always fought back. Never one to avoid the limelight, Cho started doing stand-up at age 16 at the comedy club above her parents’ bookstore in San Francisco. By her early 20s, she was performing at colleges across the country; then, after bringing her comedy to late night TV in 1994, Cho started working on her sitcom, All-American Girl.

Unfortunately for Cho, the show didn’t air long. The comedian didn’t give up though, because that’s not her style. In 1999, Cho developed her I’m The One That I Want tour into a book and a movie. The comedian racked up another accolade in 2003, when she earned a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album for Revolution.

Since then, Cho has become outspoken on civil rights (including gay marriage, which she’s totally for – see her website, www.loveisloveislove.com, for more info) and her stance against the Bush administration. In fact, at an awards show held by the liberal organization MoveOn.org, Cho said that Bush was definitely not Hitler, but could be, “if he f--king applied himself.” (See www.margaretcho.com/attacks_from_the_right.htm for all the hate mail she got from that comment.)

We spoke with the irreverent Cho before her Assassin tour kicked off in Orlando. She was surprisingly tame, for someone who’s not afraid to rag on her mom onstage every once in a while.

PULSE WEEKLY: You’ve got some time off right now between tour dates. Have you been just loafing around or what?

MARGARET CHO: I’m shooting a film that I wrote, starring in and producing called Bam Bam And Celeste. It’s a comedy about this gay boy and his fag hag and their misadventures. They go to New York to be on a big reality show and face their childhood rivals.

PW: You’re working on a book now too, aren’t you?

MC: It’s finished, but it still needs to be edited. It’s going to be about the past few years in politics, and a lot of other things – feminism and race and music, too, which is one of my passions. It will be out in fall, I think.

PW: What’s more fun: writing funnies for film, for books or for stand-up?

MC: I love films – it’s sort of my new toy. I have a lot of enthusiasm for it, so I’m thrilled to be ble to make my screenplay into a film. It’s a great, great thing to watch other actors do your thing.

PW: What are you talking about on your current comedy tour?

MC: I wrote a lot of the show when I was in England, and it really follows a lot of British politics. It’s about the contrast between the way they treat their politicians and the way we treat ours. There was a politician in parliament who had an affair with somebody, and he had to resign because of the scandal. Like, that’s nothing. Here we let Bush practically destroy the world, and we re-elect him.

PW: I take it Election Day was hard for you.

MC: It was just a surprising thing, because I really counted on a different result. But what an you do? We just keep going.

PW: Some of the hate mail that you got after publicly siding with MoveOn.org was really scathing. How did you cope with people attacking your appearance and other delicate issues?

MC: It’s kind of funny – they can’t really attack my position politically, they can only get personal. For me, that doesn’t really make a dent. I’m like, ‘Is that all you’ve got?’ I’m really tough. I read [the emails] and I was like, ‘Oh well.’ If I cared, I could write back to all those people and say all those things double, but why? I’m tired. [laughs]

PW: You’ve been outspoken about gay issues as well. Do you think gay people will be allowed to marry in our lifetimes?MC: I don’t think it’s that far in the future. They have to be ble to in order for us to achieve a society that is equal in every way. It’s really not just a gay issue – it’s a freedom issue. It’s so basic, but people are so stupid; they don’t really see that, they only see the gay part.

PW: You’re married now. What are some of the pros and cons of married life?MC: It’s really something that I treasure. My husband and I are really happy together, and I love the little family I’ve created. The weird thing is that you can’t f--k other people. [laughs] But I’m living with it.