It's high time we Chris Rock the vote, which is exactly what happened Friday night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" when the politically savvy comic made the case that "Barack Obama is the white president you can trust."

It sounds counterintuitive, we know, but check out the huge pool of supporting data Rock has amassed.

Best memes of the 2012 election

Consider that Obama was raised by his blindingly white grandparents, likes to golf, bowl and body surf and that his casual fashion choices tend to favor polo shirts and mom jeans. Not to mention awkwardly dancing on "Ellen." We have to agree, that is pretty darned white!

The absolute crusher? Rock reminds us that for much of his life, Barack was known as Barry, which is "the third whitest name on Earth."

Game, set and match!

Binders full of women

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Chris Rock attends Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs on May 21 at TD Garden in Boston.

Chris Rock gave a delightful interview in the New York Times, and while the bulk of the talk was about acting and fellow comedians, the fearless Saturday Night Live alum sounded off on the cameraphone epidemic plaguing clubs. He also had a few things to say about the oversensitivity of certain Twitter users.

Both recent technological phenomena, it seems, are causing problems for comedians who like to hone their craft in semi-private before hitting HBO and Comedy Central. Generally, top comedians go into clubs not to make money, but to workshop their routines. As Rock readily admits, "you're working on the edge." Stuff can be very raw — racist, sexist and homophobic. (And yes, he did bring up Tosh.)

The intent is to iron that stuff out before cameras are rolling.

But in the smartphone age, cameras are always rolling. This, says Rock, is cause for lamentation among the comedian ranks. "Every big stand-up I talk to says: 'How do I work out new material? Where can you go, if I have a half an idea and then it's on the Internet next week?" he told the Times.

"I'll go back to comedy clubs when they get a real no-camera policy, the same way they did with smoking," he said.

Rock got into a little Twitter dustup of his own when, on the Fourth of July, the comedian wished his followers a "happy white people's independence day." Addressing that, he complained that on social media, knee-jerk reactionary outrage and genuine offense are too easily confused. "Just because there's an alarm going doesn’t mean it's a fire."

Rock says that people who hate country music really don't have the right to judge a particular country album, and people who don't like his comedy have no right to take offense with it on social media. "You can't break up with me if we don’t date," he told the Times.

There are many more Chris Rock gems and a whole lot more Rock history in the NYT interview itself, so you should totally read it.

More from TODAY.com and NBC News:

• Chris Rock draws fire for July 4 tweet about 'white peoples independence day'
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Wilson Rothman is the Technology & Science editor at NBC News Digital. Catch up with him on Twitter at @wjrothman, and join our conversation on Facebook.

While Americans were watching fireworks displays and enjoying barbecues, Chris Rock was stirring up some fireworks of his own with a controversial July 4 tweet.

"Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed fireworks," Rock tweeted.

Stephen Chernin / Reuters file

Reactions came fast and furious, with some fans telling the actor/comedian they were now swearing off his films for what they considered an unpatriotic comment.

Wrote David Burge, "Good one! I bet your Guatemalan house staff got a good chuckle."

And Jeff Schreiber, managing editor of libertarian-conservative blog America's Right, tweeted "Slavery existed for 2000yrs before America. We eradicated it in 100yrs. We now have a black POTUS. ‪#Go (expletive) Yourself." Schreiber later followed up with, "I'm not saying we're blameless for that horrid practice, but for @chrisrock to indict the US as he did is inappropriate at best."

Yet some jumped in on Rock's side. Actor Don Cheadle retweeted Rock's message with a simple "Haha," which put Cheadle on some Twitter user's enemies lists.

Cheadle later jumped into the Twitter fray, debating the comment with others. "Where exactly is the bigotry in that joke? Who is the victim? 18th century whites?" Cheadle wrote in a later tweet.

Actor Zach Braff also joined the fray, tweeting, "Slaves weren't freed for another 90 years. So maybe just enjoy some of the fireworks..."

Politics flew fast and furious, of course. Bradford Jones tweeted back at Rock and Braff, "u bashed July4th as "White peoples independence day." Know who gave u urs? Republicans. ur welcome."

Rock, however, didn't seem to be bothered. His next tweet was about a potential New York Knicks trade. But one reader found a connection even there. Lincolntf wrote to Rock, "White men trading black men amuses you these days, eh?"

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Dreamworks Animation / AP

Time for me to dig out my list of “Reasons Why the World Deserves to End in 2012” and amend the entry, “Because there are new installments of both ‘Ice Age’ and ‘Madagascar.’” The third time, despite what you’ve heard, is rarely the charm, but “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” marks the spot where a shrill and unfunny kid franchise made the leap into hilarious and engaging family entertainment.

Part of that transition may have to do with the addition of co-writer Noah Baumbach, best known for indies like “Greenberg” (starring Ben Stiller, who voices lion Alex here) and “Margot at the Wedding,” but who made his bones in the animation world by collaborating with Wes Anderson on their charming adaptation of “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

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Whatever the reason, “Madagascar 3” finds the franchise finally finding its comedic groove, mixing character-based comedy, outrageous adventures and the occasional bit of parent-friendly wordplay.

We last left our heroes — Alex, zebra Marty (Chris Rock), hippo Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) and giraffe Melman (David Schwimmer) — living the high life on the African veldt. Like all transplanted New Yorkers, however, they all kvetch about missing the Big Apple and decide to make their way back to the Central Park Zoo they successfully escaped two movies ago. This involves snorkeling to Monaco (don’t ask) to reunite with the penguins and chimps who can fly an airplane (no, really, don’t ask).

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Their stint in Monte Carlo draws the attention of ruthless animal control cop Captain Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand, summoning all the Gallic hauteur she can muster), who would like nothing more than to add Alex’s head to the menagerie of stuffed trophies on her wall. Pursued by DuBois, the animals join up with a down-on-its-luck circus, pretending to be performers themselves so that they can hop the train and get out of the country.

The circus’ fortunes declined when knife-throwing tiger Vitaly (Bryan Cranston) lost his mojo, but leopard Gia (Jessica Chastain) thinks these Americans can put their three-ring show back on top. Not that the plot — how will the circus animals react when they find out their new compadres are mere zoo attractions? — matters much; directors Eric Darnell (who co-wrote) and Tom McGrath use the circus setting as a springboard for eye-popping 3D visuals (there’s a trapeze sequence that’s as trippy as anything since the “Pink Elephants on Parade” number in “Dumbo”) and some genuinely funny character interactions.

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The returning players all seem to be more on their game: Stiller’s less of a whiner, Rock tones it down a notch or two (but still rattles off a circus theme song that’s still stuck in my head) and it turns out that Schwimmer’s voice sounds more natural coming out of the mouth of a neurotic giraffe than it does coming out of Schwimmer himself. Of the new additions, Cranston, Chastain and Martin Short (as a dopey but friendly performing seal) all score, but McDormand steals her every scene.

It helps that the hyper-capable DuBois nonetheless becomes the object of lots of wonderfully slapstick Inspector Clouseau–esque abuse.

If the previous “Madagascar” entries left you cold, take the plunge with this threequel. You will believe a hippopotamus can tight-rope dance.

Are you planning to see "Madagascar 3"? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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The tune's as annoyingly addictive as "It's a Small World," but not everyone recognizes the voice behind it. That's comedian Chris Rock as the zebra Marty in the trailer for "Madagascar 3: Escape to Europe," wearing a rainbow wig and belting out the oh-so-catchy "Circus! Afro! Circus! Afro! Polka dot, polka dot, polka dot, Afro!"

But when TODAY's Ann Curry noted that the song had earned 750,000 hits on YouTube, Rock pointed out the obvious: "Isn't it a shame YouTube pays nothin'?" he said.

Curry pointed out with a laugh that his song was making people smile, to which Rock responded, "Pays me in smiles.  ... I can starve on smiles."

Curry also asked Rock what animal he could be if he could choose anything. After considering the lion ("king of the jungle and all that") and the snake ("scare people, sssssss!"), Rock decided he'd stick with Marty the zebra, joking that it was "in honor of our zebra president, black and white, white and black."

"I love our president, you know, but he's black and white, he appeals to all," Rock said. "That's what I'm going for."

Rock later joined the TODAY anchors and a certain happy red Muppet named Elmo on the couch for a rollicking and freespirited discussion -- and couldn't resist getting in a joke at the expense of singer Chris Brown, who'll be on TODAY Friday. "I hope the weather doesn't smack us upside the head tomorrow," Rock announced.

Elmo then took the discussion in a more wholesome direction, urging fans to "like" his Facebook page campaigning for him to carry the Olympic torch (a cardboard version -- 3-year-olds can't handle real fire).

The Muppet then asked Rock to explain what "viral" meant in "viral video," but Rock had a different definition in mind. "Elmo, you can go, but you can't sit in the seat." And later, when Elmo planted a smooch on the cheek of anchor Matt Lauer, Rock warned him to be careful, "You might catch something viral."

"Madagascar 3: Escape to Europe" opens on June 8. Elmo says he'll be there.

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Sean Kilpatrick / AP

Chris Rock in 2009.

Chris Rock holds strong opinions on the Tea Party. After calling the conservative group racist in a 2011 interview, the politically minded stand-up comedian and actor reacted angrily when confronted about his remarks by a conservative writer at the Sundance Film Festival in January. 

Attending the festival in support of his film, “2 Days In New York,” Rock was approached with a video camera by Jason Mattera on Jan. 23.

Mattera, a New York radio talk show host and author of “Hollywood Hypocrites: The Devastating Truth About Obama’s Biggest Backers,” and “Obama Zombies,” greeted the comic by saying he was a "big fan" and asked the comedian to pose for his camera, to which Rock agreed.

Then Mattera got political.

“When you said the Tea Party was insane and racist--” he begins, before getting cut off by Rock. He then attempts the question again, but this time the comic charges back at the camera, wrestling it to the ground.

Mattera was apparently referring to an interview with Rock in the March 2011 edition of Esquire magazine. Discussing the impact of President Obama’s election, the actor says, “When I see the Tea Party and all this stuff, it actually feels like racism's almost over. Because this is the last — this is the act up before the sleep. They're going crazy. They're insane. You want to get rid of them — and the next thing you know, they're f---ing knocked out. And that's what's going on in the country right now.”

Although the incident happened in January, Mattera just uploaded the video to YouTube last week, perhaps timed to the release of his latest book. His website features an entire section titled "Ambush Videos."

TMZ.com reports that Rock's attorney is reviewing the video.

Should Chris Rock have talked to Mattera about the Tea Party, or was Mattera wrong to approach him at the film festival? Tell us on Facebook.

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