Vivek Ramaswamy is something of an enigma wrapped in a riddle inside a big bag of "...at the end of the day, what is he really trying to accomplish?" But in among all of the other appearances one would expect of a Republican presidential candidate, Mr. Ramaswamy took the time last Sunday to appear on Bill Maher's "Club Random" podcast, where he received some surprising accolades from Mr. Maher.

Liberal comedian Bill Maher showered GOP hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy with praise during an hour-long discussion on Sunday's installment of his "Club Random" podcast.

"It's funny, you're such a good talker and you're such a likable guy. I think you really could go far," Maher told Ramaswamy.

"I must say you're one of the few guys who I find both disarming and alarming," Maher chuckled. 

"Thank you, thank you, Bill," Ramaswamy grinned. "That is a compliment."

"No, I mean it," Maher doubled down. "Look, you're attractive-looking. You're young. First of all, here's a big advantage you have. Biden and Trump, people hate this matchup, and they hate that these two geriatrics. You're, like, the most not that."

Mr. Ramaswamy has, in many ways, run an atypical campaign, between "rapping" at the Iowa State Fair and musing aloud about pardoning Hunter Biden. And that's interesting because someone with a penchant for the unusual can gain a lot of free media attention just by being unusual. Vivek Ramaswamy certainly is that, at least among the existing field of mostly staid, traditional candidates.

Choosing to appear on Bill Maher's podcast, though; for a GOP Presidential candidate, that's taking "unusual" to the next level.

This isn't unusual for Bill Maher, mind you. He's had a plethora of conservative and non-woke guests on the show before, including Jordan Peterson, Greg Gutfeld, and Riley Gaines. Props to him for that; whatever you think of Maher's politics (I'm not a fan) he at least isn't afraid to engage people who disagree with him, and unlike some on the Left, doesn't keep himself in a bubble, safe from nasty opposing ideas.

One has to wonder, though, what this does for Ramaswamy's odds in the primary. At the moment, in the RealClearPolitics average, Ramaswamy is running third after Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, bringing in 7.1 percent of the vote compared to Trump's 62 percent and DeSantis' 14.6 percent. That's a lot of ground to make up, especially with Donald Trump surging further ahead with each new indictment. But politics is a strange business; not one primary vote has not yet been cast, and we still have debates coming up.

Appearing with a committed leftist like Maher may hurt. It may help, making Ramaswamy look fearless, although not reckless enough to appear on, say, The View.

How this affects Ramaswamy's primary standing, if at all, remains to be seen. But he did make one point I found interesting, especially as it was aimed directly at Millennials and Gen Z. Later in the interview, Ramaswamy says:

We want to bring young people along, to care about this country. I want to make patriotism cool again for young people. I want to make patriotism the concept.

That's a good message, and if that's the one thing Vivek Ramaswamy accomplished in this appearance, then maybe it was worth it. The GOP needs a simple, clear, coherent message. This one ain't bad.

Have a look at the entire one-hour-plus podcast. As someone once said, we'll report, you decide.