Carlin was without a doubt the best. Here are my reasons, and Im sure our debaters will be unable to counter with any other arguments, basis for my statements will show that their development into being the greatest will end the debate. While Cosby served in the Navy for 4 years, Carlin also served in the Air Force, and while Cosby served his country faithfully (Kudos to the Cos-man), Carlin was holding to his own standards and mentality and went against the system several times (Court Martialed 3 times, several disciplinary actions, and discharged in 57 for being an "unproductive airman") Carlin has always been anti-establishment, and held true to himself, while with all respect to Bill Cosby, Bill did everything to adhere to the whole family unit. George Carlin was all about the fight for rights of ALL American people to speak their minds and never be censored, citing the ridiculousness of the FCC controlling media within TV and radio. Cos did break a lot of the social stigma of black families in america, but, and Im not knocking the signifigance here so dont kill me on this, it only served a single demographic. George was silenced so many times for being blunt and honest to himself and every viewpoint he had that people would refuse to even sell his records. As a struggling comedian of the time cuz lets face it, the cash flow aint all that great till you hit it big, he still managed to rise to the top. He maintained his format of comedy, standup, did the occasional movie in his lifetime, with very memorable roles, and always focused on his audience with delivery of a comedy special every few years. Bill Cosby, while very great and awesome in his own right, only produced one special, did a few movies, then focused on TV roles. And while he fizzled out from public view in the late 80's to early 90's, george was still jamming out and keeping people laughing, all the way till the day he died June 22, 2008. Chris mentioned there is a signifigant void in the world now that he's gone, and there is without a doubt massive amounts of truth there. And to quote Jon Stewart "He was part of the Holy Trinity of Comedy; Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and George Carlin".