( CNN ) -- Chris Rock is best known for two things : being funny and being crass . `` If you 're the president you only have two jobs : peace and money , '' Chris Rock said . `` This is what people come to see . I 'm just doing my show , '' the comedian said with a laugh . He 's also known for his political commentary , but there 's one person he 's having a lot of trouble making fun of -- president-elect Barack Obama . This is apparent in his new DVD `` Kill the Messenger , '' which combines three shows from his international tour : New York ; London , England ; and Johannesburg , South Africa . `` It was a tour nobody wanted to do ... because the general perception is that comedy does n't translate , '' Rock said . But thanks to the Internet , the world is a lot smaller than it was even 10 years ago . And people are digging the same jokes , he said , including ones about John McCain and Sarah Palin . As the DVD readies for release on January 20 , CNN talked with Rock about his lack of Obama jokes , Inauguration Day and why racism will never die . The following is an edited version of that interview : . CNN : I watched the special last night , and I noticed that you did a lot of jokes about John McCain -- his age , his war hero story -- but not so many about Barack Obama . Is it harder to make fun of Obama ? Chris Rock : He 's just one of those guys , you know , like Will Smith . There 's no Will Smith jokes . There 's no Brad Pitt jokes . You know , what are you going to say ? `` Ooh , you used to have sex with Jennifer Anniston . Now you have sex with Angelina Jolie . You 're such a loser . '' What do you say ? `` Ooh , your movies are big . You make $ 20 million . '' There 's nothing to say about Brad Pitt . CNN : Why is Obama like that ? Rock : It 's like `` Ooh , you 're young and virile and you 've got a beautiful wife and kids . You 're the first African-American president . '' You know , what do you say ? CNN : As time goes on do you think it will get easier ? Rock : Of course , as time goes on . At some point he 's going to -- there 's always slip-ups . No one can survive that level of scrutiny without occasionally making it easy for a comedian . CNN : Let 's talk about the inauguration . Are you going ? Rock : No , I have to go to Sundance [ Film Festival ] . I 've got a movie premiering at Sundance . So I have to go to the whitest place in America -- Utah . CNN : What 's it going to be like for you on Inauguration Day ? Rock : It 'll be a cool day . It 's weird . I 've never watched an inauguration . I 've never watched anyone get sworn in . You know , it 's like Election Day and then you look up and somebody else is the president two months later . It was never like , `` I ca n't wait till tomorrow . Oh my god ! They 're going to swear in Jimmy Carter ! '' CNN : Are you going to watch this one , though ? Rock : I 'll put it this way -- like any business is going to be getting done while this guy is getting sworn in . Like I 'm going to be in a meeting . Everything is going to stop for however long it takes . Hope they get to it -- hope it 's not like I got ta listen to three different versions of `` The Star-Spangled Banner '' or something . I hope it 's not like Rosa Parks ' funeral , where everybody f***ing speaks . CNN : What are you hoping Barack Obama does for this country ? What do you think is his most important task ? Rock : You know , if you 're the president you only have two jobs : peace and money . That 's it . I mean , it 's like , what did Clinton do ? We were at peace and we had a budget surplus . That 's it . That 's the gig . The closer you get us to those two goals , you know , that 's pretty much the gig . Is that too much to ask for ? CNN : At one point in your act , you said , `` Racism will never die . It will only multiply . '' Why do you believe that ? Rock : Well , it 's never going to die . Maybe it wo n't multiply . Is racism going to end ? No . It 's not even race . People are always going to , you know , find something wrong with people who are not the exact same as them . That 's just what it is . Black , white , short , tall , religions , whatever . People are bad , man . CNN : How was it different playing for an audience in Africa ? Rock : You know it 's weird -- it really was n't that different . I mean , that 's why I love this special . People are the same wherever you go . And if they were n't , they would n't laugh at the same s**t. If they were so different they would n't know what I was talking about . CNN : Stand-up comics I 've talked to in the past say they like their shows to appear spontaneous . But your new DVD stitches together three shows , illustrating to the audience how scripted comedy can be . Why did you decide on that format ? Rock : You know , I do n't believe in that `` come up with stuff on the spot . '' I mean , honestly , that 's why I think comedy , stand-up comedy , always plays such a back seat to music . Like , would you go see a singer if you thought he just came up with the songs ? They would n't give out Grammys for songs that they just came up with . You 're going to go see someone at Radio City or Madison Square Garden , I think you 'd like to know that they have an act before you spend $ 75 . So yeah , when you say `` came up with it right there , '' that 's really cute when you paid $ 8 to get in and two-drink minimum . When the ticket 's $ 75 , that 's a whole other mindset .
U.S. to release ` ` Kill the Messenger '' DVD tomorrow . There are no Barack Obama jokes , Rock says , just like there are no Rock jokes . Rock : Playing for international crowds not that different than playing in Comedian Chris Rock `` Stand-up comedy always plays such a back seat to music , '' Brad Pitt says .