Keith Olbermann - Off the Rails?
It’s almost saddening to see a rabid anti-Bush stalwart such as Keith Olbermann casting himself in such a wedge-driving role in the ongoing Dem candidate wars. The Democratic Party needs his fire, not the divisiveness that he’s been bringing to the table recently.
Last year, many of us on the progressive side of the blogosphere were ecstatic when MS-NBC signed Keith Olbermann to a long term, big buck contract. At that time, Keith was making a name for himself with cutting edge “special comment” evisceration of the Republican Party leadership (in general) and the Bush Crime Family (in particular). Countdown seemed to be anchoring an ideological editorial shift at MS-NBC, and the network quickly became the favorite cable political outlet for progressives. Yes, we even suffered Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough.
But something strange happened after John Edwards left the Democratic Party presidential primary battle this year - about the time that KO started posting occasional diaries at Daily Kos, he began engaging in personal attacks against Hillary Clinton. As the primary season has worn on, Countdown has become almost unwatchable for the 50% of the Democratic Party who supports Sen. Clinton. And apparently, he’s been going after her for sitting down earlier this week with one of his other favorite targets: Bill O’Reilly.
Interestingly enough, even supporters of Barack Obama are starting to notice Olbermann’s attacks on 50% of the Democratic Party. Writing at his own blog, noted author, TV critic, and Obama backer Paul Levinson is left scratching his head about Olbermann’s recent pit bull attacks:
He histrionically announced his support of Barack Obama and disappointment in Hillary Clinton. Now, I support Barack Obama, too, and have found fault in Hillary Clinton’s campaign … but to hold up Hillary Clinton and her campaign as some kind of devil in democratic politics is just ridiculous.
…Olbermann, almost taking it as a personal insult that Hillary Clinton allowed herself to be interviewed by O’Reilly (after a much weaker interview - because of Olbermann’s questions - on Countdown several weeks ago), has been doing nothing but denouncing Hillary Clinton and Bill O’Reilly the past two nights.
Enough is a enough. Intolerance in the media is just as bad if it comes from the left as from the right. I think I’ll stay on my computer and skip Olbermann from now on, and wait until Abrams comes on 9pm.
I am not pushing one candidate or the other on ASZ. But when a Dem party media institution such as Keith Olbermann becomes a party wedge driver himself, to points just short of declaring Sen. Clinton “Worst Person in the World”, one has to wonder what’s really going on. While his MS-NBC platform is certainly providing a nice echo chamber for the Obama campaign, I sincerely hope that he realizes the need to back off, and that regardless of who the Dem nominee turns out to be (what about Al Gore, Keith?), his voice is going to be needed to carry the Dem message into November.
A media front man like Olbermann is going to be necessary in uniting the Democratic Party after a nominee is finalized. Unfortunately, he’s quickly distanced himself from a possible role as an honest media broker of party reconciliation in future months. It would be a shame if he permanently tarnished his image with fully half of the Democratic Party, because there is no one on the cable networks at the moment who will go after McCain and the GOP as fiercely as KO.
We need his voice - not his divisiveness.
You know Richard, it would be fine if the talking heads went after corruption and stupidity in government without regard to party affiliatioin… that’s what they should be doing… BUT when you start getting into partisanship and personal attacks, which is what ALL of them do (Keith is just the only voice that’s heard slightly left of center right) then it becomes destructive instead of instructive.
It’s not that the left needs talking heads to shout down the likes of O’Reilley, Hannity et al, it’s that we need a media of all sorts that has the BEST INTERESTS of 300 million Americans in mind when they open their traps, instead of the best interests of 10,000 Americans and their corporations*.
*(numbers pulled out of my ass but you get the point, yes?)
Fairness Doctrine, remember that? That’s what’s been missing.
Why doesn’t Olbermann just cash it in? His anti-Bush rants have long gone stale. And he wonders why his ratings suck?!
I was a devoted Olbermann fan for years, Countdown, (apart from the celebrity silliness), the highlight of my evening (I know, I know) .First he shocked me and then he broke my heart with the misogyny displayed in his attacks against Mrs Clinton. I stopped watching Countdown after Olbermann’s “rant” against Mrs Clinton, her campaign and her family. Thank the lord there’s still Amy Goodman!
Love Keith. Do not like Hillary taking the democratic party down with her. She is so appalling.
Keith Olbermann is part of the Mainstream Media troika, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, of the network three some. Also, some how a back up plan with ABC and CBS have to be included.
Olbermann throws a bone out every once in while that has some meat on it but usually those Democratic support ideals fade fast. It’s all meant to trill the Democrats for a time though fissiles out like a dude fire cracker on the fourth. The same with Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough, much of what they talk about is not open and spontaneous but very calculated that come from a conference direction with good script and usually a highly charge word designed to pound in a meaning. Colbert enjoys screwing around with the “Word”. Remember in the Judeo-Christan bible book of John the word is” God”, what a way to appear very omnubenevolent, or perfect goodness. This is hard to do when you’re a crap Meister, or the network buffoon.
Exampled by what many consider a controversial totally abused use of pole statistics. News Media in a rant of 24X7 pounding out a numbers from somewhere, by someone, in some way, that is never described to America. This all gives me the same feeling that America is going through with this predator mortgage thing. Only now we have First line Journalist on a rant with predator poling. Its worse then a weird curiosity that since Allen Greenspan left the Federal Reserve all of a sudden America has a total banking uncertainty in home ownership, but says now he saw it coming all the time. Yikes, now CNN giving a good fussy feeling that four bucks is not as bad as ten bucks for gas.
The true agenda of the media has been to screw the electorate in mass for decades. All have been complicit, that is our politicians, corporate leaders, clergy, and the highest Judicial System in America, the Supreme Court. Please when America has a Justice to simply say about the vote in Florida in 2000 to just get over it, Justice Scalia actually is telling America the Constitution was totally ignored, that the decision to stop the vote count was purely political not based on law. Actually decades of Supreme Court rulings are skewed and off base on America’s laws all from a cultural economic system that is literally unconstitutional with the Federal Reserve in operation as a private money machine deliberately designed for the few rich. Yes indeed for near a century America has been operating with a private corporation, the Federal Reserve, setting the economic policies in a Democracy under a Constitution that specifically calls for elected members of Congress to do this. All this economic Federal Reserve System is blatantly counter productive to positive directive in the Constitution. They all know it, especially the Mainstream Media. Actually the whole world knows it and just wondering what is going to happen.
I agree that KO can get a little heavy-handed on the vilifying of the Clinton campaign, however I think it’s important to point out the need for his type of refereeing when it comes to behavior and tactics in politics. After all, the experience of being one of the few dissenting voices during the years of the Bush administration would, I imagine, hone the ability to identify the corrosive elements and political tactics that have brought us to where we are today. People gloss over the (previously) close relationship between KO and the Clintons, as well as the fact that he pleaded with them to reform their strategy so that it did not so closely resemble the Republican trick bag.