I was going to say:
For the first time since he was a pre-schooler, I agree with Keith Olbermann. He may have been treated unfairly last Friday morning when MSNBC suspended him — indefinitely and without pay — for making previously undisclosed donations to three Democrat Congressional candidates.
I also was going to say:
At a glance, his punishment seems incongruous, almost correlating to imprisoning a man for two years for jaywalking on an empty street in 3 in the morning.
And then I was going to say:
The greater likelihood is that the farthest left news channel on the planet is looking for a cover excuse for cashiering one of the most unlikable personalities in media.
I empathize, however, with Mr. Olbermann.
Something quite similar happened to me a few years ago. My personality clashed with the cranky left-wing editor’s, objectively speaking. It was my ill luck to work for him in the decade he had decided to devote to a bad mood.
The red herring was that my name appeared in an advertisement for a politically neutral organization — the group just was not left enough for my editor.
I sympathize with Mr. Olbermann if the several thousands in donations were the entire reason for his suspension.
Will NBC Wave Bye-Bye?
The toe-stubbing conflict is that Mr. Olbermann is MSNBC’s hottest star.
His juvenile nightly outbursts have, illogically, carried the NBC stepchild away past CNN and into a distant second place on cable, a few miles behind the Fox News Channel.
The more refreshing news is that while Fox won the Election Night ratings from here to Philadelphia, left-wing CNN easily overtook the puerile left-wingers Chris Matthews and Mr. Olbermann at MSNBC for second place.
If Mr. Olbermann thinks he has good reason to be depressed, I have an ex-wife to introduce to him if he can act just a little madder.
But before I could acknowledge any such thoughts, those deviled eggs over at MSNBC made this announcement:
“We were just kidding about Keith Olbermann last Friday. He will be back on Tuesday.”
For the dyslexic among you, this is known as a stunt publicity, as raw and cynical as a scab that refuses to heal.
Were I Mr. Olbermann, I would not send out my laundry. With Comcast coming in as the new owner, amidst reports it will try to reclaim NBC’s former image as a vaguely objective purveyor of news, Mr. Olberman should seek out the next boss he wants to lose a duel with.
Whom Can You Trust Anymore?
It is uncomfortable to feel softly for someone as arrogantly unhappy as Mr. Olbermann.
Chronically angry and intolerably petty, I believe he has a perfect record of having been canned from every place he has worked.
Speaking of de-legitimized media, in The New York Times’s first report in Saturday’s edition on this farce, look closely at the “objective” wording in the first sentence by the dethroned Paper of Record, as it used to boast:
Keith Olbermann, the leading liberal voice on American television in the age of Obama, was suspended Friday after his employer, MSNBC, discovered he made campaign contributions to three Democrats last month.
The “age of Obama”?
How journalistic standards have tumbled into an ethical gutter at the formerly respected Times.
One of the nuttier veterans in Congress is the proud Vermont Socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders. Bernie Baby calls himself a left-wing Independent.
Stomping his sneakers in fury, the lapdog for liberal lollipops issued a press release after Mr. Olbermann’s pretend spanking.
“It is outrageous that General Electric/MSNBC would suspend Keith Olbermann for exercising his constitutional rights to contribute to a candidate of his choice. This is a real threat to political discourse in America and will have a chilling impact on every commentator for MSNBC.
“We live in a time when 90 percent of talk radio is dominated by right-wing extremists, when the Republican Party has its own cable network (Fox) and when progressive voices are few and far between.
“At a time when the ownership of Fox News contributed millions of dollars to the Republican Party, when a number of Fox commentators are using the network as a launching pad for their Presidential campaigns and are raising money right off the air, it is absolutely unacceptable that MSNBC suspended one of the most popular progressive commentators in the country.
“Is Rachel Maddow or Ed Schultz next? Is this simply a ‘personality conflict’ within MSNBC or is one of America’s major corporations cracking down on a viewpoint they may not like? Whatever the answer may be, Keith Olbermann should be reinstated immediately and allowed to present his point of view.”
Bernie Baby, do you read the newspapers. Like last Wednesday morning? The problem is not that “progressive” media voices are few and far between. The trouble is that “progressive” voters are few and far between. This is a center-right country, pal.
Bernie Baby is from the same reflective state that gave us the thoughtful, enviably mature Howard Dean. Mr. Dean is scheduled to be released just before Thanksgiving.
Finally, have smiling and happiness been outlawed by liberals?
Thank heaven, Swishie and Mad Michelle are distracted by the 719th out-of-town trip in 2 years and 3 days in office, blowing the last of their travel budget in India. Shhh. Maybe they never will know about any of this.
