AP: Olbermann news commentaries target Bush

[Kadie]

Olbermann news commentaries target Bush
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
57 minutes ago


NEW YORK - Keith Olbermann's tipping point came on a tarmac in Los Angeles six weeks ago. While waiting for his plane to take off he read an account of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's speech before the American Legion equating Iraq War opponents to pre-World War II appeasers.

The next night, on Aug. 30, Olbermann ended his MSNBC "Countdown" show with a blistering retort, questioning both the interpretation of history and Rumsfeld's very understanding of what it means to be an American.

It was the first of now five extraordinarily harsh anti-Bush commentaries that have made Olbermann the latest media point-person in the nation's political divide.

"As a critic of the administration, I will be damned if you can get away with calling me the equivalent of a Nazi appeaser," Olbermann told The Associated Press. "No one has the right to say that about any free-speaking American in this country."

Since that first commentary, Olbermann's nightly audience has increased 69 percent, according to Nielsen Media Research. This past Monday 834,000 people tuned in, virtually double his season average and more than CNN competitors Paula Zahn and Nancy Grace. Cable kingpin and Olbermann nemesis Bill O'Reilly (two million viewers that night) stands in his way.

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061008/ap_en_tv/tv_keith_olbermann_2

[Sydnie]

1. We're coming after your ratings next OLielly

[tblue]

49. Thank Keith by BUYING HIS BOOK!

http://www.buzzflash.com/store/items/325 $29, gives a portion to Buzzflash.com
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470044950 $13.77

[krkaufman]

87. Agreed. Vote with your wallet, if you can afford it.

As another commentator oft says... "Makes a great gift!"

[brg5001]

81. Exactly, Sydnie! The best way to shut 'em up is TURN 'EM OFF

O'Lielly is a pinhead and his sycophants are idiots. I give this blowhard about two years, then the non-Factor's ratings are going to become the square root of a negative number. We need to write a book -- maybe some DUers can put it together -- called, "The O'Lielly Factor: How a Loudmouth Jackass Assembled an Audience of Fawning Morons by Telling as Many Lies as Possible with the Full Support of Fox 'News'"

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. Great writeup!

:)

[DeepModem Mom]

3. K&R for Keith!

[orpupilofnature57]

4. And Right on he is. Keith Rocks!!!

[glitch]

5. My parents have Dish and while they get Fox/CNN they say they don't get

MSNBC. Now I wonder what his ratings would be like if the channel was offered more evenly?

[Skip Intro]

13. I have Dish and get MSNBC.

Its not offered on the lowest channel tier from Dish, but I get it on my lineup. Its called America 120 or something like that. $39.99 mo.

[glitch]

16. I think that's what they get too. They may just not be able to find it.

I thought MSNBC-FOX-CNN all got sold together, so they could very well be wrong. Of course this was my Mom saying it, and she's not the tv watcher. I should ask my Dad. I'll be there soon, I'll check in to it. :hi:

[movonne]

19. If they have the internets, you can send them the video clips from

crooks and liars or youtube....

[glitch]

21. That's what I've got for them, on dvd. They are very political and love

the stuff I gather off the nets for them.

[rosesaylavee]

68. Or look at it directly on the MSNBC Countdown

website - I am sure that they are looking at clicks there too as part of their viewership. Here's the link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/

[cui bono]

30. it might not be included...

I am going to get cable again and was also looking into that and also Dish and DirectTV and some of them have MSNBC on a "higher" tier for which you need to pay more.

But now that Time-Warner took over for Adelphia cable in my area it is offered at one of the lower levels which is good for me.

[glitch]

32. Thanks cui bono. I figured I'd have to check for myself when I got there.

They're pretty good for 76 year olds but sometimes when things are slightly technical (or the numbers get too high) they lose interest. I had to point out FreeSpeech TV the last time I was there, and now my Dad loves it. Cool people, very lucky am I.

[cui bono]

42. yes you are. I used to argue with my dad all the time...

when he was still with us. He would always pull the Clinton routine. Then my mom, who is Brazilian, became a US citizen so she could cancel out his votes. :D

[glitch]

47. Lol! Good for your mom! She sounds like a lady with a sense of purpose

and humor!

[Laurab]

70. Hey, maybe we're in the same area

I'm near Buffalo - as soon as Time Warner took over, I talked my husband into switching. I'd wanted to anyway, because I was tired of having to wait til midnight for The Daily Show and Colbert (on a Canadian station). I got Direct - it goes right on my phone bill with the phone and internet, but Dish has a really good promotion now I understand. I think $29.99 for 10 months - then of course, it goes up, but you can drop some things. I pay a little under $50 a month - it would have been cheaper, but my husband HAD to have HBO!

[Virginian]

74. I was pricing dish

We have two Satellite options here, Dish Network and Direct TV. I noticed one of them (maybe both) offered CNN but not MSNBC and not FOX Cable on the cheaper priced package. To get Keith, we would have had to pay as much as we pay for Cable. We stayed with cable. We almost went with FiOS TV, but they don't carry the OLN channel my husband wanted to watch.

There is also the Broadcast Fox network that carries NFL games and the Simpsons, but that is different from FOX Cable "NEWS".

[Skip Intro]

88. I love Dish

My base plan is 39.99, and that's 120 channels, including MSNBC. Of course, I have an extra box for another tv set in my roommate's room, and that's an extra $5 mo, plus, since I don't have a landline active in my house, they charge another $5 mo, which is bs, but still, for around $50 month, I get everything, including local channels.

What I like about Dish mainly is the picture clarity. After having it for a while, my roomie wanted to switch to cable, which we tried - TimeWarner. The picture quality was very much worse, many channels were fuzzy. The DVR had onscreen graphics like an old atari game, and had less features than the Dish DVR.

It was my roomie, after like two days, that said, "can we switch back." So I called TWC to cancel, and asked if they could come out and put everything back like it was so we could start getting Dish again. They all but laughed at me. So I called Dish, explained the situation, and they said they'd send someone right out, for a $40 fee. I asked to speak to the "retention department" which arranged for a reconnection at no charge at all.

In the end, it is the quality of the 100% digital picture and sound, on every channel, that has me a big Dish fan. They're less than DirectTV, their customer service has been great so far, and the quality is unbeatable, for my area, anyway.

I'm not a salesperson for Dish, but I'd suggest you give them another look.

:D

[Virginian]

89. We have digital cable

on one TV and the other 3 TVs are just on regular cable. In this area, Dish would cost us more for the same number of TVs. We don't do DVR, we are still in the VCR era.
Some of our neighbors have reception problems with their dishes when the weather is bad. We are hooked on the weather channel and would miss it if we couldn't watch radar of an approaching storm or check to see if it is nearly over.

We are wired for FiOS which is a Fiber Optic System. Our phone and internet service are FiOS. If they only carried the hockey games, we would have switched to that and dumped the cable. If and when we switch, the computer will also receive the TV signal. Then I can watch Olbermann and comment on DU at the same time.

As far as Cable goes, the reception is great, very few problems and hardly any down time. Lots of extra features like In Demand movies and On Demand movies and other stuff. As much as I would like to see Bill Maher on Fridays, we don't have HBO. Has Blockbuster gone out of business? They have closed the two closest stores, so we are rediscovering In Demand movies.
On the other hand, their business office is poorly run. I had to go to the State Corporation Commission before I could speak to anyone at the cable company who could get an incorrect charge taken off my bill.

[ms liberty]

56. MSNBC is on channel 209 on DishNetwork...

Check first to see if you do get it. We've always gotten it on ours, I thought it was on a basic package. We also get Fox and CNN - but we have Fox locked out!

[glitch]

71. Thanks! Next time I talk to them I'll have them check it.

I hate to see them missing Olberman until I next get there.

[ReverendDeuce]

6. I love KO's commentaries... but WTF is this quote about...

As I said, I love Keith's commentary's. They've been great. However, after reading the story, I have to question one of Keith's statements...


"As a critic of the administration, I will be damned if you can get away with calling me the equivalent of a Nazi appeaser," Olbermann told The Associated Press. "No one has the right to say that about any free-speaking American in this country."


Um... Yes they do, Keith... ? Isn't think along the same lines as your commentary condemning Bush for implying it was somehow improper to so much as think a certain thing?

[Subdivisions]

18. I would put that down to unfortunate wording in the face of

great emotion. I would bank that what he meant to say in context is that no one has a right to take away our freedom to dissent.

[spooky3]

22. You raise a good question, but here is one other consideration

People do not have the right to slander and libel others, to cry out "FIRE!" in a crowded theater when there is no fire, and so on. In other words, there are legal limits to free speech in the US that are widely understood and accepted.

Further, thinking something vs. saying it in a public forum, are two entirely different things.

Calling someone the equivalent of a Nazi appeaser may be regarded by Keith (and others) as slanderous and defamatory. This is especially true if the speaker (in this case Rumsfeld) knows it is not true, and says it in order to harm the reputations of the persons about whom it is said.

[ovidsen]

23. Technically, you're right. But...

My favorite interpetation of the First Amendment is that "everyone has the inalienable right to write or speak ideas that show how incredibly stupid they are".

But while a charter member of the White House "Axis of Evil" has a constitutional right to compare critics to traitors, it's morally repulsive as well as a despicable affront to patriotic dissenters. And it gets downright scary when you consider that Rummy and his Axis pals can and do dance around much of the rest of the Constitution (Gitmo, extraordinary renditions). I think that's what Keith means, and that's how I read it.

Rummy does not have the moral right to say this.

[Towlie]

31. Yes, it was an unfortunate slip.

"No one has the right to say that about any free-speaking American in this country."

That was an unfortunate choice of words. Oh well, what can you do? :silly:

[Kadie]

79. Welcome to DU Towlie!

:hi:

[Eric J in MN]

38. I think he meant that Donald Rumsfeld doesn't have the....

...ethical right to call opponents of the Iraq War similar to Nazi appeasers.

Rumsfeld does have the legal right to say that.

Better phrasing may have been: No one should say that about any free-speaking American in this country.

[Amonester]

51. I love KO too, so I'd say that, since he's not President (yet...), ;-)

he is, therefore, allowed to make three mistakes.

This might have been his first one.
And nobody suffered or died because of it.

Compare this to the newly installed dictatorturer's...

[orpupilofnature57]

52. I think he was caught up in the moment ,Good to see theres still a

talking head with a heart.

[file83]

54. You are missing the context - and thus, YOU ARE DEAD WRONG...

Olbermann is talking about Rummy's speech in which he accused the Liberals/Left Wing/non-Bush supporters/Anti-War Movement of being the equivalent of Nazi appeasers. He's talking about he Secretary of Defense saying that.

Out of context, the "no one" phrase seems like a sweeping generalization by Olbermann of all Americans not having that right (which you pointed out, they so obviously do), but he's not talking about all Americans. Olbermann's talking about a "no one" in the Bush Administration having that right.

The reason why this is important, and Olbermann is correct, is that if the Bush Administration has that right to call us what ever they want, at THAT LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY, then they ALSO HAVE THE RIGHT to treat us in that manner, up to and including: torturing us, imprisoning us, executing us...

That's why the context is important - and you missed it. Try harder to seek the context of the statement, at least as hard as you tried to seek it out of context. :eyes:

[Clark2008]

62. I guess he means no one in GOVERNMENT has any right

to say that - he was speaking of the Bush cabal.

:shrug:

[jillan]

72. oooh

I love your sig line! Huge Beatle fan here:hi:

[MazeRat7]

7. People know the truth when they hear it. Kicked for Keith. (n/t)

[Seabiscuit]

73. I wish that were true of my wife's uncle.

Everytime I slap down his RW BS that he quotes from the RW BS MSM, he just repeats the same RW BS as if he were talking to a wall.

The neocons have really turned many (33%?) of A'murikans into mindless automotons.

[senseandsensibility]

8. kick

Glad to see Olberman getting some good press.

[leftchick]

9. how in the hell does o'reilly find 2 MILLION idiots a night?

:crazy:

[Quixote1818]

12. They watch from their bar stools. nt

[I Have A Dream]

20. What you said made me think. There are a lot of waiting rooms...

bars and restaurants that have Fox News on. I wonder if that's taken into account. If so, that's relevant because the people themselves aren't actually selecting the channel.

(Or are the numbers extrapolated from Nielsen Media data?)

[spooky3]

28. Sometimes politely asking them to change the station works.

I did this at the dentist's office and the hygienist smiled and handed me the remote!

[leftchick]

33. there is always this...

as a last resort. :)

http://tvbgone.com/cfe_tvbg_main.php

[Clark2008]

64. I change the channel.

Or, as in the case of a restaurant I was at once, I asked the waitress to change it to Keith. It works. Most people are dining and don't really watch. Faux just has businesses suckered to put it on that station whether folks are watching or not.

[movonne]

24. Probably everywhere you go they have faux on...at the gym that

I was going to they had it on 24/7...I had to stop going..(I know it is an excuse to not work out, but I will stick with it....

[Quixote1818]

26. As PT Barnum said: "Their is a sucker born every minute" And they

all watch Bill O'Reilly every night! All 2 million of them.

[montana500]

75. South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, etc.

[bluescribbler]

85. They say the US population will hit 300 million this month

2 out of 300 isn't that many. 0.67%

[Quixote1818]

10. Keith for President!

He speaks a powerful truth and people recognize something meaningful when they hear it.

[Justice Is Comin]

11. Does Abrams need a hammer to hit him in the head to see the

audience that is waiting for firethrowing Dems like this? He's an idiot.

He's got the liberal version of Fox right in his lap and he doesn't see it. Idiot.

[peacetalksforall]

14. K & R!!!. .. For the second time, a number is GOOD news.

Yesterday - Bush approval down to 33%.
Today - Olberman show up 69%.

Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

The numbers aay it - but it doesn't mean they have stopped stealing votes. Push paper.

[JoMama49]

27. If you're a Yahoo member, be sure to give this article 5 stars!

it lets the news folks know we want more like this!

[Clark2008]

65. Be sure and email it, too.

Email it to yourself or friends or whomever. Make it the most emailed, as well.

[derby378]

15. It's about damn time someone took notice of Keith outside the blogosphere

Thanks, Associated Press! You're about a month late, but welcome aboard.

[sce56]

17. How about what a Marine Officer said about O'Leily

http://www.time.com/time/world/printout/0,8816,1543658,00.html
Biggest Outrage — Practically anything said by talking heads on TV about the war in Iraq, not that I get to watch much TV. Their thoughts are consistently both grossly simplistic and politically slanted. Biggest Offender: Bill O'Reilly.


Biggest Hassle — High-ranking visitors. More disruptive to work than a rocket attack. VIPs demand briefs and "battlefield" tours (we take them to quiet sections of Fallujah, which is plenty scary for them). Our briefs and commentary seem to have no effect on their preconceived notions of what's going on in Iraq. Their trips allow them to say that they've been to Fallujah, which gives them an unfortunate degree of credibility in perpetuating their fantasies about the insurgency here.

Written last month, this straightforward account of life in Iraq by a Marine officer was initially sent just to a small group of family and friends. His honest but wry narration and unusually frank dissection of the mission contrasts sharply with the story presented by both sides of the Iraq war debate, the Pentagon spin masters and fierce critics. Perhaps inevitably, the "Letter from Iraq" moved quickly beyond the small group of acquantainaces and hit the inboxes of retired generals, officers in the Pentagon, and staffers on Capitol Hill. TIME's Sally B. Donnelly first received a copy three weeks ago but only this week was able to track down the author and verify the document's authenticity. The author wishes to remain anonymous but has allowed us to publish it here — with a few judicious omissions.



Got Fascism Yet?

[I Have A Dream]

25. Time to start taking them to the real Fallujah. Let them say it then. n/t

[Joe Chi Minh]

35. Wow! What an enthralling, moving, sometimes hilariously witty

letter home. I guess the Aussies have it right. Your soldiers really are "a bit special", in British horse-racing parlance.

[L0oniX]

36. That link should be post all on its own

http://www.time.com/time/world/printout/0,8816,1543658,00.html

[sce56]

66. It is nominate for great? See

See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2341748

Got Fascism Yet?

[civildisoBDence]

48. Another great line--the Marine calls an Iraqi farmer wise for answering

a Marine who asked if he'd seen any foreign fighters by saying, "Yes. You."

How about a battle of the Keiths--Keith Olbermann vs. Toby Keith? Also known as, brains vs. brawn. Substance vs. style.

I LOVE your Bushitler image...really chilling.

Newsprism

[Kurovski]

29. K&R(nt)

[PuraVidaDreamin]

34. 10-20 yrs from now when we look back- he will be a major hero

with other exceptional standouts like Cindy Sheehan,
Russ Finegold, Greg Palast, The folks from the Nation,
Michael Moore, John Dean, Mike Malloy, Randi Rhodes

many others, who am I missing?

[NastyDiaper]

37. Aug. 30 Countdown is "Never Erase" on my Tivo.

[Tarheel_Dem]

39. I've even got my family watching KO now....

and these folks aren't newshounds like me, but they are loving it. My boss sent me an email about a week ago expressing thanks that I had turned she & her husband onto KO. They've even ordered the book.

Thanks Keith.........:loveya:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

40. Fuckin A WoooooDamnHoooooo GO KEITH!!!!!!

That just gave me the biggest goddamn smile on my face to hear about his ratings increases. His commentaries have been nothing short of superb and he absolutely deserves some positive outcome from his speaking the truth.

Rock on Keith!

[BrklynLiberal]

41. He should be in the new edition of "Profiles in Courage".

[Red Right and BLUE]

43. K&R!!! I LOVE YOU, KEITH! nt

[Melissa G]

44. done. article at 4 stars...

[Clinton Crusader]

45. Keith rocks! n/t

:kick:

[degreesofgray]

46. I'm a new viewer

I started Tivoing Countdown a few weeks ago. I fast forward over the tabloid stuff, but love his commentaries and the extended coverage and conversation of the first few news stories every night.

[malaise]

50. Go Keith

We love you.:yourock:

[PuppyBismark]

53. Too bad the Democratic Party Can't Follow it Up.

Keith is right on, but the Dems don't seem to know how to put out any similar message. What Keith is saying is what needs to be said by every member of the Democratic Party at every opportunity. Instead, all we hear and see is it's the Repubs, we're better. But why are we better? I'm still looking for that message.

[NMDemDist2]

55. welcome to DU PuppyBismark!!

:hi:

[Erika]

59. Look inside yourself as to why we are better n/t

[Kadie]

80. Welcome to DU PuppyBismark!

:hi:

[Swamp Rat]

57. Geaux Keith!!!

:patriot:

:kick:

[Erika]

58. He's gotten the attention of the mainstream!

Way to go, Keith. America loves you.

[sweetheart]

60. This same audio is being broadcast in berlin

http://www.starfm.de/berlin/index.php

The live stream is playing the audio to olberman's ripping of bush for minutes now over
a music track... rock!!

[sweetheart]

61. my mistake

I was on Tom Jossarian Joad's website "leftandright.com" and it was playing
over the radio... i was getting very impressed!! at berlin's radio tech!

oops, well, there's an idea for them...

[Clark2008]

63. I love this part:

Early in his second tenure at MSNBC, Olbermann said he wanted to do a segment on whether some of the more heroic elements of former POW Jessica Lynch's rescue were exaggerated. He was told by NBC News executives that he had to balance it with a commentary by conservative radio host Michael Savage, and he refused. He was prepared to walk, he said, but it never came to that.

I'd walk too, if I had to appear ANYWHERE with that ill-tempered, lying sack of shit - Michael Weiner.

[Seabiscuit]

67. If all our DC Dems had Olbermann's spine, we'd be in much better shape.

Like your Beatles line, BTW.

[intheflow]

69. Vote this up on Yahoo, too.

It's listed as one of the most viewed, but it's only got a 3.5 rating out of 5. :wtf:

[Jack Rabbit]

76. How long did it take them to make this profound observation?

and what, may I ask, is wrong with targeting Bush?

[Nimrod2005]

77. k

[brg5001]

78. Keith is saying what has NEEDED to be said

Instead of cowering in fear, administration opponents of all political persuasions have needed to speak out against the neo-fascism. Thank you KEITH! Chucklenuts' recent comments in Arizona were despicable -- saying that only Democrats oppose listening to terrorists' phone calls when he knows damn well that it's his METHODS that are being challenged. My only question is, why has it taken so long for a leading network commentator to speak out against this kind of slander?

Thinking people from every corner are incensed about Bushco's shameful, psuedo-patriotic vitriol. There needs to be a larger coalition of dissidents who gather on the Capitol steps to say NO MORE will we accept an administration that verbally tars and feathers any opposition as "pro-terrorist". As Fatass Limbaugh always blathers, "Words mean things." Well, if it talks like a fascist, starts wars like a fascist, blames minorities like a fascist, and questions patriotism like a fascist, IT'S A FREAKIN' FASCIST.

[ProfessorGAC]

82. Nicely Said

And welcome to DU!
The Professor

[oc2002]

83. Olberman is just saying what millions of Americans would say if they knew

..that the President called them traitors or Nazi's for not supporting him.

Good work Olberman, there are millions that want to hear the truth spoken out loud and bravely.

[krkaufman]

84. Now, will networks adjust programming to this audience?

Doubtful.

[oc2002]

86. no, not really, they(we) are anti-establishment or corporate.

so, they will stick wt O'liely and Slant head Hanity.

[me b zola]

90. .