I Call Bullsh*t!: Why Nobody Likes Keith Olbermann
Posted by Ryan Latimer on 11.02.2006
Man, if you thought I’m gonna get hate mail now…
I've wanted to delve into something different on 411 for quite sometime now, and as everyone knows, the hardest part about anything is starting. That, and going to school again for another degree, but besides that. It's not that I want to distance myself from the movies section but a matter of the enjoyment of change. Change is good. And with my book now out – some chapters dealing with political/socio-political matters – the time might as well be now.
Speaking of the book, I'm in the process of getting out a revised, clean and polished edition in the next few weeks, dealing with those pesky typos that drove me NUTS. Hey, I'm a perfectionist, and I'm never going to get a national book deal if I ain't no professional. So, to anyone who has yet to buy it, hold tight – the edition I want you to buy is coming out by the end of the year. To everyone who already bought it, you're helping me out big time by doing so with my surgery bills, so all is good.
So, back to the original topic, I've wanted to start a contributor column in the politics section of 411 but never pulled the trigger due to my indecision on what to base my first edition on. Who should come through for me but Keith Olbermann, the talkinghead on MSNBC that is in the midst of a duel with kingpin Bill O'Reilly.
Oooh, wait a tick. I'd better explain myself before I go any further lest everyone here stamps me with that pesky Hardcore Dickweed Bush Republican tag, the current kiss of political credibility death. Without boring you with my life's story, here's the 411 on the political mind of Ryan Latimer: I'm about as down-the-middle as you can get. I came from a Republican home but I'm not a conservative (I support gay rights, stronger environmental responsibility and want abortion legal even though I don't like the idea of using it as birth control, for example) but I really hate the Left (I supported the War on Terror as well as stiff interrogation methods, believe in tax breaks for people that employ us to stimulate the economy and most certainly think a culture war is going on in America). Sure, the war in Iraq is a mess and not what we expected, but I'm certainly not ready to ask my president to resign from office.
That said, when I see BS, I call it, hence the name of the column. I could care less what political affiliation you have. I call it on Rush Limbaugh and President Bush just the same as I do with Michael Moore and Howard Dean. Just so you fully understand me, I'll reiterate: when I see bullshit, I Call Bullshit. I here and now institute a never-ending invitation to all readers who feel I'm not doing so or being fair. Contact me. I promise I won't call you a pinhead.
Speaking of pinheads (I'd better get a new catchphrase soon), without further ado, Keith Olbermann, I Call Bullshit.
In all actuality, this really isn't just about Keith Olbermann but more about why many don't quite grasp why men like this don't get the ratings and popularity someone like Bill O'Reilly does even though O'Reilly isn't exactly a political saint. I've wondered this myself. If O'Reilly really is the pervert phony many say he is and have pretty darn good evidence to back it up, why does he continue to dominate? There has to be a reason. The American people may not be the smartest people in the world, but they are not stupid, regardless of what Michael Moore tells you in his crappy docu-dramas.
I want to like Olbermann. I've tired many times; he's a promising counterpart to O'Reilly, a man with a great show but leans too Right to be considered the centrist he claims himself to be. Olbermann just doesn't seem to want me or anyone else to like him. The problem with Keith Olbermann is that he simply isn't likeable. At all. One of the most beneficial character traits for a news show host to possess in addition to fairness is desirability – people have to want to tune into your radio or TV show even if they know they disagree with most of the things you have to say. O'Reilly is brilliant at this. Despite his continued downfall in the eyes of many in the public, he is Numero Uno in the cable news race. Even I find myself watching him at least 3 times a week, although this may be also due to me agreeing with a fair amount of what he has to say on certain topics.
This enigma became much clearer on November 1st, and it answered a few questions. I'm sure everyone is quite familiar with Sen. John Kerry's remarks about the troops, so no need to reiterate. But upon analyzing the situation, I knew I had the ultimate test for Keith Olbermann to take later in the night for "Countdown." Regardless of your political leanings, you must admit that what Kerry said was dumb. Really dumb. He may not have meant what ultimately came out of his hole, but the fact is that he said it. Spit happens. I'm not mad at him for that. What upset me about Kerry was that he refused to apologize for what he said (or at the very least how many interpreted his remarks), and only did so later after the pressure became too great. Not only this, he wanted BUSH to apologize for Iraq and felt he said nothing wrong, as if implying that only the un-ed-u-ma-cated go into ‘da mil-er-tary and kill peoplez wouldn't rub anyone the wrong way.
So the speech happens and the talking news heads have their story for the next few days. O'Reilly has a discussion about the topic and decides the following (from his website): "I don't believe John Kerry meant to demean any member of the military, which would be political suicide. But his choice of words has given the Republicans a huge campaign club. This is a huge development in an election that is less than a week away."
Fair, thoughtful and to-the-point, even if you think O'Reilly should be locked up.
How does Olbermann respond? Turn it around to President Bush and make a fool of himself (from his website):
The Senator, in essence, called Mr. Bush stupid. The context was unmistakable: Texas, the state of denial, stuck in Iraq. No interpretation required. And Mr. Bush and his minions responded, by appearing to be too stupid to realize that they had been called stupid.
They demanded Kerry apologize to the troops in Iraq. That phrase "appearing to be too stupid" is used deliberately, Mr. Bush.
Because there are only three possibilities here. One, sir, is that you are far more stupid than the worst of your critics have suggested; that you cannot follow the construction of a simple sentence; that you cannot recognize your own life story when it is deftly summarized; nor know it is the sad ledger of your presidency that is being recounted by a political opponent. This, of course, compliments you, Mr. Bush, because even those who do not "make the most of it," who do not "study hard," who do not "do their homework," and who do not "make an effort to be smart" might still be just stupid, but honest.
President Bush deserves criticism on a number of issues. I'm not suggesting he doesn't. What I am suggesting is that this is the reason why people like Keith Olbermann will always be looked at as a tag-along, a distance runner-up at best in the war of news media pundits. Olbermann, in essence, just couldn't take one show to lay off Bush and concentrate on the issue at hand, how Kerry made a degrading comment and how it may or may not affect the mid-term elections. It also helps not that Olbermann, employed in an industry where you are required to be impartial or at the least attempt impartialness, can't control himself. He accuses O'Reilly of being a cartoon character that no one can take seriously while he himself can't keep quiet long enough to think before he acts. It is men like this that give the media a bad name, the mentality that journalism is a cess pool of hard leftist thought and groupthink.
And with that, I Call Bullshit for the first time. Keith, wipe yourself off.
STAY CURRENT