Yet again just another example of the knee jerk liberal’s identification with minority empowerment movements. I don’t know how many times I’m going to have to read this drivel in Salon. If the left doesn’t know what it stands for than who is going to lead Iraq towards democracy? For that matter, if Bin Laden remains steadfast in his goal of politicizing anti-occidental sentiment through fascist action where do we draw the line? Afghanistan? Iraq? Canada? One of these days we’re going to have to move away from circular legislation that focuses on the root of the problem while bribing the perpetrators on the back end! Look at the US cattle markets and their relationships with regulators. I’m not saying that I’m for distribution of beef once we know it’s been tainted with mad cow, but does a buy back scenario do anything for the consumer? Absolutely not! It’s one step away from dolphin free tuna and double the expense to the tax payer! I have always objected to the increasing push of the left to curtail less expensive imports based on moral particulars, especially in relation to the current state of the US GDP. Lets see how far the right moves when regulators start calling the shots! It’s not too long before we’re all vegan trip-hop glassblowers whining about the gluten content in our oat bread! You can count the libertarian vote out!

Kate seems to think that Olbermann would be somehow less effective when interviewing in person. Would that the darlings of the right wing would take up the challenge: then, I guarantee you, we would see some real debate -- at least from Olbermann.

Pundits of Hannity and Limbaugh's ilk can't handle a fair fight, so they stage "debates" with soft liberal opponents like Jerry Springer, stack the audience with rabid-dog supporters, and supplant thoughtful discussion with shouted talking points and hoo-rah audience heckling of the other participant. When someone comes and verbally demolishes a friendly guest on the air (like Ann Coulter's thrashing by Kirsten Powers a couple of weeks ago), they are rarely invited back.

The narrative which they carefully construct gets broken when their point of view is challenged directly. O'Reilly will take his pot-shots from the sidelines, and shut down any caller to his radio show who *gasp* mentions Olbermann by name. It is fear, plain and simple. Fear that the other viewpoint will be heard, considered, possibly even agreed with by ever-dwindling audiences. Fear that the friendly government will be out of power, and they'll have to go back to being the opposition. Fear of cancellation in the face of their growing irrelevancy.

This is why these empty suits, these talking heads, these wastes of oxygen marginalize the speakers of truth to power, and why they drill this marginalization into the heads of their followers. They are afraid. They are running scared, and like wounded animals cornered, they lash out at anything and everything. Meanwhile, we are privy to their desperate thrashings, praying that someone will have the decency to put the beasts out of their misery -- cancel them. Get these purveyors of spin and propaganda out of the public marketplace, and replace them with commentators who will, at the very least, turn a critical eye to what our government claims to be doing "for our own good," and, at best, reports the true story instead of the "talking points (memo)" of the day.

D

Thank you!

There are people out there (you know who you are) who cannot even conceive of an observation without an agenda. There was a time that such was the very nature of "news". Reality was rampant!

A good deal of real information, a tad of common sense, and you could make your way through the world in peace, with even a modicum of happiness.

Thank Gawd for Keith for speaking Truth, not to power but to bullshit. And gold-plated, wrapped in a thousand flags, highly profitable and perfectly marketed "bullshit - is still Bullshit!

In an editorial written by former Salon editor-in-chief, David Talbot wrote: "Fox news likes its liberals soft and chewy, the better to eat them, my dear." See link: http://salon.com/books/feature/2003/02/28/alterman/index.html He was referring to Alan Colmes. And he's right. Soft-spoken cerebral types are ineffective in the cable environment.

This is the key to Olbermann's success. He's a strong speaker with charisma. And I'll say it: he's macho. There's a large neanderthal contingent in TV-land that responds to machismo. Those people are turned off by the Aaron Browns and Alan Colmes. They want some one who's a guys guy. A former sportscaster.

Now I'm not a neanderthal, and I love his show (although I can't stand those Musto segments but that's a different topic - note to Keith: lose Musto!). I watch Olbermann because he's witty and insightful. His commentary is critical and, yes, the object of his criticism is often Bush, the Bush administration and O'Reilly. But I find the tone of his criticism to be centrist, the voice of common sense clearly articulated. He stands apart from the ranting that's become characteristic of the cable news format. And that's why I tune in.

They just want to see whichever smarmy talking head reflects their own rage. Ok I can appreciate that. After all, everyone wants to be part of a mob. But let's not start pretending there's any news going on here. If you want news or at least information you'll have to watch Carl Quintanilla on CNBC. Because otherwise, everything on CNN, FOX and MSNBC is loud mouthed assholes. If it were me, I'd open a show with just punching a guest in the face and laughing hysterically.

It gives me hope knowing Mr. Oblermann is fighting for the truth against the tyranny of the Bush dictatorship.

Thomas Jefferson

And not a moment too soon. I had hoped against hope that from amidst all the mud-slinging and no-point/no-counterpoint ad hominem bullshit that has passed for political commentary over the past few years, someone with passion, intelligence and, yes, anger - righteous anger - would eventually stand up and point directly at the problem. Olbermann finally started to do it and when it worked, surprise, surprise, everyone fell back in stunned silence first, then began trying to dissect this strange creature who had emerged from the box and continues operate outside it. Is he doing it for the ratings? Who gives a good god damn? He is doing it! He is calling a spade a spade, calling the President a fool, calling O'Reilly's lame and overused bluffs, and it had to work, because the facts always do if honorable men will only speak them.

Why, in the name of all that's good and decent, has no one stepped forward to speak for American instead of its various parts til Obermann? When will we get past the "us and them" mentality that has been so successfully used to divide this utterly remarkable nation? Maybe we have begun.

Give the guy a raise. Let him be whatever he is. But for god's sake listen to him! Sanity has broken out in the least likely place. Give him air!!