Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for February 1

Host: Keith Olbermann

Topics/Guests:

A STATE OF THE UNION PREVIEW: Richard Wolffe, senior White House correspondent, Newsweek

A STUDY SHOWS BRAIN IMMATURITY CAN BE DEADLY AND THAT RISK TAKING DIMINISHES AFTER THE AGE OF 25: Dr. Drew Pinsky, adolescent health expert, host of "Loveline"

Read the transcript to the 8 p.m. ET show
Updated: Updated: 2:45 p.m. ET Feb. 2, 2005

Guest: Stephen Weekes, Carl Bernstein, Evan Kohlman, Brady Miller, Rev. Katherine Hawker, Drew Pinsky, Richard Wolffe

OLBYWATCH GUIDE: The elephant in the room for Olby (and all other perennial Bush bashers) tonight was still the uber successful elections in Iraq. The bad news that I thought he'd manage to avoid.

Following the story on the Pope's hospitalization, KO wasted time on the novelty that Ground Hog Day coincides with the day of the State of the Union speech. That was followed by a tsunami update. That was followed by the news of a hoax in which some phonies posted the picture of a GI Joe doll and claimed it was the latest hostage taken by Iraqi terrorists, with KO interviewing two guests for that bit of world shaking news.

KO finally did get to the Iraqi elections. He didn't discuss the vindication of Bush or the neocons. He surely would have discussed "failure", had the turnout was low, or if Iraq had been overwhelmed by terrorist attacks, etc. But the election was still the pivotal news story---at least until bush's speech this week. So what could Keith muster up about it? He quoted Iraq's President saying that it would be "complete nonsense" to ask foreign troops to leave the country now, adding that leaving Iraq is a bit too late now for dead American troops. Subtle as a train wreck.

Finally, KO hammered the SpongeBob hoopla again. Either he has a tin ear, or else his ratings people told him he could write off the red states. KO reiterated the same themes that originally enraged conservative Christians. He again misrepresented James Dobson's complaint---alleging that Dobson sought to denigrate gays and homosexuality, rather than objecting to the use of popular cartoon characters to covertly instill in THEIR children ideas they deem antithetical to their own philosophical and religious beliefs.

KO said: "Dr. James Dobson [...] evoked SpongeBob's name while decrying the producers of a tolerance video for elementary school kids."

That is an inexcusably deceptive slant that KO knows is untrue. It's like saying someone is a Nazi because he praised Roosevelt in the same paragraph in which he condemned Hitler.

And then KO has the nerve to complain about the complaint emails, which he ridicules---though there's no indication he ever verified that they actually came from Dobson's followers (the source might have been from pranksters for all anyone knows.)

The Rev. Katherine Hawker from Missouri was sent in to support Keith. In the guise of an interview, the now well-rehearsed code-word "intolerance" was invoked without explanation or context. Hence the juxtaposing "intolerance" with "inclusion". Guess who supports which? And the repeated catch-phrase "wonder of diversity" by Hawkins. And KO quoting John H. Thomas, who refers to Dobson as promoting "intolerance over inclusion."

Use of the adjective, "intolerance" as a noun is becoming the word-play of choice for the left side of this debate. It sounds a lot better to plea for "tolerance"; to claim that this debate is between "tolerance" and "intolerance". By contrast, the more descriptive "intolerance to gay people" or more accurately, "intolerance to instilling pro-gay lifestyles on their children", would garner for liberals decidedly less sympathy and support.

When it comes solely to their own young children, Christian conservatives do not want homosexuality to be validated as a practice or lifestyle. Liberals generally do. I don't endorse the Christian view of homosexuality. But the only issue in the controversy is whether or not liberals should be able to instill their beliefs in the children of conservative Christians? I've yet to find a liberal who favors that. Albeit on Olbermann's show, one doesn't hear the question presented fairly in that manner.