I bet Jimmy Carter was asked to appear and refused, or maybe he'll be on tomorrow night.

Take the day's big news, grab the snarkiest angle, and play it. Even if it hangs in mid air, without balance or context.

Tomorrow:

Republicans loose fake alert to boost mid-election ratings.

Johnny you wrote.

To his credit, Keith did quote Andrew Young (another well known conservative white man), who did not approve of the comments. To his discredit, he didn't interview Young or any other critic. No point in going overboard.

Was this ANDREW YOUNG former mayor of Atlanta, and a black man?

That's the guy.

I think Olbermann is a fine newsman. He is more of a muckracker willing to hold the government and politicans accoountable. Sounds like the author considers THIS to be the hour of spin and nothing else. The other cable news programming (w/ exception to Lou Dobbs) is so far right wing and focuses on sensationalism that they fail in their duty of a healthy independent media in a democracy. Sure, Olbermann educates much about conservative (and the Bush administration) spin, corruption, and incompetence (katrina, 9/11), and cronyism. I praise it. At a time out precious civil liberties are being taken awaym, and incompetence and cronyism is tearing down our government. We need More Keith Olbermanns that focus on things voters must know. Not just another Republican talking pointster.

You'll never see anyone expressing support for the program, especially a Republican, get this kind of star treatment from Keith. In fact, you'll never see them on with Keith at all. Persons who dissent from The Great Olbermann need not apply.

That's because O'Reilly, Hannity, Hume, Matthews, Scarborough and Carlson all fawn over them. Somebody has to show the opposite viewpoint (despite the demands from this Administration that everyone fall in line like good little tin soldiers).

Oy!

Welcome Marcel (or shall we call you Olby operative #12). The horrific sentence "We need More Keith Olbermanns" is always a dead giveaway.

Just to join the chorus, it is a good thing people like Olby exist to counter the Mainstream Media's overwhelming double right winged ultraconservative bias at CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, The NY Times, the Boston Globe, WaPo, the LA Times, and the Village Voice, otherwise FoxNews and the New York Sun would destroy the country. We can't afford alternative sources of information to exist that threaten the laser-like beam of hand-picked information that binds all our minds together. After all, the internet has allowed diverse viewpoints, and this horrific site resulted! How gross.

Memorize the following Democrat talking points people:

1. Print is the sharpest and the strongest weapon of our party.

2. Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas.

Johnny,

I got the feeling that Olbermann was "had" a bit by Rep Heather Wilson. I'm wondering if she or her office didn't pretend to be far more critical of the NSA thing in order to be invited on. She seemed quite reasonable during the interview and shot down most of Olbermann's hyperbole.

I live in Atlanta and hadn't heard that our former mayor, Andrew Young, had criticised the potshots at Mrs. King's funeral. That's certainly not getting any media play, so it was unusually fair of Olbermann to mention it.

Good point, Cecelia.

Noticed especially her smiles after KO's leading questions. Not back-slapping I'm with you smiles or I accuse you of being goofy KO smiles. They looked like chuckling at your question smiles.

Another subject: Countdown's rating numbers on a regular basis compared with other news? Only TVnewser? Hmmmm. Countdown hit 169K on Tuesday, beating out Paula Zahn by 16K and Deal or No Deal (what the hang is that?). O'Reilly was already in the clubhouse eating everyone's lunch when the others finished in the ratings.

Speaking of disapproval, James O'Shea doesn't approve of Tucker Carlson's treatment of him, according to the TVnewsers. Maybe there ought to be a count of the mudballs thrown by either side and then rank the winners. Bet KO might top the list. Except he is so sly and witty at it. Journalism? Bah!

Speaking of Pavlov's dog, what do you think the odds are that tonight, if Olby mentions the foiled terror attack in LA at all, he will furrow his brow and question the timing of the release of this information? (He probably won't go so far as to suggest that the plot didn't exist. Right?)

Okay now we have Marcel checking in. Well at least he hasn't gotten looney like the other ones and for that I say welcome. But are you telling me Alan Commes is conservative? As for my friends (Jill,Trekie,Trixie,Dopey-wan,etc.) Check this one out.

www.aclu.org/pizza/index.html

And remember Karl Rove and I could care less what you have to say but we are laughing at you're choice of pizza toppings!!

Everybody else, LOOKOUT! this could send them over the edge!

HA HAHA -- Puck, that is too good!

Unfortunately, it ain't that easy to order in. I find myself repeating my address to the mentally handicapped delivery dudes ten or eleven times, and they usually get my order wrong! I wish that lady in the ACLU add worked at my pizza and chinese food take-out haunts -- it would save me alot of time.

I find it odd that the ACLU objects to people having access to personal info when the IRS knows more about me than my own family! Oh the horror of the pizza guy knowing everything about me, but the Federal Government exercising its right to rip me off to support the Nanny state, well, exceptions can be made! So they want to track every penny I make and spend, and they want to penalize or arrest me if I don't give them enough of my money to waste -- so what!

So what if Hillary Clinton and Newt Gingrich want to make all medical records electronically available NATIONALLY -- no slip and fall lawyers or busybodies will ever see that stuff! So what if prescription information is available at pharmacy chains nationwide for a mandated seven years! I want people to know what medicines I take! If you take viagra, HIV meds, anti-depressants, anti-herpes meds, antipsychotic meds (Jenna and Jill), that info is always handy across the nation thanks to Uncle Sam! But that is the GOOD Government -- the Nanny state! That's all OK. We must, however, safeguard international phone calls to avoid eavesdropping on al qaeda, and make sure that the pizza operatives don't find out where we live!

I just wrote a million dollar check to the ACLU!

JJ,

I'm smiling my "journalism, bah, indeed" smile...

But are you telling me Alan Commes is conservative?

No, but Colmes only got the gig because Sean Hannity had a say in the selection and he picked the most milquetoast liberal that auditioned. Hannity didn't want a James Carville or Paul Begala-type because he wouldn't be able to slap them down.

That's interesting, because you go to the far-left Fox hater websites, and you can read article after article about how Colmes gets the better of Hannity, night after night.

Kfk, thanks for clearing that up from yesterday.

Addressing what your were saying, this whole idea that conservatives have that the left are idealogues isn't true. When it comes to laws requiring young teens having an abortion notify their parents, the left says no. Why? What if girl comes from a bad home and is scared of what her parents might do. That was in California. The law had a provision that the child could petition to prevent having to notify her parents. The arguement? The courts don't work well. Idealistically, the law works. Here they argue that pratically it doesn't. I call it, " selective idealism". The ACLU definitely falls in this category.

Universal health care? Maybe in small countries like Sweden with a population of 9 million. The US? It would be a complete cluster ****.

Dave,

Selective is definitely the word of choice to describe liberals. Clinton Echelon spy program good, Bush program bad, for example.

As far as parental notification for abortion, emancipating minors to find a good doctor themselves, have an abortion, follow up with the doctor in the event of a complication, and understand the risks and benefits of the procedure is crazy. I wonder how many kids have abortions, develop complications and end up sick or dead because they are afraid to get help. Something tells me those stats are well hidden.

I am in favor of legalized abortion, but the system should not default to emancipation of irresponsible pregnant minors. Suppose they go to a crappy doctor because they do no research, or, as in the above scenario, they end up not recognizing or hide a life-threatening complication? In instances where the teenager is afraid of the parents, the state could then step in and act as an intermediary. No way should the system pander to irresponsible kids from good homes who are afraid of losing their car rights or curfew rights because they got pregnant, and try to avoid telling their parents about it. Teaching kids that they can get away with irresponsible behavior sets them up to do it again, and undermines the family structure. Say a kid gets pregnant three times and has three abortions and nobody but the Doctor knows? How crazy is that! I would be filled with rage if that were my kid risking her health by getting repeatedly pregnant and I was held out of the loop. Maybe there had been consequences from the first abortion, she wouldn't have needed the next two.

In my State, if minors get drunk in your house and get in a car accident you (the parent) end up getting arrested. If these kids aren't held responsible for drinking, how the Hell can they be responsible enough to be emancipated medical subjects?

Exactly. Here is the funny thing which the left doesn't understand.I don't like abortion, but I wouldn't ban it. Instead apply reasonable boudaries. The left has a lot of good ideas, there just taken to far.
I used to be slightly left of center. Then, over the past 5 years, the far left through the media redefined were the midde line was at. I haven't changed my idealogy, yet I look down and find myself right of center. Then, a Joseph Lieberman is called a "faux Democrat" by the left.
Perception is reality. They try to convince everybody that the far left is really just the left and hopefully people will start to believe it.
There is no reason why a moderate Democrat should have lost to Bush in 04'.If the Dems got behind a reasonable dem, the could have one.

Selective is definitely the word of choice to describe liberals. Clinton Echelon spy program good, Bush program bad, for example.

Echelon complied with FISA and all relveant procedural requirements (as I have said before). Bush's domestic sprying program did not. That's the difference.

Thank you for your valuable web site and please keep up the good work. I began watching Countdown about a year ago and thought that Olbermann was rather funny and bright at that time. The more I watch, the more my stomach churns. He is egotistical (and he has the nerve to call O'Reilly the "big head"), mean, and just plain clueless most of the time. Seemingly, he is never content unless he can take his shots at Fox and now increasingly, at CNN and even Anderson Cooper. He must be the most insecure person on TV. I watch this program because like others have said, "it's like watching a "train wreck". Probably lots of other viewers watch for the same reason so what do you suppose his ratings would be if just those who enjoy the show watched? MSNBC isn't all bad and I think that Tucker Carlson has a good show with terrific opposing points of view and a well laid out format. Just how long will MSNBC continue to put up with this jerk?

I can't figure out why my name came up "Trekkie" on the above post. My name actually is Gloria and I would prefer that be used.

Gloria,

I think it must have been some sort of malfunction with the transporter.

Trekkie was beaming down to Olbermann Watch at precisely the same time you were posting and for a nanosecond your atoms mingled.

Better count your brain cells. Because of the physics behind vacuums, it's likely that Trekkie will have benefitted from this mishaps.