"COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" (8:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. ET)

Host: Keith Olbermann

Topics/Guests:

• 2008 ELECTION: Dana Milbank, Washington Post; Chuck Todd, NBC News political director
• HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY: Kal Penn, actor

This is a signal day on OlbyPlanet. There's the opening spiel, of course: Clinton claims she is electable! Both Dems will beat McCain! Poll numbers! A Countdown Special Anti-Hillary Report! Nightly McCain attack! Comedian! [Ding!] The latest Harold and Kumar instant film classic! But tonight the Olbypocrisy meter goes into the danger zone. You won't believe it as Fat Ass makes Rush Limbaugh "worst person"--and it turns out Oralmann did the same thing Rush did! On the air. On Countdown! The irony is exquisite, and Krazy Keith is Ridin' Dirty!

#5: Ooh, Clinton said "your future" depends on voting for her, which Oralmann somehow decided was grossly unacceptable "hyperbole". Because Bathtub Boy never indulges in hyperbole. Now that Obama poll numbers have rebounded a bit, tonight we got another rundown of poll numbers. Keithy made a lame Geico joke and while The Laughing Stagehand didn't react, Olby himself found it so funny he laughed at it himself. Some talk about a silly report (Blue Blog Source: HuffPo) about a Clinton "nuclear option". Bear was ignorant as to why it couldn't work but why confuse the audience, or himself, with facts. Monkeymann pimped out Dana Milbank who echoed the spin o' the night and was Thanksed.

Is it time to count the delegates again? Yes it is! Obama still has more delegates. And in other news, the Pope is still a Catholic. Hot Toddy opined that tomorrow is the last day for voters to award big delegate wins, and he was Greatest Thanksed.

After a comedian [Ding!] came #4: a full segment attack on the Hillary campaign for its "metrics" of winning. Another supposed-to-be-funny piece of ridicule over the kind of spinning that every campaign does, but only Hillary (and McCain) get zinged for it on OlbyPlanet.

After calling Richard Perle two-faced, a leaf-blower, plus another comedian [Ding!] , came #3. This is usually the Designated McCain Attack Segment, and "Man on Fan" Olbermann did not disappoint. He seems to believe that because McCain favors English as an official language (as do 85% of Americans) therefore he shouldn't have a Spanish language website. Because there's something wrong with people who can speak two languages? Don't try to make sense out of it. It's OlbyLogic. Besides, that's a "controversial" thing to be for. Oh, and McCain disagreed with John Kyl, and he used the term "jihadist", and... wait a second. Is Oralmann's nitpicking tonight even more incredibly lame than usual? Answer: yes. Olby pimped out Matt Taibi, another in the parade of leftists, as the latest version of Olbermann carbon paper. They sat around and bashed Bush (he had bad convictions), McCain (a cynic with no principles), and--yes--Hagee. [Ding!] Why is Hagee relevant when Wright is not? Don't try to make sense out of it. OlbyLogic again. Through it all, Taibi sported a creepy, disturbing sneer that would give Jack Nicholson the willies.

After yet another comedian [Ding!] (because jokes only get funnier when you tell them for the 189th time) came #2: a plug for #1. #1: a lenthy plug for Harold & Kumar, sure to be the next Citizen Kane.

In the Media Matters Minute, Fat Ass attacked not just Steve Doocy (Fixed Noise! [Ding!]) but also his son, whose crime was something involving talking to Villanova students (Blue Blog Source: Raw Story). This was a typical Oralmann smear: he didn't like one question Doocy Jr asked out of about a dozen, and of course none of the others were mentioned. The next smearee was Bill Kristol (Blue Blog Source: Hillary Clinton's Media Matters), while the "worst" was comedian [Ding!] Limbaugh (Blue Blog Source: Think Propaganda). Comedian! [Ding!] Comedian! [Ding!] He said he didn't recognize the mayor of LA and thought he might have been a shoe shine boy or a secret service agent, and that was "another" Limbaugh "insult" of a "minority". Comedian! [Ding!]

Stop the tivo! Is this from the same Keith Olbermann who cracked about Bill Richardson "passing the guacamole"? Or even worse, who repeatedly called Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General of the USA, a "houseboy"? Hey Olby, might "houseboy" possibly be an insult to a minority? Gonzales is Hispanic, right Keith? Attention Fat Ass: if you can parrot your blue blog masters to smear Rush while yourself demean Hispanics with derogatory insults like "houseboy", aren't you in fact nothing but a sleazy sanctimonious hypocrite? Riddle me that, Bathman!

Dogs That Did Not Bark: Of course, since this is The Hour of Spin, you know there are mutts whose voices were muted. And the key criterion for silencing the spaniels is simple: something unfavorable to Keith's Krush: Barack Obama. Now we know that A-Mess-NBC has received its marching orders from the Obama campaign to stop talking about Jeremiah Wright, and they have eagerly agreed to the demand. Today there was another Obama embarrassment: it came in the form a report from the Wall Street Journal that finds the Illinois Senator looking to cut a deal with the Teamsters--a deal that would call off the dogs of the federal prosecutors. You know, the sort of "politicization" of the Justice Department that Oralmann has railed about for seven years, with the help of The Perfessor and occasionally The Disbarred Lawyer. But all of a sudden, this kind of ideology-based law enforcement is of no interest whatsoever to the great Edward R Olbermann. That's because he's a slovenly political hack.

And that's The Hour of Spin for this, the 728th day since the declaration that "Karl Rove will in fact be indicted".

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"COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN" (8:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. ET)

Host: Keith Olbermann

Topics/Guests:

• 2008 ELECTION: Richard Wolffe, Newsweek senior White House correspondent and MSNBC political analyst; Eugene Robinson, Washington Post associate editor and columnist and MSNBC political analyst
• RUSH LIMBAUGH CALLS FOR RIOTS: Rachel Maddow, Err America Radio host and MSNBC political analyst

It's Friday and it's the last Rachel Maddow Show Countdown of the Week. The opening spiel: Clinton's trying to sabotage Obama! An unrepairable breach! McCain is old attack! Comedian! [Ding!] Can Rush be prosecuted? (Whaaat?! Has Oralmann completely lost it? Prosecute a comedian?) It's casual Friday at Olbermannn Watch, and not only do we get all this, we also get a wonderful bonus. Keith Olbermoronn served up one of his trademark commentaries, the kind that have made him the rage of all the blue blogs. Yes, tonight Keith delievered another of his Special Apologies.

#5: Clinton's secret plan: sink Obama so even if he gets the nomination, Hillary can run in 2012. James Clyburn (D) blue dress interview (you must visit The List) who says he may not believe it but it's what he's "hearing". Is there any reason to believe this conspiracy theory is true? Remember, this is OlbyPlanet. Evidence? Schmevidence! These are "traitorous acts"! For these wacky speculations Clyburn was Great Thansked!

For more spreading of Clyburn's rumor-mongering, Olby pimped out Robinson. Yeah, two Obamamaniacs engaging in the sort of mutual onanism that passes as "analysis" on a program where no dissent is allowed.

And then we got another Olbermann Special Apology. Was this for Rachel Maddow's lie about Fox News last night? Oh no, it was something far more important. You see, Bear bruised the feelings of one of his Blue Blog Sources: HuffPo. So he let the lie stand but asked HuffPo to forgive him. Fat Ass is really a man of courage, isn't he?

#4: More Dem politics, but what happened to Krazy Keith's nightly recap of the current poll numbers? Why wouldn't he want to mention this? (Somewhere, a dog is not barking.) Richard Wolffe simpered and was Great Thanksed.

After a pair of comedians [Ding!] [Ding!] came #3: Yes, the nightly attack-McCain slot. He's having "memory loss". He didn't travel to Katrina. It was more mutual onanism as Fat Ass brought in a hack from Hillary Clinton's Media Matters! Eliminate the middle man. Send Brock's spin straight into the camera! No need for a detour through Oralmann's teleprompter! It saves energy. Must be part of MSNBC's "green week".

#2: Plug for #1: #1: Attack on Limbaugh based on the dubious claim that he's "calling for riots" in Denver (Blue Blog Source: Crooks & Liars). Maddow was the ideal guest for this, given that it's been, what, all of 24 hours since she she last lied about something on The Hour of Spin. You will forgive us if we just couldn't take looking at her two-faced mug as she railed against Limbaugh, but like "Man on Fan" Olbermann having never said one word about the vile rancor of her pal Randi Rhoades. There was a bonus attack in the Media Matters Minute, Herr Olbermann attacked Bill Hemmer of Fox "Noise" [Ding!] (Blue Blog Source: Think Progress).

If it's Friday, it's our weekly assessment of Krazy Keith's masculinity. During this four-day week, Monkeymann attacked Fox and other broadcasters 24 times. Olby's source (Hillary Clinton's Media Matters) criticized (MS)NBC 16 times, but Keithy protected his corporate masters with zero criticisms. That makes this week's Olbermann Manhood Quotient: -80 [sissy limp].

And that's The Hour of Spin for this, the 718th day since the declaration that "Karl Rove will in fact be indicted".

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Posted by johnny dollar at 6:30 PM | Comments (48) | View blog reactions

Hat-tip to Richard Adams.

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Posted by johnny dollar at 3:58 PM | Comments (77) | View blog reactions

Keith Olbermann is now a Daily Kos blogger. I guess Huffington Post wouldn't have him. But one wonders why he wasn't allowed to publish this little love letter to his liberal fans on his own MSNBC website?

Read it and laugh as I did fellow Olbywatchers as you observe the delicious and deep irony of it all.

Yeah, it's me. Hi. Sure has taken me long enough. But, as you may know, I am the shy, retiring type: Hesitant to state an opinion in public and horrified to pass judgment or seem a scold. And, yes, if I'm going to step out from the cool, comforting environs of the shadows, I'd rather spring forward to pimp the book or the newscast.

Of course he had to work in a show/book plug there didn't he?

But, having now read a (mercifully few) claims here that I'm a) attacking Clinton, b) burying Edwards, and c) clobbering Obama, I feel the need to mention that I truly don't have a preference. I am tilting in no direction, sending out no subliminal message, and thwarting no truth.

Sorry but you party with the Clintons and personally thank the Clinton family including a personal shout-out to Hill's mom in your new book and you really expect people to believe you don't have a favorite? Yeah, uhm, sure. The loons are dumb but they aren't entirely stupid.

To report the NBC New Hampshire projection after the polls close there, is not to try to marginalize John Edwards. To run the entire Bill Clinton "fairy tale" sound bite complete with its Iraq vote context, is not to try to thwart Barack Obama. And to report that Dennis Kucinich has put a down payment on a New Hampshire recount is not to claim Hillary Clinton stole a primary. I appreciate the fervor of each candidate's supporters and I think I have some empathy based on my standing in the Frustrated-By-The-Obviousness-Of-Politics League. But can anybody reading messages into tea leaves in my newscast, when there isn't even a teacup, please resume regular breathing patterns? To see in each of my reports an enemy or a spokesman sounds microscopically like---and I swallow hard and prepare for the prospect of some Kossacks to approach what passes for my castle with torches and pitchforks as I write this: Bill O'Reilly.

Yep, obligatory O'Reilly reference. But you see Keith, O'Reilly is smart enough to label himself as a commentator and his spiel as Opinions. You've chosen instead to term your little program as a "News" show and yourself as a news anchor. But now the very natives you once courted so, and still are attempting to suck up to, are beginning to turn on you. Tough breaks kid, see this is what happens when you decide to be the "liberal mouthpiece" you are. You can't please everyone during election time. And if you think that this is bad now, can you imagine what it would be like if a Democratic candidate is elected and you have to report something negative about them? Oh right. You can. You after all, famously quit your last job at MSNBC because you didn't want to report details of the Monica mess.

Update [J$]: Just so everyone is clear what the "not politically biased journalist" has signed up to do, here is the purpose of the DailyKos website, straight from their FAQ:

This is a Democratic blog, a partisan blog. One that recognizes that Democrats run from left to right on the ideological spectrum, and yet we're all still in this fight together. We happily embrace centrists like NDN's Simon Rosenberg and Howard Dean, conservatives like Martin Frost and Brad Carson, and liberals like John Kerry and Barack Obama. Liberal? Yeah, we're around here and we're proud. But it's not a liberal blog. It's a Democratic blog with one goal in mind: electoral victory. And since we haven't gotten any of that from the current crew, we're one more thing: a reform blog. The battle for the party is not an ideological battle. It's one between establishment and anti-establishment factions. And as I've said a million times, the status quo is untenable.

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Posted by BCoates at 4:59 PM | Comments (76) | View blog reactions

Hmmm. While MediaBistro outlet TVNewser can't stop showing the love for Olbermann, their corporate cousin, FishBowl NY isn't on the MSM KO Bandwagon. It seems that they have detected, how shall we say, a certain pattern with Mr. Olbermann and Countdown in regards to women.

There's some furor building over a graphic [above] shown on Tuesday's Countdown With Keith Olbermann — guest-hosted by Alison Stewart — which referred to embattled Louisiana Senator David Vitter's wife as a "ho" for her choice of leopard-print at her husband's press conference acknowledging his involvement in the DC Madam scandal.

They even link to a Daily Kos diary in which a writer calls Countdown's latest stunt a lowpoint in that show's history.
While there are the usual KO apologists and the "So what it's a Republican woman" posters, there are a few who were also unhappy with the characterization of Mrs. Vitter as a "ho":

Her husband chose this. I can not stomach what is being said about her.

And

I think it was extremely wrong to call attention to her-in light that she was the one cheated on with a hooker, by an unapologetic cheating husband standing right beside her.That was just catty of Countdown to do to Wendy Vitter.

But enough of the DailyKos crowd, back to FishBowl NY:

Considering its "Nappy 'Hos" history, MSNBC should've learned a lesson or two about off-handed, misogynistic remarks. Still, no one should be surprised — Olbermann and Countdown have done this kind of thing before. One example, as we reported way back in October, involved a pre-penitentiary Paris Hilton. At that time, it wasn't the "A Slut and Battery" that drew our attention — it was what he said:Paris Hilton claims she was punched in the face yesterday morning at a nightclub in Hollywood [pause] 'Course she's had worse things happen to her face ...And yes, that is what he meant.

Wow, someone detecting a pattern about Olbermann's double-standard towards women? Imagine that.

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Posted by BCoates at 9:39 AM | Comments (140) | View blog reactions