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Countdown With Keith Olbermann

post #1 of 40
9/29/09 at 11:14pm
Thread Starter 
Keith's father is in the hospital and is very sick. Keith has been off for a while now, and it had been Laurence O'Donnell filling in. I love him because he was a writer on the West Wing and also is very good on TV. Deeply charismatic, his impressive command of facts and "take no bullshit" attitude makes him one of my favorite talking heads. He has no mercy and is unafraid to expose Pat Buchanan , a man who is something of a sacred cow at MSNBC, as a bitter old racist on live television and he does it with glee in his eyes. That's my kind of liberal


David Shuster on the other hand is awkward, sweaty and has a grating nasally voice. He's filling in tonight. Does anyone else dislike Mr Shuster as much as I do?

He sounds like an up-tight Kermit the Frog, it's incredibly irratating. His 4pm newscast with Tameron hall is the very definition of "sketchy" and Tameron almost appears to be creeped out by being in his presence. They have zero chemistry and Shuster seems to struggle to display basic human emotions
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post #2 of 40
9/29/09 at 11:18pm
Lawrence O'Donnell is a hot box of crazy.
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post #3 of 40
9/29/09 at 11:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RathBandu View Post
Lawrence O'Donnell is a hot box of crazy.
I updated and amended my initial posting on this thread to more fully explain and reflect upon just what it is about Lawrence O’Donnell I find so compelling. When I see him lay a devastating rhetorical smackdown on some talking-point-robot, it’s like I’m hearing President Bartlet take down Laura Jacobs the ‘Dr Laura’ stand in from the West Wing.
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post #4 of 40
11/5/10 at 2:59pm
Thread Starter 
Holy smoke!
Quote:
MSNBC president Phil Griffin released the following statement Friday following the news that Keith Olbermann had donated to three Democratic candidates this election cycle:

I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay."

This is BS, IMHO. I can't help but look at the timing and wonder if this is motivated by things other than the donations (The whole dust up with Stewart he had, the election loss ETC)

If "indefinitely" doesn't turn into "definitely off suspension within two weeks" I'm totally finished with MSNBC. I'll catch Mr O'Donnell and Ms Maddow through iTunes. Mr Matthews? I've not seen his show in like two years anyway
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post #5 of 40
11/5/10 at 3:13pm
Why, yes, Congressman Grayson. That hosting slot you've been auditioning for for the past 2 years? We do, in fact, have an opening.
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post #6 of 40
11/5/10 at 3:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jvc View Post
Why, yes, Congressman Grayson. That hosting slot you've been auditioning for for the past 2 years? We do, in fact, have an opening.
I hope that Cenk Uygur (one of my favorites, and someone who was just signed by MSNBC for commentating after he was beaten out by Ed Shultz for the 6 PM slot) guest hosts till this all is straightened out
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post #7 of 40
11/5/10 at 3:26pm
I can't speak for the fairness of the suspension, but good riddance to that pompous, pipe-smoking, cartoonish Edward R Murrow wannabe. He was as shrill and fanatical as anyone on Fox.
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post #8 of 40
11/5/10 at 3:28pm
Ugh, I can't stand Cenk Uygur.

From what's I've read, Phil Griffin is kind of an idiot and not much of a progressive so I wouldn't expect him to replace Olbermann with another outspoken liberal but who knows? I really hope Olbermann isn't gone for good. It makes ZERO sense to fire him. He's the biggest thing the network's got.
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post #9 of 40
11/5/10 at 3:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by gillis View Post
I can't speak for the fairness of the suspension, but good riddance to that pompous, pipe-smoking, cartoonish Edward R Murrow wannabe. He was as shrill and fanatical as anyone on Fox.
I can only say that I disagree, some of his special comments have been as clever, well written and important as anything said on television in the past 10 years. He's a smart, well meaning man and hilariously/awesomely he's spent more than an hour reading Hemmingway on air this past year, if I'm not mistaken. His show started off as pretty much a non political headlines rundown show. A 'count down'. Olbermann himself felt that his show needed to be more than that, and out of the frustration of the Bush years slowly it became one of the only places on the TV to hear the media do it's job and speak truth to power. His first special comment was in reaction to the secretary of defense comparing people who were against Iraq to nazi enablers. That's important TV, IMHO

His health care free clinics which he has donated vast amounts of money to organize and promoted on air with his show have brought health care to thousands of people let down by this country

He's a patriot, and a damn fine broadcaster. Heck, he was Sorkin's inspiration for the Peter Kraus character on SPORTS NIGHT

MSNBC's embrace of the left is only recent (for a long time, they were uncomfortable with Olbermann and his program), and I worry in the wake of the election they are now trying to "make nice" and conveniently do away with Olbermann (who has been under a slow attack by the media for the past two years ever since his battles with Chris Matthews in the 2008 election cycle) under the flimsiest of pretenses
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post #10 of 40
11/5/10 at 3:43pm
Hey, if MSNBC has a rule against making campaign contributions and Olbermann broke that rule, they have every right to take whatever action they feel is appropriate.

I think they'd be fine moving Maddow up an hour. She's been just as sharp as Olbermann without the baggage and over-the-top nature.
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post #11 of 40
11/5/10 at 3:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gillis View Post
I can't speak for the fairness of the suspension, but good riddance to that pompous, pipe-smoking, cartoonish Edward R Murrow wannabe. He was as shrill and fanatical as anyone on Fox.
Yeah! Fuck him! How DARE he get upset when the Bush Admin was violating the law regarding torture! He was over the top!
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post #12 of 40
11/5/10 at 4:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Princess Kate View Post
He's a patriot, and a damn fine broadcaster. Heck, he was Sorkin's inspiration for the Peter Kraus character on SPORTS NIGHT

MSNBC's embrace of the left is only recent (for a long time, they were uncomfortable with Olbermann and his program), and I worry in the wake of the election they are now trying to "make nice" and conveniently do away with Olbermann (who has been under a slow attack by the media for the past two years ever since his battles with Chris Matthews in the 2008 election cycle) under the flimsiest of pretenses
I know he's smart, well-written and researched. MSNBC doesn't traffic in lies and distortions the way Fox does, but they are every bit as fanatical. Partisanship, egged on by Fox News, is destroying politics and journalism in this country, and calling people fascists or psychos or fat slobs or racist reactionary ex-nude-model Teabaggers isn't righting the wrong, it's adding to the problem. I don't care how well-researched they are, Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz and the rest are just as smug, pompous and apoplectic (respectively) as anyone on Fox. It's not a false equivalency. People who listen only to Markos Moulitsas or Arianna Huffington are just as much the problem as mindless Glenn Beck fans.

Keith Olbermann does funny voices. He's a cartoon who thinks he's Edward R Murrow, a sorry substitute for that man. And we don't need 'patriots' in journalism, we need people like Anderson Cooper to ask questions, research and Deliver The Fucking News in a respectful and objective manner.
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post #13 of 40
11/5/10 at 4:16pm
I just made a post about this in the political section. Hope I didn't make a boo-boo.

I like some of his special comments, but he is a blowhard most of the time.
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post #14 of 40
11/5/10 at 4:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gillis View Post
I can't speak for the fairness of the suspension, but good riddance to that pompous, pipe-smoking, cartoonish Edward R Murrow wannabe. He was as shrill and fanatical as anyone on Fox.
Mandela, Solzhenitsyn, Havel, and now Olbermann. Political prisoners, all. Persecuted, prosecuted, and pummeled for taking a principled stand against torture, tyranny, and totalitarianism wherever it rears its ugly head. NBC Ethics Rules? We've had such callous, cold, contemptible "Rules" in this country before. Last century we called these rules "Jim Crow." The century before that, "Slavery". In South Africa: Apartheid. In Nazi Germany:The Final Solution. Whatever you call it, monstrous, malicious and malignant policies such as NBC's so-called Ethic Rules ruin lives, livelihoods, and the liberty upon which I thought this once great country was founded. Where is the justice for Mr. Olbermann? He has no justice. Only persecution and prosecution. No more! No more, I say! And to you, gillis, I say, "Have you no decency, sir?" Your fickle,feckless focus on so-called fanaticism on the part of Mr. Olbermann speaks volumes about your awful, arrogant, and asinine absence of appreciation of alliteration. Like Havel and Mandela, Mr. Olbermann shall overcome and rise like a phoenix out of the ashes of authoritarianism and apartheid to claim the presidency of this nation. And when he does, he will make this nation great once again. Good night and good luck.
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post #15 of 40
11/5/10 at 4:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jvc View Post
Mandela, Solzhenitsyn, Havel, and now Olbermann. Political prisoners, all. Persecuted, prosecuted, and pummeled for taking a principled stand against torture, tyranny, and totalitarianism wherever it rears its ugly head. NBC Ethics Rules? We've had such callous, cold, contemptible "Rules" in this country before. Last century we called these rules "Jim Crow." The century before that, "Slavery". In South Africa: Apartheid. In Nazi Germany:The Final Solution. Whatever you call it, monstrous, malicious and malignant policies such as NBC's so-called Ethic Rules ruin lives, livelihoods, and the liberty upon which I thought this once great country was founded. Where is the justice for Mr. Olbermann? He has no justice. Only persecution and prosecution. No more! No more, I say! And to you, gillis, I say, "Have you no decency, sir?" Your fickle,feckless focus on so-called fanaticism on the part of Mr. Olbermann speaks volumes about your awful, arrogant, and asinine absence of appreciation of alliteration. Like Havel and Mandela, Mr. Olbermann shall overcome and rise like a phoenix out of the ashes of authoritarianism and apartheid to claim the presidency of this nation. And when he does, he will make this nation great once again. Good night and good luck.
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post #16 of 40
11/5/10 at 4:45pm
...

Murrow was appropriate for his time, but he wasn't up against Fox News. If he came back and filled in for Olbermann tomorrow it still wouldn't help the current climate.
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post #17 of 40
11/5/10 at 6:00pm
That's what he gets for saying "Good night and good luck."

Murrow's grave gets more views daily than your program, fuckface.

EDIT: Spitzer4lyfe
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post #18 of 40
11/5/10 at 6:02pm
Thorougly unsurprising. And yes, Stewart's made donations, too -- to his old college buddy.

I could kiss JVC on the mouth right now. Right on the mouth.
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post #19 of 40
11/5/10 at 11:30pm
Keep fiddling, Neros...
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post #20 of 40
11/10/10 at 1:17am
Thread Starter 
Well I just saw the first 10 minutes of his first show back, and not only was the cold open rather amusing, it was pure class. I know someone who worked with Mr Olbermann at the 2008 DNC and found him to be rude, but his behavior on air before and since 'the incident' has been defined by the utmost professionalism. I remain a fan and I am glad to see him come out on top... though this whole sorry episode seems like a bit of a canary in the coalmine for this Griffin/Comcast craziness at the network. Remember Donahue, who was ditched in the midst of 'country first' fervor despite being one of the top rated programs on the channel


As to his first story tonight... I learned about the meaning of 'jihad' in 9th grade after 9/11, about how it could be argued it refers to an internal spiritual conflict and not necessarily a holy war. Regardless of the truth of the content of the Koran, who in their right mind thinks the President shouldn't be out there talking up the first definition? Especially in a place like India that is defined by it's relationship to it's muslim population and neighbors?

It's clear that Hannity and the rest are talking to a nation with an 8th grade education, and that is indescribably frightening. So many 'truths' that I would hope are self evident still require more general knowledge than can be found in middleschool
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post #21 of 40
11/10/10 at 3:55pm
His Obama Muslim President Conspiracy thing seemed like a very bad attempt to do a "Daily Show" bit.
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post #22 of 40
1/21/11 at 6:47pm

Ohz Noz, cancelled!

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/01/keith-olbermann-abruptly-departs-msnbc-.html

 

Bwah hahahahaahahaha.  

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post #23 of 40
1/21/11 at 7:17pm

Good riddance to that obnoxious catch-phrase(which once actually meant something) stealing loud-mouth.

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post #24 of 40
1/21/11 at 7:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cameron Hughes View Post

Good riddance to that obnoxious catch-phrase(which once actually meant something) loud-mouth.



 Ditto.  The guy thinks way too much of himsef.  Should stayed at ESPN.

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post #25 of 40
1/21/11 at 7:37pm

I respectfully disagree, especially when the voices on the right are so loud and REAAAAAAALLY obnoxious. I appreciate Maddow's approach more than Olbermann's but it'll suck if his voice is silenced.

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post #26 of 40
1/21/11 at 8:45pm

Ha! Goodnight and good luck, asshole.

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post #27 of 40
1/21/11 at 8:50pm

ABC should pick him up.

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post #28 of 40
1/21/11 at 8:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gillis View Post

Ha! Goodnight and good luck, asshole.


Yeah, what a monster.

 

Sheesh.
 

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post #29 of 40
1/21/11 at 9:13pm

Didn't know there were so many haters.   I'll miss the guy.   Sure he's pompous and a blowhard sometimes but he can churn out some righteous outrage sometimes that can be cathartic.

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post #30 of 40
1/21/11 at 9:45pm

Can't really hate a guy who went on The Soup and did a bit with Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes.

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post #31 of 40
1/21/11 at 10:30pm

Olbermann had good guests on, but I was tired of his shtick. Maddow's had the better show for a while now. The good news: Lawrence O'Donnell is moving into his time slot! The bad news: Ed Shultz still sucks.

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post #32 of 40
1/21/11 at 10:57pm

Somewhere, Bill O is cackling like mad.

 

P.S. He was fired.

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post #33 of 40
1/22/11 at 12:40am

Yeah, he was fired by Comcast. I have no particular affinity for Olbermann, but Jesus, Comcast can choke to death on a chicken bone. Fuck those guys.

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post #34 of 40
1/22/11 at 1:48am

I liked Olbermann for a while, if only because there NEEDED to be some form of counter-programming to that asshole O'Reilly and that fucking lunatic Beck.  While pretty much the entire so-called "liberal" media was giving Bush a pass on his blatant lies and crimes, it was nice to have somebody on a NEWS show (as opposed to the comedy stylings of the brilliant one-two punch of Stewart and Colbert) saying the things he did on the air.

 

That being said, once some of his big rants went viral and garnered some eyeballs for MSNBC, he really started scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to have his "special words" on. He became a parody of himself. Even when he was saying things I totally agreed with, his mock outrage made it very hard to take him seriously.  He simply became the O'Reilly of the left.  Fuck that shit.. it makes it impossible to have any real conversation about the state of the U.S., just screaming matches and name calling.

 

Thank the Flying Spagetti Monster that Maddow came along and brought some real class and wit to the table.  I'll take one Maddow over 50 Olbermann's any day of the week.  As long as MSNBC keeps her on the air, I'll be a happy camper.   But who knows with this merger going down... 

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post #35 of 40
1/22/11 at 7:35am

No way this came as a surprise to Olbermann.  Comcast has not been coy about its intention to revamp their newly acquired networks management and talent. It may have been sudden, but it wasn't a surprise.   

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post #36 of 40
1/22/11 at 8:17am
Thread Starter 

Deeply saddened by this news. I know Keith has had a rough past couple of years (With his father ETC), and I don't doubt his official explanation that sheer exhaustion could have played a role. With that said, I'd like to echo the other Chewers and express my wishes that Comcast go eff itself

 

Anyway...

 

Really kind of shocked by the hate here. I think that the people who decried his SPECIAL COMMENTS simply never watched most of them. They were always insightful, and well written. What can I say? The man was pure class

 

hqdefault.png

 

I wish him the best of luck going forward, and hope that Ms Maddow and Mr O'Donnell can survive under the new regime

 

As a long time LO fan, it's cool to see that the network (if not their corporate overlords) are happy with his performance so far, and it's neat to see him get the 8PM  slot

 

Obviously, I just wish it didn't have to happen this way

 

THE LAST WORD is a great show though, and I hope he'll remain as vicious and snide as ever when sparring with the fascist homunculi that make up America's right wing. They may have gotten Keith, but Lawrence is no rube and should help pick up the slack in the wake of this most lamentable absence

 

Good night and good luck, Mr Olbermann

 

PS: Rachel Maddow stopped by to visit REAL TIME with Bill Maher (where she's been one of my favorite panelists of the past few years) last night, and she and Bill had a chance to react live to the news

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post #37 of 40
1/22/11 at 2:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anjin View Post

I liked Olbermann for a while, if only because there NEEDED to be some form of counter-programming to that asshole O'Reilly and that fucking lunatic Beck.  While pretty much the entire so-called "liberal" media was giving Bush a pass on his blatant lies and crimes, it was nice to have somebody on a NEWS show (as opposed to the comedy stylings of the brilliant one-two punch of Stewart and Colbert) saying the things he did on the air.

 

That being said, once some of his big rants went viral and garnered some eyeballs for MSNBC, he really started scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to have his "special words" on. He became a parody of himself. Even when he was saying things I totally agreed with, his mock outrage made it very hard to take him seriously.  He simply became the O'Reilly of the left.  Fuck that shit.. it makes it impossible to have any real conversation about the state of the U.S., just screaming matches and name calling.

 

Thank the Flying Spagetti Monster that Maddow came along and brought some real class and wit to the table.  I'll take one Maddow over 50 Olbermann's any day of the week.  As long as MSNBC keeps her on the air, I'll be a happy camper.   But who knows with this merger going down... 



I pretty much agree with this.

 

And here's the reason I  will always love Ben Affleck. His Olbermann skit on SNL:  

 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/42024/saturday-night-live-countdown-with-keith-olbermann

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post #38 of 40
1/22/11 at 4:30pm

Olbermann is a blowhard who takes himself too seriously, but he is one of the few mainstream media journalists who speaks truth to power, a trait he hinted at 15 years ago on Sportscenter.  He may have played a part in his own demise, but make no mistake: This sucks.  Can only hope he returns slightly wiser but no less dedicated, and showing his pretty sharp sense of humour.

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post #39 of 40
1/25/11 at 9:38am
Thread Starter 

The Honorable Mr Lawrence O'Donnell on Keith's legacy:

0615lodf.jpg

 

 

The Honorable Ms Rachel Maddow on Keith's legacy and role in shaping her career:

rachel-maddow.jpg

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post #40 of 40
1/26/11 at 9:27pm

Sorry to see Keith go. He's certainly not for everyone but for those of you that have serious angst against the guy it certainly better than a lunatic with a chalkboard finding hidden messages in Obama's speeches or on the walls of Rockefeller Center.

 

I hope Keith ends up back on Sunday Night Football. 

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