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In First Post-Countdown Special Comment, Keith Olbermann Mostly Makes Sense on Libya

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» 41 comments

Detoxing Countdown fans got a double-shot of web-only methadone Wednesday, as the former MSNBC host dropped a video edition of his “Worst Persons” segment and the first “Special Comment” of the post-Countdown era. The subject was President Obama’s Libya policy, and Olbermann, perhaps uncharacteristically, kept the hyperbole to a minimum, and delivered some of the most clear-eyed criticism I’ve seen since the unrest in Libya began.

As I’ve noted several times, criticism of President Obama’s Libya policy has been almost universally nonsensical and self-contradictory. By contrast, Olbermann’s special comment was (mostly) focused, eschewing both the wild-eyed calls for impeachment, and the insistence that the President should have either done it quicker or waited for Congress. Instead, he places the current action in proper context by assessing the undeclared war table that has been set by presidents dating back generations, and invokes the war powers equivalent of the “5 second rule.”

Whether you agree with him or not, his premise, that Obama follow some pretty well-established precedent by going to Congress for approval if this thing drags on very long, is a lot more reasonable than much of what I’ve been hearing, from either side. His roundup of the administration’s mixed signals on Libya is accurate, although it ignores the diplomatic subtexts involved. The President and his advisers have several key audiences to deliver messages to (including the disparate international entities Olbermann names, the American people, the Libyan rebels, and of course, Gaddafi), and threading that kind of needle is bound to sound confusing.

In the final analysis, though, the results will speak for themselves. If the US gets bogged down in Libya, and if Gaddafi keeps his skin yet again, all of the critics will look like geniuses.

Where Olbermann strays a bit is in trying to devise a one-size-fits-all formula for this kind of intervention, or in believing that this is possible, or desirable.

From a production standpoint, regular Countdown viewers will be disappointed in the web version’s one-camera structure, making Olbermann’s trademark look-down/head-turn impossible.

Here’s the clip, from FOK News Channel:


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  • Big Eddie

    This column would be a good ipecac substitute .

  • murf

    Anything other than calling the Obama a facist , war criminal ,impeachment, and to go to hell SIR ! , is the height of hypocrisy from Keith Olbermann .

    Isn’t that right ” hatchetman ” ?

  • Thelonious Funk

    Everything Glenn Beck said here was right on the money.

    Oh wait… Olbermann said it? It’s a bunch of garbage.

  • Dem4Ever

    NEWS FLASH:  Tommie’s lovefest over Olbermann continues unabated!

  • timzank

    How much ya wanna bet this thread dies out at about 20 comments, about as many viewers as Keith is now preaching to.

  • Robert Stephenson Hearts Mark Schultz

    I thought something was wrong when I noticed that Tommy wasn’t the author of the other piece about Olbermann. I was surprised, actually. Now, I see he was busy working on his while the other one was already posted.

    What? Only one camera? No gimmicks? LOL!

  • Liberal Tormentor

    Hey Tommy, why was my comment removed? Censor much!

  • Robert Stephenson Hearts Mark Schultz

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkYmS5ylCrk&feature=related

    For old times sake just to show what a hypocrite KO really is.

  • Jean-Luc

    “some of the most clear-eyed criticism”

    But he wears glasses.

    *wiiiink*

  • Robert Stephenson Hearts Mark Schultz

    Self-contradictory? Like Obamas own words w/regard to starting a war? That kind of self-contradictory?

  • Pablo

    Something tells me Keith is an Insider Extreme subscriber. That shot has such a “My dick is bigger than yours, Glenn.” vibe to it. I guarantee that Keef watched Beck’s first anniversary special. And that he had both hate and lust burning hard for Dana Loesch.

  • Elrod

    Hey Tommie- as long some of the jerks on this board make comments to you personally – how about getting Mediaite to clean up the comment sections the way TVNewser did recently. Block anyone who makes juvenile, stupid, derogatory ,idiotic, thoughtless, senseless partisan comments- you know- like those from Liberal Tormentor.

  • BFD

    Ignore him (Keith), or he wont go away.

  • Tommy Christopher

    Elrod said:
    Hey Tommie- as long some of the jerks on this board make comments to you personally – how about getting Mediaite to clean up the comment sections the way TVNewser did recently. Block anyone who makes juvenile, stupid, derogatory ,idiotic, thoughtless, senseless partisan comments- you know- like those from Liberal Tormentor.

    I have long argued for a more strict moderation policy, unsuccessfully. I understand the arguments in both directions, I favor openness, but the bile hurts everyone, especially decent commenters. It’s a shame, but the level of viciousness in some of our threads is a big reason I’m one of the few writers who bothers, and there are times when I need a loooong break from it.

  • lonestar77

    Tommy:

    As a fan of Olbermann, don’t you find this a bit sad? I mean, the guy is still trashing not just FNC commentators but FNC journalists. Yeah, yeah, we get it, they don’t have any journalists, they’re not a “news” network. It like telling the same “why did the chicken cross the road” joke every day. The guy is obsessed.

    Not that it matters but I’d vote for a stricter moderation policy.

  • Thelonious Funk

    If Mediaite censored comments, how could I relentlessly attack someone’s character, thus negating the content of their opinion?

  • tgk

    Pablo said:
    Something tells me Keith is an Insider Extreme subscriber. That shot has such a “My dick is bigger than yours, Glenn.” vibe to it. I guarantee that Keef watched Beck’s first anniversary special. And that he had both hate and lust burning hard for Dana Loesch.

    A while back, on the radio show, Pat said KO is in fact and insider extreme member

  • NeoKong

    Tommy Christopher said:
    Elrod said:
    Hey Tommie- as long some of the jerks on this board make comments to you personally – how about getting Mediaite to clean up the comment sections the way TVNewser did recently. Block anyone who makes juvenile, stupid, derogatory ,idiotic, thoughtless, senseless partisan comments- you know- like those from Liberal Tormentor.

    I have long argued for a more strict moderation policy, unsuccessfully. I understand the arguments in both directions, I favor openness, but the bile hurts everyone, especially decent commenters. It’s a shame, but the level of viciousness in some of our threads is a big reason I’m one of the few writers who bothers, and there are times when I need a loooong break from it.

    Uh hoh geez….stop whining. The comments are half the reason I come here. It is so nice to be able to call someone a blowhard when it is warranted.

  • tgk

    Elrod said:
    sections the way TVNewser did recently.

    Really? When did THAT happen? The TVNewser comment section was at the bottom of the barrel only last week.

  • tgk

    Tommy Christopher said:
    I have long argued for a more strict moderation policy, unsuccessfully. I understand the arguments in both directions, I favor openness, but the bile hurts everyone, especially decent commenters. It’s a shame, but the level of viciousness in some of our threads is a big reason I’m one of the few writers who bothers, and there are times when I need a loooong break from it.

    I don’t think I have seen any PERSONAL attacks on you Tommy, just comments about your article content and/or perceived bias by you. But I don’t read many of your articles anymore so I could be mistaken.

  • Jean-Luc

    Tommy Christopher said:
    I have long argued for a more strict moderation policy, unsuccessfully. I understand the arguments in both directions, I favor openness, but the bile hurts everyone, especially decent commenters. It’s a shame, but the level of viciousness in some of our threads is a big reason I’m one of the few writers who bothers, and there are times when I need a loooong break from it.

    I wonder at what point the whole “conservatives just want to censor everyone” myth will disappear.

    True conservatism allows people’s words to show them for who they are, and for people’s actions to have the logical consequences.

    Also, it’s kinda cool how you worked, “I have long argued for a more strict moderation policy” and “I favor openness” into the same sentence. So, kudos on that.

  • Brainstem

    Thelonious Funk said:
    If Mediaite censored comments, how could I relentlessly attack someone’s character, thus negating the content of their opinion?

    Racist!

  • Who is Salacious Crumb

    Keith seems thinner, tanner and sporting a shorter hairdo. His comments strike me as a generic sanitized version of what a lot of other people are saying. I would think with the video, he’d go for a more dramatic approach. “Crazy Larry” seems more Olbermann than Olbermann does, judging by this special comment. Perhaps Keith’s Executive Producer on Countdown was really responsible for the Keith of the past.

  • Who is Salacious Crumb

    Tommy Christopher said:
    I have long argued for a more strict moderation policy, unsuccessfully.

    This site would lose a ton of traffic given the tabloid nature of the content offered. You guys are page six in the Post or whatever its called.

    Tommy Christopher said:
    I understand the arguments in both directions, I favor openness, but the bile hurts everyone, especially decent commenters.

    Self-Contradictory on favoring openness right after favoring strict moderation, but you’re nuanced. I suppose. And your fellow employees cash checks off that bile. Altering your comment section for “decent commentators” would alter the “nuance” of the entire site.

    Tommy Christopher said:
    It’s a shame, but the level of viciousness in some of our threads is a big reason I’m one of the few writers who bothers, and there are times when I need a loooong break from it.

    You don’t have to read the comments in order to count them. You got two choices: write more neutrally or just cash the check. You are not an editorial writer at the Washington Post, so I suggest you cash the check.

  • Liberal Tormentor

    tgk says:

    I don’t think I have seen any PERSONAL attacks on you Tommy, just comments about your article content and/or perceived bias by you

    And that’s exactly what the comment was. Perhaps I hit a nerve.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bobby-Levit/1048771827 Bobby Levit

    I thought Keith Olbermann committed suicide??
    Well there is still time

  • chatmandu002

    Tommy, If Mediaite starts moderating the comments, you should lock up shop and go home as will I.

  • Steve_27

    Tommy Christopher said:
    I have long argued for a more strict moderation policy, unsuccessfully. I understand the arguments in both directions, I favor openness, but the bile hurts everyone, especially decent commenters. It’s a shame, but the level of viciousness in some of our threads is a big reason I’m one of the few writers who bothers, and there are times when I need a loooong break from it.

    I respect that you throw yourself out here with the regular posters, picture and all. But when you post so blatantly onesidedly, you have to expect some guff to come your way. Anything short of drastic personal attacks should be easily ignorable. It’s just a bunch of names on a screen, no one knows anyone so you shouldn’t take anything to heart.

  • CosmosDan

    This is the side of Olberman I can appreciate. Solid analysis, without the attacks and hyperbole.

  • cjd ohio 1

    2 stories on a web post, gordon get ready tommy is going to cover your show now

  • TfT

    How much is Keith or Current paying Tommy to write these articles to keep Olbermann in the “news” here?

    Certainly, neither one of the stories that are from FOK are worth reporting on, so Tommy must be on the take.

    I laughed at all the comments that got “disappeared” from some of Tommy’s articles….including one of mine (maybe even two, I’m not certain) but neither were attacks, just out right laughter at what is considered “newsworthy” these days.

    Fer shame mediaite, fer shame. Lots of FOK and no Stephen Lerner…interesting priorities, or something.

  • Resistance Is Futile

    Not many thinking people could truthfully state that Keith Olbermann does not make sense. That is not truthful. He was guilty often of pompous hyperbole. Now that is true. You want someone who does not make sense you need not look farther than Glen Beck.

  • X-3

    So Tommy, how much is -0verbite paying you to keep his name out there?

  • Tedderman

    I feel cheated, Keith didn’t throw his papers at the camera.

  • chicgoods36

    welcome:
    ( w w w)(chic-goods)(com)

  • RoughAcres

    Greetings.

    I believe everyone has it wrong. Including Keith.

    Interesting thread, except for the annoying (marketers) out to make a buck, which would be OK if we truly had Net Neutrality and a Level Playing Field and Free Enterprise. But right now, they’re just annoying.

    And @Bobby Levit: I hope you regret that being out there forever. I truly do.

  • Who is Salacious Crumb

    Who is Salacious Crumb said:
    This site would lose a ton of traffic given the tabloid nature of the content offered. You guys are page six in the Post or whatever its called.

    Self-Contradictory on favoring openness right after favoring strict moderation, but you’re nuanced. I suppose. And your fellow employees cash checks off that bile. Altering your comment section for “decent commentators” would alter the “nuance” of the entire site.

    You don’t have to read the comments in order to count them. You got two choices: write more neutrally or just cash the check. You are not an editorial writer at the Washington Post, so I suggest you cash the check.

    Tommy never addresses arguments he can’t semantically argue his way out of. I take his non response as another “victory.”

    Tommy should cede Mediaite’s chair in the WH Press Room to Helen Thomas and become a “full-time columnist” for this site. For all her detractors, at least Thomas felt what came from the White House always remained more important than what came from, say, Keith Olbermann’s mouth.

    Damn cable news liberals.

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