Olbermann Articulates National Anger At BP In Special Comment To Obama

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by Frances Martel | 2:19 pm, May 29th, 2010

» 17 comments

Keith Olbermann‘s Special Comments are as hit-or-miss as it gets in cable news. Some of them manage to get at the heart of controversial matters that affect millions in a touching way. Others make you wonder whether Ben Affleck snuck on the set and reprised his SNL impression of Olbermann without anyone noticing. Last night’s comment on the BP oil spill– a topic on which Olbermann could have easily slipped into over-the-top rhetoric– manages to eloquently express the frustration Americans feel without turning the disaster into more meaningless cable news fodder.

Olbermann addressed the President personally, asking not so much for more action against BP to get them to speed up the cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico, but for the President to give the American people more confidence that he understands the magnitude of the damage, is personally repulsed by it, and will do everything in his power to make it stop:

“We aren’t expecting you to solve it personally, sir. We don’t expect you to jump into a wetsuit and dive in. We don’t want you to move to Roberts, Louisiana until further notice. We would, I think, like a little of our anger articulated, especially by the least angry man in American politics… Mr. President, we have had enough of multi-national corporations treating this irreplaceable earth like it is a kid’s home chemistry set and they are a bunch of not-very-conscientious fifth-graders. And we would like to know in our gut that you have had enough of this, too.”

Yes, Olbermann makes partisan points (for example, he wants all offshore drilling stopped until safety measures are evaluated and found to be adequate, something many on the right oppose), but as a partisan commentator, he has a right to, and there’s a difference between expressing a partisan opinion and hacking away at a serious topic in order to fuel an old grudge. Olbermann does not do the latter here, and expresses something many analysts on both sides as well as the general public seem to be attempting to express.

The clip from last night’s Countdown below:

barack obama, BP, Countdown, Gulf Oil Spill, keith olbermann, msnbc, Special Comment

BR

Did he ask Obama to resign or to shut the hell up?
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

Maybe Olberman’s degree from the Cornell Ag school will come in handy here.
JohnSimpson

but as a partisan commentator, he has a right to,”

Wow- such scintillating insight- “he has a right to.”

So does Bozo the Clown whom KO mimics more often than not.
sarainitaly

Who’s this *we* he keeps referring to? The little gerbil in his pants?

Way to get all outragey there, Olby! Way to let him have it! /snark
Perhaps he just plum used up all his rage on bush, hillary, and FOX. He just couldn’t sum up anymore faux outrage?

Here, in case you were missing the dramatic Olbermann:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNpoJ8W53D8
TROLLING4LIBS

Olbermoronn is quite possibly the biggest hypocrite, partisan truth-twister, and sexist pig , to have ever been seen in my lifetime, and for generations to come.
stoogedudes

There are times when Keith can be over the top, but there are times when he is a real pleasure to watch. I wouldn’t expect you conservatives to understand, since every word he says causes collective conservative constipation, but I applauded Mr. Olbermann for this last night and I agree that President Obama needs to show some anger at this and show that he is the boss, not the CEO of BP.
TROLLING4LIBS

Sorry Stooge but it has nothing to do with what he says, it’s what he leaves OUT, is what marks his show as a complete fraud. I actually do watch his show, and 90% of his commentary, is marked with twisted facts , half – truths without the other side or background story, in order to fit his narrative.
RichS

stoogedudes says:
May 29, 2010 at 4:35 pm
There are times when Keith can be over the top, but there are times when he is a real pleasure to watch. I wouldn’t expect you conservatives to understand, since every word he says causes collective conservative constipation, but I applauded Mr. Olbermann for this last night and I agree that President Obama needs to show some anger at this and show that he is the boss, not the CEO of BP.

Yeah, when ever I have been involved in trying to solve a problem I know I always hope people will get angry, NOT!

Oh, and before you ask I have watched Keith Olbermann about as much as I’ve watch Glenn Beck, which is probably less than 10 minutes combined. I’ve turned them on and then thought, not my cup of tea, and switched channels.

Anger? No, the President should be making sure that those working to solve the problem have every resource they need and he should not waste effort spinning. But there I go again, expecting politicians to put the country ahead of their personal ambitions.
JohnSimpson

KO often looks like he has the worst flatulence in the world.
Noelle360

Brilliant RichS… I too prefer that my President and political leaders behave like adults, not like a toddler having a tantrum. So the President thumps his chest and yells at BP, then what? BP owns the football, the field goal, the stadium, astro turf and the players… The Federal Government own the land… So the President yells at BP they take what they own away and what do we have left? The Federal Government doesn’t have the equipment to do what is needed. And after the President yell and tells BP to go to their room, again what’s next…who’s left to stop the leak? I actually believe BP is doing this much because the President has sent his brain trust down to Houston to help do some critical thinking. I believe BP knows all to well that until they do what will take months from now, the leak will continue. We shouldn’t be drilling that deep until there is certainty that we can. And we can’t go cold turkey off oil. So we need to be working on a plan B, until we get ourselves off our crack addiction to petroleum. I believe this is what the only adult in the room (President Obama) has been trying to get us to understand. Of course he’s proposing fundamental change and those who earn an enormous amount of money in the oil industry aren’t just going to let go of that kind of profit easily. As Frederick Douglas said… “power concedes nothing without a demand.” That demand to free ourselves from oil has to come from us, if we really care about the ecology as everyone claims they do… or maybe not, time (as limited as it is) will tell.
TROLLING4LIBS

Noelle ,

Your entitled to your opinion obviously a HUGE Obama supporter. The one thing I continue to notice on your posts is the Obama is a real ” Adult” .

Now I’ve been around for many presidential adminstrations , and I’ve NEVER seen such a childish adminstration, going after Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, on a personal basis. Well documented thin- skinned personality according to the press corps.

Those are just for starters , I could on and on , but I rather not.

Actions speak louder than teleprompters.
Powerslave

Mr. Olberman, by his own definition of the term, is now officially a racist.
jrcmi

“I actually do watch his show, and 90% of his commentary, is marked with twisted facts , half – truths without the other side or background story, in order to fit his narrative.”

“I’ve NEVER seen such a childish adminstration, going after Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, on a personal basis. Well documented thin- skinned personality according to the press corps.

Those are just for starters , I could on and on , but I rather not.”

Oh, DO go on and on . . with specific facts, not empty claims.

“Half-truths”? KO does a fair job of presenting issues in-context, considering time constraints. You may only hear the parts you don’t like.

“Childish”? Who says this, other than right-wing partisans?

If FakesNews, Limbaugh and others are spewing distortions and outright lies about him, he has every right – a duty, in fact – to call them out on it.

His “thin skin” is “well documented”? Where? By whom? WHICH (non-Fakes) members of the press corps say this?

Accusations are cheap. Pay up.
http://none pyrope

Apparently, Mr. 0verbite has his facts wrong again (OK, that’s nothing new), the polls say that 63% of Americans opine that Mr. -0bama is doing a bad job in managing the BP spill. Hell, even Code Punk is OK with the fact that BP has promised to ameliorate the release on their own money! (Code Punk also received a free fillup for their SUVs, but what’s a little bribery among friends, eh?)
jrcmi

Which polls? Citation?

Code Pink demonstrated at the home of the Billionaire Prostitutes’ U.S. chief executive and at their U.S. corporate HQ (Houston?) and in NYC. That doesn’t sound particularly “friendly.”
jrcmi

Obama’s popularity remains just below 50 percent. George Bush would’ve KILLED for a ranking that good.

He did, come to think of it.
alex020588

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