Keith Olbermann Names Rabbi Who Recorded Helen Thomas Rant Second-Worst Person Of The Day

Rabbi David Nesenoff is now famous for two things: recording the anti-Israeli rant that ended White House columnist Helen Thomas‘ career, and starring in a strange viral video where he made some ethnic jokes while giving the weather. It’s for the latter claim to fame that Nesenoff landed the silver in today’s Countdown “Worst Persons in the World” anti-contest, because while prompting Thomas’ retirement, Nesenoff didn’t “exactly have clean hands.”

The video, dug up by the website RaceWire and, after being taken down from YouTube, finding a home here on Mediaite, includes all sorts of not-very-funny ethnic stereotypes. Nesenoff’s most egregious one is that of what seems to be a Latin American, though he accent is terrible enough that only his use of the word “gringo” gives away what he’s getting at.

Keith Olbermann found a double standard in the fact that, while doing something offensive to an ethnicity left Thomas without a job, Rabbi Nesenoff is still a rabbi:

“If an opinion writer had to retire from opinion writing because she gave an opinion, shouldn’t a man of God have to retire from being a man of God when he starts insulting some of God’s children?”

There isn’t much defending the rabbi’s racist weather video because, as has been noted many times before, it’s not even funny, but Olbermann is being a bit generous to Thomas here by virtue of the level of his attack on Nesenoff. His repeated description of him as “the man who brought down Helen Thomas” seems to imply that it was his work that ended her career, as if Thomas’ comments were a product of his actions, and not her thoughts. It’s also a bit of a stretch to equate a private citizen donning a bad Mexican accent for a laugh or two with the woman who held the front-and-center seat at White House press briefings making extremely offensive comments for the purpose of sparking controversy.

Video from tonight’s “Worsts” below:

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.