My letter to Keith Olbermann

[zulchzulu]

OK, it's a bit of a walkback from my earlier assessments this week. I'll take my lumps for being a bit over the top, which Keith is known to do sometimes as well.

To:[e-mail]
CC: [e-mail]

Hello Keith,

I'm fairly certain you pay a visit to Democratic Underground (www.democraticunderground.com) every now and then. Cool site... lots of political dialogue of all flavors, you know the drill.

That said, I was disappointed in your interview with Bill Maher where you both seemed to think that Obama's performance with the five months he's been President was something we should all be concerned about. It was as though he has done nothing and could care less about being a decent President.

Maher had this little thing in his head about how Obama should be more like Bush. You agreed. I could think of no worse role model to look to as a personal template of leadership than a AWOL chickenhawk who used the Fear Card (and the Idiot Card) as well as forfeited his power to Dick Cheney. Color me odd, but The Project For A New American Century was the "President" for nearly all of the Bush administration.

So I went off on Democratic Underground (DU) about how you were a stooge and such. I sure felt good, but I still continued to watch your show this week anyway. In my view, you drove into the weeds on Obama's support for the LGBT community as well this week, albeit were not as into the weeds as with Maher.

I realized you are best when exposing the Republicans and the GOP Media Echo Chamber, where the stuff practically writes itself. Yes, Obama needs to called out when he steers off course and Democrats certainly need a spanking every now and then. You do that.

One thing I'd ask you to do is perhaps balance out what Obama does wrong with a segment about what good he has done. Maybe call it "Obama's Promises Kept" or "Obama Woot"...

Keep it coming.

Best,
XXXX

OK. I doubt he'll read it, but thought all y'all might wanna know.

[Sebastian Doyle]

1. Your obsession with Keith is getting out of hand.

Seek help dude.

Seriously.

[Hieronymus]

6. Definitely an obsession. It's Olbermann's job to report good and bad. He's

certainly supported Obama.

[saracat]

2. Umm when has presenting something good everytime you say anything bad

every been done for any public figure? Should Keith have presented "good things" about O'Reilly, or Limbaugh a or GOP politicos along with criticizing him? Why do you ask for preferential treatmernt for Obama? Obama is a big boy and i am sure he can stand the rare heat for a cable news show. Sheesh.

[zulchzulu]

3. I enjoy the show...

...but when Obama is trashed for not having the wars ended, the economy fixed, the housing market mended, health care reform in perfect shape AFTER FIVE MONTHS, I get a tad miffed. And the worse part is agreeing with Maher that Obama should be more like Bush... WTF?

That said, I truly enjoy how he enjoys exposing Republicans. Should he do "good things" about GOP asshats, O'Reilly or Limbaugh? That would be an impossible task. It would take years to compile 20 seconds of video content.

I'm all for Obama getting criticism when it is fair, thought-out and warranted. OK... he sucks! Happy?

:hi:

[saracat]

4. Okay but you are still asking for preferential treatment. I actually

don't care for olberman anymore as i don't want to watch "news" filtered from either viewpoint. Olberman seems to have become the O'Reilly of the left but each to his own.Sometimes i think the only news worth listening to is the BBC!

[zulchzulu]

5. You're right about the BBC

I like it when they say "your reader has been..."

No Punditry Royal Class...

[Berry Cool]

10. Olbermann = O'Reilly of the left is a false equivalency.

How you can even begin to equate KO with that lying blowhard turd is beyond me.

[grantcart]

17. by accident I have found Al Jazeera English here

http://www.livestation.com/channels/3-al_jazeera_english


So far they are even better than BBC.


They did an analysis of the bancruptcy crises in CA that was better than anything I have seen on any station.


You might want to give them a watch.

[Berry Cool]

11. You seem to be one of those binary thinkers who can see no gray area between

"Obama is the greatest" and "He sucks," so you assume everyone else is the same as you, including KO.

You think that every critical word KO says means "Obama sucks." You think he's condemning him as a terrible president after "only five months." Not so.

Perhaps if you yourself learned to think in shades of gray rather than black and white, you could realize other people can, too.

I think expecting KO or anyone else to balance out every negative comment on Obama with a positive comment is absurd. It's the media's job to be fair, truthful and a watchdog on politicians. It's not their job to be an elementary school teacher who finds as many aspects of Little Johnny's work to praise as she does to criticize, so as not to bruise his little budding ego.

[angee_is_mad]

12. I got your back

and hopefully your letter will get read.

[ginnyinWI]

15. I think he's trying to find negative things about Obama

Then the right can't accuse him of being partisan, because he always takes them apart piece by piece every day. Personally I'm tired of hearing about the increasingly irrelevant GOP. And negative rants in general--but maybe that's just me. I find more interesting a discussion on Hardball where Tweety will really engage some rightwinger and try to get them to explain themselves rather than just hearing a rant.

[TomCADem]

7. What Type Of Healthcare Plan Does Olbermann Support?

The main issue being discussed, even on MSNBC's website, is the ongoing healthcare debate, but I am kind of curious where does Keith Olbermann stand on the issue. Does he favor single payer, a public option, or a free market approach?

I know that the Fox News hosts are against anything Obama has to offer, but it would be nice to know where Keith Olbermann and Maddow stand on the issue. I do know that Ed Schultz strongly supports a public option.

[HopeOverFear]

8. I should email Keith also

and demand that he start profiling that corrupt SOB Max Baucus

[LatteLibertine]

9. I'd love to see KO reply to this on air

For the entertainment value :)

[spiritual_gunfighter]

13. Olbermann did more than any cable news show to get Obama elected

and now when he is holding his feet to the fire on campaign promises not kept, you feel the need to throw him under the bus. Pathetic.

[Peacetrain]

14. Everyone is a prisoner to their own point of view.. so is Olbermann

Mahr, me, you, Obama, Bush and every single poster in DU and Free Republic. Good letter

[MarjorieG]

16. Even Bush wasn't like Bush. Only in charge, marginally, when Congress was in agreement or paid to be

A O'Donnell saaid, what about privatizing social security, or other issues at odds with Congress and moneyed interests.

[ruggerson]

18. how specifically did he "drive into the weeds" on his commentary about LGBT issues?