Keith then and now

[liberalfella]

Glen Greenwald is not happy with Olbermann's sudden change of heart on FISA

On January 31st this year, Keith Olbermann called telecom immunity "fascist", and reminiscent of the policies of Nazi Germany's "Third Reich".

Today, Salon's Glen Greenwald regrets that Keith Olbermann's position on the issue has suddenly changed:

Strong and righteous words indeed. But that was five whole months ago, when George Bush was urging enactment of a law with retroactive immunity and a lessening of FISA protections. Now that Barack Obama supports a law that does the same thing -- and now that Obama justifies that support by claiming that immunity and revising FISA are necessary to keep us Safe from the Terrorists -- everything has changed.

Last night, Olbermann invited Newsweek's Jonathan Alter onto his show to discuss Obama's support for the FISA and telecom amnesty bill (video of the segment is here). There wasn't a syllable uttered about "immunizing corporate criminals" or "textbook examples of Fascism" or the Third Reich. There wasn't a word of rational criticism of the bill either. Instead, the two media stars jointly hailed Obama's bravery and strength -- as evidenced by his "standing up to the left" in order to support this important centrist FISA compromise...

Read the entire story:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/26/olbermann/index.html

[orleans]

1. i noticed that too--that flip-flop in attitude/opinion. i thought wtf?

am i in the fucking twilight zone now?

[colt equalizer]

2. He is trying to get Obama on his show and saying what he has to to accomplish that. NT

[MuseRider]

4. Ah, so EVERYBODY has to pander now.

Is anyone straightforward and honest anymore?

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. The ones who are, are marginalized and ridiculed. And in some cases, run off.

Is anyone straightforward and honest anymore?

[panAmerican]

3. I saw it too. Then I turned him off and did some housework. Much better use of my time.

[no limit]

5. I was watching in the background yesterday and he seemed to come after obama on this

I'd have to rewatch it but if he really flipped on this I have just lost all respect for him, and I had lots.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. He did.

He also spoke up for plans to shelve FISA and filibuster it.

This piece is bullshit.

[truebrit71]

15. "This piece is bullshit."

I couldn't agree more...

[Duppers]

6. Keith lost me a few others times too

One was his adamant defense of Tim Russert and although I was NOT a Hillary supporter, I resented his constant bashing of her.

[Bluestar]

7. MSNBC has put all their ratings hopes on Obama

Hate to say it but KO has turned out to be nothing more than a corporate media shill.

[truebrit71]

8. Wow. y'all must have been watching a different Countdown than the one I saw...

..he neither hailed his "bravery" or "strength" on the issue but rather asked how he could possibly spin this to please all parties...KO was, and still IS a vociferous opponent of the telco-immunity issue and the resultant shredding of the Constitution...

The opinion pieces, imho is complete and utter bullshit...but hey, maybe that's just me...

[xxqqqzme]

10. I am perplexed as well.

I have detected a shift in Olbermann's attitude since John Dean talked about how 'poorly drafted' it was and that the immunity extended to civil acts but not criminal.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#25292233

KO brought up these points when he interviewed Markos Moulitsas. Markos admitted he had not read the bill so wasn't aware of the civil/criminal distinction.

Pay attention class!

[liberalfella]

11. Yes. He hailed his bravery, by saying he "didn't cower to the left". And he wasn't vociferous

And vociferous he wasn't yesterday, judging by the partial transcript provided by Greenwald. The entire transcript will be posted tonight. Transcripts show up 24 hours after each show.

Let's see:

OLBERMANN: Asked by "Rolling Stone" publisher, Jann Wenner, about how Democrats have cowered in the wake of past Republican attacks, Senator Obama responding, quote, "Yeah, I don't do cowering." That's evident today in at least three issues . . .

Senator Obama also refusing to cower even to the left on the subject of warrantless wiretapping. He's planning to vote for the FISA compromise legislation, putting him at odds with members of his own party . . . But first, it's time to bring in our own Jonathan Alter, also, of course, senior editor of "Newsweek" magazine.

Then, he had nothing to say after he let Jonathan Alter go on and on praising Obama's move.

Alter said:

You look weak if you're not taking actions that seem to be securing the United States against terrorists.

Then Olbermann called the position of those who oppose telecom immunity "conventional wisdom", even though himself took that side on January:

OLBERMANN: But this cuts, I mean, this terminology cuts in more than one direction here. Not cowering to Republicans is one thing in the Democratic, recent Democratic history, it's a thing that I think anybody who has a "D" near their name cheers, but not cowering to the left, not going along with the conventional, the new conventional thinking on the FISA bill, that's something altogether different, isn't it?

[truebrit71]

14. Sorry...I'm just not seeing the blatant ass-kissing the Hillbots...oops..I mean KO-Haters are all...

...up in arms about... :shrug:

[Swamp Rat]

12. oink!

:D Welcome to DU! :hi:

[annabanana]

21. nailed it as usual, swampy!. . . n/t

[Froward69]

13. I see it as a political compromise

Keith Like myself, is disappointed by Civil immunity. however pleased about possibility of Criminal prosecution.

this fisa bill is flawed...

[liberalfella]

16. The FISA billi is not flawed. Even Keith said it didn't need revisions, back in January

99.98% of request to wiretap suspected terrorists have been granted under FISA, even AFTER the spying has begun, as reported by USA Today in last week's editorial: http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/06/our-view-on-sec.html#more

[Senator]

17. Sad To See KO's Head Slowly Sinking...

...into the large sphincter muscle that is the DC Beltway.

He was just showing minor signs of recovering from his Hillabamania -- caused by being grafted onto Matthews & Co. Stooges for hours on end, forced to maximize minutia found in the collective beltway belly-button lint.

And then -- because he's the only one able to maintain his composure -- he gets thrust into the pulpit as Ring Master for the RusserTopian Tales Of The Sacred Euphemedian Knights.

I would imagine the effect is not unlike any other cult programming.

Still, Impeachophobia is the root disease. Catching that made him susceptible to the others. Perhaps he can recover. And Murrowness can triumph over Truthiness.

Greenwald's "intervention" is a good start.

===
Oh, and welcome to DU.

[annabanana]

18. Sorry.. He is STILL (to this day) one of the very few

places on the TV machine where we see our concerns even addressed. This blatant attempt to sink his cred by a profile-blocked newbie is pathetic...

Shame on those who either fall into the trap AND on those who help bait it...

[truebrit71]

22. Agreed....

..pretty poor attempt at flame-bait too...

[Echo In Light]

20. "a shameless, breathless, literally textbook example of Fascism."