Posted on 01/23/2011 1:33:57 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
If there was some strange parallel universe in which Keith Olbermann and I were members of Congress, I suspect we would vote together about 99 percent of the time. But when the "Countdown" host announced his abrupt departure from MSNBC on Friday night, I felt only relief.
First reactions to Olbermann’s exit have broken along lines as partisan as they were predictable. That the New York Post would respond to the news with glee and The Huffington Post with a gnashing of teeth was hardly a shock.
But back in the real world, I cannot imagine I am the only viewer who is basically simpatico with Olbermann's worldview, but who had come to find him and his show utterly insufferable. The glibness, the pomposity, the narcissism -- all these foibles had, of late, reached gut-wrenching proportions.
It was not always thus. It is easy to forget just what the media landscape looked like in the early years of Olbermann’s tenure at the helm of "Countdown." (He had, of course, had an earlier, unsuccessful stint at MSNBC, which culminated in one of the many enmity-filled partings that have dotted his career.)
The show began in 2003, when large swathes of the journalistic profession appeared to have been cowed -- not just by the Bush administration per se but by a jingoistic atmosphere that lingered too long after 9/11 and took many unwise forms.
In that environment, Olbermann was fresh, even daring. The show’s increasingly forceful liberalism through its early years made for some riveting TV moments, the best-known perhaps his 2006 takedown of then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
The freshness curdled soon enough.
In his farewell remarks on Friday, Olbermann proudly proclaimed that his show was "anti-establishment." In recent years, that description was a stretch, at best.
Everything from the increasingly contrived "Worst Person in the World" segments to the host’s persona -- a kind of an ersatz version of Walter Cronkite, with infinitely more "attitude" but infinitely less real authority -- had settled into a rut. Predictability and self-importance were the main features.
"Countdown" had a niche -- a profitable one for both the network and its host, who was rumored to have negotiated a $30 million four-year contract in 2008 -- and Olbermann apparently saw little need for change.
Meanwhile, his professed commitment to the questioning of authority all-too-evidently did not extend to himself. There were myriad stories about diva-like histrionics in front of -- and allegedly directed against -- staff. There were instances where his sneering at co-anchors had embarrassing public results.
But, more importantly, there was a years-long procession of pundits whose only apparent purpose was to confirm the correctness and brilliance of the host’s every utterance. The spectacle was one in which purportedly respectable journalists seemed to fall over themselves to play courtier to King Smug.
By last year, criticism of this trend had become so widespread that Olbermann responded, via a promo spot for the show. The ad, which showed the host proclaiming that "I ask a lot of these questions to find out whether or not I'm wildly incorrect about something," was unintentionally hilarious. The only "establishment" being challenged by then was the one that is charged with taking action against false advertising.
There was a bigger problem, too. Olbermann rose to prominence in large part through attacking other media figures -- most notably Bill O’Reilly -- for both their gloating self-regard and their rhetorical recklessness.
Olbermann’s claim to the moral high ground here was strictly relative. This is a man, after all, who once reported an allegation that Paris Hilton had been punched in the face under the tagline "A Slut and Battery." Hilarious, no?
Later silliness -- the risible condemnation of then-Senator-Elect Scott Brown as "an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, teabagging supporter of violence" -- only strengthened the impression that Olbermann had morphed into a mirror image of those he so often attacked.
The blogosphere is already aflame with suggestions that Olbermann’s departure is linked to Comcast’s impending takeover of NBC. Maybe it is. Petitions for his reinstatement are growing as I type. Maybe they’ll be successful -- though I doubt it.
In any case, for me at least, Olbermann’s act has long been threadbare. Goodnight and good luck, Keith -- and good riddance.
******
Niall Stanage is a New York-based writer and the author of Redemption Song: An Irish Reporter Inside the Obama Campaign (Liberties Press, Dublin). His work has appeared in numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Observer, the American Spectator, the Guardian and the Irish Times. He is a regular guest on television and radio on both sides of the Atlantic, including Fox News, PBS, the BBC and its Irish equivalent, RTE. He lives in Harlem.
They had to buy him out of the contract, so he’ll receive the full amount. But I gather he’s prevented from hosting another TV show for the remainder of the contract period, although he can get speaking gigs (assuming anyone in the world wants to pay to hear him) & write books (likewise, if anyone is willing to buy).
Yeah, the whole idea of wanting the U.S. to be strong and survive and lead the world again was just too much to take. The idea that the U.S. should be great is septic to these liberals.
Don't these numb-skulls realize this is exactly why nobody watches MSNBC - because of the liberal views and agenda of MSNBC and people like Olbermann.
“the host’s persona — a kind of an ersatz version of Walter Cronkite...”
LOL! Take that Walter Cronkite.
You mean he personified the essence of liberal/progressive/Marxist philosophy? As always, they have to hide the truth from the light of day.
Olbermann was popular among the standard, leftist whack-jobs and assorted loons who watched MSNBC. Personally, I ‘m sorry to see him go. For whenever a normal individual accidentally tuned in, he received even GREATER assurance of just how insane the left is!
From what I understand, Olberman wanted more money which is hypocritical since he’s always trying to sell the rest of us on the making the rich pay their fair share.
A Jared Loughner with a microphone.
Actually, I kinda sorry he’s gone. Some the best entertainment at the ‘zoo’ are the monkeys.
Rumsfeld was/is a GREAT man!! That will NEVER be said of Keith Doberman....NEVER....even by his own mother.
Of course. This is a central trait of liberals. It's like blonde hair in Sweden. Expected.
Just because he;s a dick doesn’t mean he not entitled to the terms of his contract.
Give him a lump-sum payout for the terms of his contract, and wave goodbye.
I’m glad he’s off the airwaves and he will be in the poorhouse soon enough.
Bull Crap! Three days after 9-11 the leftist media was attacking Bush and continued to do every day for remainder of his term.
Man, if everyone on the Left thought this way, I’d join the “bring-back-Keith” chorus. After all, Olbermann is such a great representative for the radical Left.
Post-of-the-Thread Award!
I can take a certain amount of liberal commentary, if the person is an intellectually honest liberal. Keith is not, and his bombastic schtick gets old.
He jumped the shark many times. For me, he really jumped the shark to declare Bristol Palin the worst person in the world. Her offense to liberalism was having a baby out of wedlock, and working for an organization to persuade teen girls to avoid the mistakes she made. Declaring Bristol Palin the worst in the world says a lot more about liberalism and Keith Olbermann than it does about Bristol Palin.
“But back in the real world, I cannot imagine I am the only viewer who is basically simpatico with Olbermann’s worldview, but who had come to find him and his show utterly insufferable.”
Pretty much the way I feel about Hannity . . .
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