To me, MSNBC’s Countdown, hosted by Keith Olbermann, is one of those shows that I tend to gravitate toward watching. Not because I’m going to get an even-handed account of things in the world: It’s precisely because of the fact that this show is so unapologetically liberal in its outlook that I enjoy watching it! I’m not at all against watching shows (or listening to them on the radio) that have a conservative bent. It’s just that the overwhelming majority of the opinion-based programming is conservative! And I’d like to see, from time to time, the other side of the arguments.
Having said that, it bears noting that I have never seen a Countdown where Olbermann (or his capable stand-in Rachel Maddow) has ever had a guest who wasn’t philosophically completely in-sync with him (or her). What usually results is Olbermann ranting on about something with his guests appearing in an inset on the right-side of the screen, smugly smiling and continually bobbing their heads in agreement. This isn’t real journalism, of course; rather, it’s more an act of huddling with one’s “own” while piling on those “others” (who are nowhere to be seen)!
Now conservative hosts such as Glen Beck and Sean Hannity tend to have, as guests, those who tow their political line as well. But they aren’t averse to having real, meaningful discussions with their ideological opponents on the air, either.
So Keith Olbermann, who I believe could easily hold his own in a debate with conservatives, is unintentionally creating the impression that he regards his views as being so above those of conservatives that they don’t even merit sharing the same forum with him. And this feeds into the oft-spoken complaint from those on the right that the left is afflicted with an attitude of intellectual elitism toward them and their perspectives on the issues. If Olbermann truly wants to change the political landscape of this nation, simply preaching to the choir of already-true believers isn’t going to accomplish the trick. He’s going to have to roll up his sleeves and engage in direct debate with conservatives! And in live-time on the air, like his colleagues on MSNBC as well as his competitors on other channels, some of whom he likes to periodically tag with the title of “Worst Person in the World”.
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It will NEVER, EVER happen. This lunatical doesn't have the, how shall I say it, THE SACK, to ever go up against anyone from the right. He'd be fed his lunch.
ReplyDeleteFor God's sake, it was almost THREE YEARS before he let anyone sit live on the set with him. And that's with sychophants and lapdogs who just parrot anything and everything he ever says.
Give me a break, this jerk is a CLOWN!!!
To Anonymous: I'm detecting just a little oh-so-slight bit of disenchantment on your part against Mr. Olbermann. I suspect quite a few agree with your viewpoint. For my part, I'm probably a bit more liberal in my political beliefs than you are (depending on which issue is on the table for discussion). And that is what bugs me about Olbermann. He doesn't need to run his show this way! There are good pro and con arguments in just about any issue of importance, so why not just be forthcoming and lay them all out? Instead of personally attacking those with a different political orientation!
ReplyDeleteIf you gained access to this article through a link from olbermannwatch.com, you may or may not be aware of the fact that, while I consider it something of an honor that this site felt my article was worthy enough to place a link to it, I didn’t actually submit it to olbermannwatch.com. Rather, it was just one of the daily pieces that I write about all sorts of topics on my very-generally-themed blog, put out in the blogosphere. Before this, I wasn’t even aware of the existence of olbermannwatch.com. Since its theme is to serve as a rebuttal to Keith Olbermann’s Countdown, that website’s very existence and apparent popularity goes to prove my point: if Olbermann had allowed dissenting guests on his show to discuss his assertions, then there wouldn’t be a felt need for olbermannwatch.com in the first place.
ReplyDeleteBe that as it may, I don’t generally subscribe to the Olbermann-bashing tone of olbermannwatch.com. Keith Olbermann is an articulate, intelligent, and humorous professional broadcaster who passionately expresses his opinions and whose overriding fault, as I see it, is his difficulty in sharing the spotlight with others, due to the apparent lack of the necessary humility that comes with it. I happen to agree with many of his opinions, but he does need to allow others with dissenting views to have a reasonable dialog with him on his show. That would still leave him with plenty of show time to perform his editorial pieces. And it would be more dignified of him as well if he were to lighten up on attacking his competitors.