Keith Olbermann has forgotten the figure-skating judge's cardinal rule: be sparing in the marks you award early contestants, to leave room for the favorites who perform at the end. After his gushing appraisals of Michelle Obama's and Hillary's convention speeches, how can Olbermann possibly top it in his praise of Biden's and Obama's to come?
Mixing metaphors here, let's compare the baseball scoring the Morning Joe crew gave Hillary's speech at show-opening today with Olbermann's assessment of last night. As you'll see, they range from solid single to Keith's grand slam. As for utility infielder Mark Warner's "keynote": has he considered giving up baseball and taking up knitting?
View video here.
A sneaky Joe Scarborough lured a complaisant Mike Barnicle into agreeing it was a grand slam, only to pull the rug [or was it home plate?] out from under him. Obamaphile Mika Brzezinski was much more restrained in her praise.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: What a speech last night! It was a heck of speech last night by my girlfriend, right?MIKE BARNICLE: Unbelievable. Unbelievable.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
SCARBOROUGH: Grand slam!
BRZEZINSKI: Wait a second.
BARNICLE: Oh, there's no doubt about it.
SCARBOROUGH: Greatest speech ever.
BRZEZINSKI [damning with faint praise?]: I think the best way to characterize it is that it was very good. It was not a grand slam.
. . .
WILLIE GEIST: I wouldn't call it a grand slam. Maybe like an RBI single.
BARNICLE [backing away from his earlier grand slam]: Oh no, no. It was more than a ground-rule double, it could have been a double and you take the extra base on an error committed by someone.
SCARBOROUGH: Really? You know what I thought it was? I thought it was a looping single over the first-base line that you stretch into a double.
Compare and contrast with Olbermann's emoting last night immediately upon the end of the speech, as cheers were still echoing in the hall.
KEITH OLBERMANN: Grand slam. Grand slam out of the ballpark, across the street. Across the buildings across the street . . . I don't know how it could have been better. I don't know how it could have been better, Chris.
Olbermann is not one to spare the superlatives when it comes to his beloved Dems. The night before, he said Michelle Obama's rather wan performance "could not have done better for them . . . It's wonderful. It really was terrific."
In any case, having gone yard for Hillary, what can Keith have left in his rhetorical quiver for Joe and Barack? Trust him to find some way to outdo himself.
Bonus Coverage: Warner's 'Keynote' Bomb
If Hillary's speech was somewhere between a single and a grand slam, what was Mark Warner's warmed-over porridge of a "keynote address" that even as we speak is fast disappearing down the memory hole of history? Called third strike? Foul bunt with two strikes? Infield pop-up? Hit by his own batted ball outside the batter's box? Help me out here.
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Mika: Morning Joe...Joe: Morning Mika...
August 27, 2008 - 06:59 ET by Guy Arthur ThomasMika: Morning Joe.
Joe: Morning Mika
Mika: Watcha got planned for this morning Joe?
Joe: A nasty curve ball and I'll let you catch.
The answer to terrorism IS war. Next Please!
How can he top it?
August 27, 2008 - 07:02 ET by harqman"Phelpsian" KO will say his speech was similar to the Sermon on the Mount, The Gettysburg Address...........and so on. "Chris, this is like all of Micheal Phelps gold medals wrapped into one.....Chris.....Chris?"
Cut to Chris who is clearly attending to the "tingling."
Cut back to KO. "While Chris attends to himself let me go now to Rachel the Shill Madow."
RM. "This is the single most important speech in History. I would put it above the Sermon on the Mount. He has captured the essence of all mankind and he has spoken to every person in the world. The only people who don't love this man, dare I say God like man, are racist hate mongers. Or Republicans and other free thinking people of the world."
KO "Well said Rach. For a second I thought "I could not have said it better." But of course I can say it better. I am smarter then you, so of course I can say it better then you. Chris......"
Cut to Chris wiping the slobber off his face.
Cut back to KO shaking his head at his idiot partner. KO begins in again to tell us how important this speech was to the world, dare he say the Universe.
I think it might go something like that. I could be wrong. But I doubt it.
Very nicely done!
August 27, 2008 - 07:15 ET by TexndocAnd no doubt at the Republican convention Mr's Matthews and Maddow will be "stunned by the level of anger and vitriol and just plain hate" and Olbermann will follow every speech with his classic "They haven't used the n-word... (long pause) ...yet."
Great parody, I love
August 27, 2008 - 07:35 ET by motherbeltGreat parody, I love it!
Olbermann also might say
No one, not even Mahatma Ghandi, has touched as many souls as this man."Not only out of the park, but out of the stratosphere...nay...out of the Milky Way itself!! Out into space, to civilizations on other planets, who will no doubt begin flocking to earth to witness this marvel.
Parody?
August 27, 2008 - 08:38 ET by Ruths husband BenParody? I am glad you said that. The first time I read it, I thought that it was the transcript, the second time I thought he was channelling Olbermann.
Idea for Scary Movie XXCVIII, "Mile High and Skin Deep, the Denver Convention with KO"
“it is not the role of this Court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct.” - Justice Antonin Scalia
Please forgive me. In my
August 27, 2008 - 09:15 ET by harqmanPlease forgive me. In my haste to post s witty comment I clearly overlooked the vast civilizations in as yet to be discovered galaxies, that BO will no doubt have identified by Feb 2009 and colonized by March 2009 and be voting BO 2012. I apologize to all those whom I have overlooked and ask their forgiveness.
Joe is trying to get fired
August 27, 2008 - 07:07 ET by benrandJoe is trying to get fired by Keith.
LOL
I DID! YOU IDIOT DON'T YOU KNOW THAT I DID!?!?! GET A SHOVEL!
What a jagoff. Although, I think he is doing tihs crap just to suck up to an audience, albeit, one filled with insane people.
Grand Slam for the Clintons
August 27, 2008 - 07:12 ET by Gat New YorkOlbermann has to be the most unintelligent pundit inTV news.
Yes, it was a tremendous speech but to promote herself for 2012 and make these Dems regret they passed over her for Prez and Veep.
And, oh by the way, she asked her people to vote for Obama (wink, wink).
Cannot wait for Bill to speak today.
How does a Prez candidate actually drop in poll numbers during his convention?
I have to laugh
August 27, 2008 - 07:32 ET by txcoI have to laugh at Chris M. and K. Olbermann's analysis of what is happening at the convention. It is like watching two cheerleaders. They are both such light weights.
txco
August 27, 2008 - 07:36 ET by Cool ArrowAnd they're fighting over the captain of the football team.
I ♣ my seal
Mourning Joe's predecessor
August 27, 2008 - 07:21 ET by lareeImus was on Cavuto yesterday his take on Obama, Biden and McCain.
http://bellalu0.word...
I caught that yesterday on
August 27, 2008 - 07:58 ET by motherbeltI caught that yesterday on Cavuto
He nailed Obama as a hypocrite. The money quote (paraphrasing):
He refused to consider the context of my whole life, and all the good I've done. But with his pastor, he defended him, and the first thing he wanted us to do was to consider the totality of the man's life, and consider the context.
Game, set, match!
Did anyone see the back and forth on MSNBC about Warner?
August 27, 2008 - 08:19 ET by Dee BunkIt was so funny because Matthews and Olberman were saying how good it was and then they went to their panel at the convention (Nora, Buchanan etc...) and EVERYONE there slammed Warner's performance. They were all laughing and carrying on and agreeing with each other about how weak it was and how the convention had been pretty weak up to that point and when the camera went back to Olberman and Matthews, Olberman looked dejected and angry. I got a chuckle out of that.
/p>
Warner's performance was comparable to a batboy.
Hillary's was comparable to a second base runner ignoring the third base coach on a double steal choosing to go on the first pitch instead of the second while the first base runner was stuck standing on first wondering what happened. The crowd cheered, not knowing what the intent was. She helped a little because there was one less force play now. She looks great, but the team really needed the double steal and the first base runner was close to reaching a base stealing record.
Warner made it to first base
August 27, 2008 - 08:30 ET by Insane ChipmunkWarner made it to first base on catchers interference but was picked off in a stunning 1-3-4-3-4-3-5-1 play.
Oratory
August 27, 2008 - 08:50 ET by KC MulvilleWarner: hit by pitch, leaving a bruise, but the umpire didn't call it.
I can't help but wonder ... have we so lost the skill of rhetoric and oratory that these mediocre speeches are inflated to fill the void? My grandmother used to say that the moment they put a microphone in church, it killed the great homilies. As public speakers know, microphones prevent you from using your "whole throat." Because microphones (the cheap ones anyway) obscure pronunciation, speakers are taught to over-pronounce their consonants. As a result, when using a microphone, speakers tend to speak too slowly, and they never develop a speaking rhythm. They all wind up sounding like JFK imitators.
Because it's clear that no one taught these people how to speak in public, and just as clearly, no one ever taught them how to build a rhetorical argument, the quality of public speaking has deteriorated to abject mediocrity. A lot of people can give a decent speech in front of a rotary club, but very few people these days can expand their oratory to fill a stadium. Reagan could, because he combined the speaking skills of an actor with the ability to present a coherent argument.
Obama is going to attempt to speak to a stadium. His speech, I'm betting, won't fill it. He has the verbal skills, as he showed in Berlin. But as he also showed in Berlin, he doesn't have the substance to push the speech over the top. Vague aspirations, even if spoken smoothly, are just not enough. He needs principles. He needs arguments. "We are who we've been waiting for" is a classic example: it sounds good, but it means nothing. It means, when you really think about it, that we're inert and stupid ...
KC, Um...aaah...I
August 27, 2008 - 09:09 ET by Hunter12KC, Um...aaah...I ...um...am...aah....um...not too ...um...sure ...aah....um....you ...um...can ....aah...um...really...um...aah...call ...um... what ...um...Obama... has ...um... "verbal skills".
He reads a speech from a teleprompter very well. Probably practiced up when he was doing his books on tape.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
Agreed
August 27, 2008 - 09:32 ET by KC MulvilleGood point. What does it say when you can deliver a canned speech well, but can't think on your feet? Of course, that's what they used to say about Reagan. But when it was Reagan, they attacked him for being either old or stupid. Now with Obama, they call it being thoughtful and nuanced.
I'm perfectly willing to concede that both guys are/were intelligent. What I won't concede is that, by using the same measurement, Reagan was stupid but Obama is brilliant.
I think the hesitations and
August 27, 2008 - 09:57 ET by Hunter12I think the hesitations and pauses in Obama's off-the-cuff remarks are him crafting the response in the moment to his current audience. Your comments should flow more readily when you are speaking from the heart. How do you articulate "tax the rich" in a room full of rich people with cameras rolling and broadcasting to the living rooms of the poor? You really have to search for the right words to signal to those in the room that you are referring to middle class tax payers and not them, while creating the impression to those TV viewers that you plan to soak everyone that lives in a house with more than six rooms. How can you talk about pro-choice when there are pregnant mothers in the front row with toddlers in tow and NOW banners waving at the back of the room? You have to make a strong showing in support of BAIPA, while winking at the abortion rights crowd knowingly from the side of your face facing away from the front row.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
It also tells you that he's
August 27, 2008 - 11:37 ET by marpelIt also tells you that he's nothing but a good actor. I write easier than I speak. My thoughts flow easier on paper. But, the more I practice (and heaven knows BO has had practice), the easier these off the cuff answers should become.
Of course, that's the reason why BO won't debate McCain. McCain is so much better in a town hall setting, while Obama SUCKS at this.
I think that "We are who
August 27, 2008 - 09:33 ET by Hunter12I think that "We are who we've been waiting for" really means this.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
1st Question: Between now
August 27, 2008 - 09:01 ET by Hunter121st Question: Between now and about 2011, could we start a fund to hire a voice coach for Hillary? The Queen of Amplitude Modulation just about did me in. I had to turn it off, it was that painful. Hillary, try a little inflection once in a while.
2nd Question: Will anyone be that suprised in Chris Mathews spontaneously combusts during Obama's convention speech?
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
spontaneous combustion
August 27, 2008 - 09:21 ET by harqmanWhat would be so great about this would be the look on KO's face as he just sat there and did nothing. Even if he had a bucket of water sitting on the desk next to him. Then he would face the camera and say...................................
"I think we can all agree that was a fitting end to that idiots career. Now let's get back to what I think without any more silly interruptions."
The end is coming
August 27, 2008 - 09:36 ET by KC MulvilleAfter all this, if McCain beats Obama, I can almost guarantee that Olbermann is going to explode. He'll lash out at the voters, in his usual condescending and insulting manner. He'll label the American electorate as the Worst Persons in the World. He will actually froth on camera. And then he'll be gone. Fired. He'll start an internet news segment for the Daily Kos.
If that isn't a slam-dunk reason to vote McCain, I don't know what is.
Maybe he could co-anchor
August 27, 2008 - 09:39 ET by Hunter12Maybe he could co-anchor HDNet News with Dan Rather. Of course, they'd have to broadcast center court from the Mavericks arena to have a stage big enough to contain the egos.
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
If he next turns to
August 27, 2008 - 09:36 ET by Hunter12If he next turns to Scarborough and he too bursts into flames, I'm going to have to start watching his show... .. Just Kidding!
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
The giddiness and squealing
August 27, 2008 - 09:08 ET by marpelThe giddiness and squealing by all of these media pundits is just nauseating. I think Hillary's speech was good. And I don't feel sorry for Obama one iota regarding his fall in the polls or the way the media is whining about how the Clinton's should be nicer to him. Hillary Clinton should have been the Dem nominee, but the stupid constituents were swept off their feet by a good orator. How dumb is that?
Doesn't matter to me. I'm a Republican voting for McCain. This is just my observation.
The Dems, once again, have illustrated just how ridiculous they are!
Anyone having trouble with the vid stream?
August 27, 2008 - 12:27 ET by Interested and concerned CDNAll I'm getting is the number 2.