Olbermann on Jackie Robinson

Keith Olbermann is a regular guest on the Dan Patrick show during the middle hour.  Today, they were discussing the John Amaechi story, and making the inevitable comparisons to Jackie Robinson.  Olbermann let loose with this:

Imagine what would have happened if he [Robinson] had hit .197 instead of .297 in 1947.  We would have had literal apartheid in this country.  That's how important that [season] was.

This is a quote.

Now, I know that 1947 was important, and that Branch Rickey worked hard to make sure that Robinson was a success: waiting until he found someone with a tough temperment, making sure he was seasoned in the minor leagues before being called up, and so on.  But to claim that the difference between the civil rights movement and South Africa rested on Robinson's ability to plunk down a couple of extra hits a week is rather, ah, disproportionate, don't you think?

Most of the attention paid to Olbermann is because of his nice-sounding and deeply misguided and ignorant commentaries on Countdown.  But every afternoon, for an hour, he has the chance to fly below the radar.  Those who don't listen to the Dan Patrick Show might assume he's just slumming, enjoying slinging around some sports with an old pal.  Instead, the show increasingly serves as another forum for his slipshod brand of leftist politics.