Olbermann Finds FNC Authoritative When It Pegs Bush Approval at New Low

On Thursday's Countdown show, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann highlighted a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll which shows President Bush's approval rating "plummeting even further" and, as the Countdown host observed, "for the first time in the Bush presidency," the President's approval rating among Republicans has fallen below 70 percent. This straight citing of Fox News contrasts with Olbermann's regular attacks on FNC with nearly every mention of the network on his show. As reported by NewsBusters, Olbermann had just one day earlier mocked the journalistic integrity of FNC's Tony Snow and the network's overall truthfulness after word that Snow was being considered to replace White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

Below is a complete transcript of Olbermann's citation of Fox News from the April 20 Countdown show:

Keith Olbermann: "Should Karl Rove's status in the CIA leak investigation heat up any further, then the political fortunes of the President he serves might just reach meltdown. Down being the operative syllable in that compound word there, as in approval ratings plummeting even further, as in now closer to 30 percent than to 40 percent, as in good thing we're not rounding it down. Only 33 percent of those surveyed by Opinion Dynamics for Fox News now approving of how President Bush is doing his job, a three-point drop in just the last two weeks, a six-point drop in this poll in the last month. That is among all voters. Among Republicans alone, approval falling below 70 percent for the first time in the Bush presidency. That is a third of Republicans not willing to give him a thumbs-up. Things not any better for the Republican-controlled Congress. Approval there is just 25 percent overall."