Olbermann Depicts Rush Limbaugh Image as Target of Gunfire

Rush Limbaugh the target of gunfire from gun enthusiasts? Evidently this is a thought MSNBC host Keith Olbermann finds entertaining, as evidenced by the opening teaser of his latest edition of Countdown. On Tuesday's show, when Olbermann got to a plug for a story about a gathering of gun enthusiasts in Oklahoma, and while showing clips of people firing at targets using automatic weapons, an image of Rush Limbaugh's face was briefly shown overlaying a clip of background explosions right after one of the participants shouted, "Rush! Big rush!" Olbermann then joked: "Huh? Oh, you mean a different 'big rush.'"

Earlier in the teaser, Olbermann, who has become a frequent Limbaugh critic and mocks him as "comedian Rush Limbaugh," previewed a story on the conservative host's recent brush with U.S. Customs over a supply of Viagra Limbaugh had in possession. Olbermann, imitating Limbaugh's voice: "With talent on loan from Pfizer." After playing a clip of Limbaugh laughing off the incident on his show, Olbermann asked: "Will he get the last laugh or was that premature jocularity?" (Transcript follows)

Video clip (27 seconds): Real (875 KB) or Windows Media (1 MB), plus MP3 audio (135 KB)

After previewing two other stories, Olbermann moved on to a plug for a story about an automatic weapons festival in Oklahoma, which the Countdown host used as an opportunity to take another dig at Limbaugh. As Olbermann read his plug, the words "Blowed Up Real Good" were displayed at the bottom of the screen with the title of the segment, "Keith Olbermann's America," appearing further down. After a succession of clips of high-powered guns being fired, there was a clip of one gun festival participant shouting, "Rush! Big rush!" as the sound of gunfire rang out. The screen quickly switched to a clip of a wooded background, and an image of the head of a smiling Limbaugh suddenly popped up as explosions could be seen in the far background. Olbermann exclaimed, "Huh?!" The image of Limbaugh's head was then quickly lowered, and "comedian" Keith Olbermann quipped, "Oh, you mean a different 'big rush.'"

Below is a transcript of relevant portions from the Tuesday June 27 Countdown show:

Keith Olbermann, during opening teaser: "With talent on loan from Pfizer. Well, at least with 29 little blue pills on loan from Pfizer, comedian Rush Limbaugh stopped at the border with a Viagra prescription made out in somebody else's name -- for privacy purposes, says his lawyer. If true, it's nothing. If not, it could destroy his plea arrangement in the doctor shopping deal."

Rush Limbaugh, video from his Web site: "Oh, I had a, I had a great time in the Dominican Republic! I wish I could tell you about it! (laughs)"

Olbermann: "Will he get the last laugh or was that premature jocularity?"

After reading a plug about the Harry Potter series and The View co-host Star Jones, and during a succession of clips of automatic weapons being fired, Olbermann delivered his plug of the gun festival segment.

Olbermann: "The first installment of 'Keith Olbermann's America.' Hasten we now to the automatic weapons festival."

Unidentified man #1, without gunfire noise: "Oh yeah, I'm having a blast."

Unidentified man #2, as the sound of gunfire returns: "Rush! Big rush!"

An image of a smiling Rush Limbaugh popped up on screen overlaying a clip of a wooded area with explosions in the background.

Olbermann: "Huh? Oh, you mean a different 'big rush.' All that and more now on Countdown."