Olbermann: Bush 'Lying for Free' on Campaign Trail

In Keith Olbermann's latest contribution to the 2006 Democratic Party campaign, the MSNBC host on Monday accused President Bush of "lying" on the campaign trail as he relayed that the President was making campaign appearances without charging admission. Olbermann: "The state of play for the Republicans is such that the President is no longer charging admission for each of his campaign appearances. That's right. He's now lying for free."

The Countdown host further ridiculously claimed that Bush was accusing Democrats of being responsible for problems in Iraq, playing a clip of Bush in which the President merely charged that Democrats lack a plan of their own to win in Iraq. Olbermann: "And earlier in Statesboro, Georgia, billed as a victory rally, and yet Mr. Bush somehow making the claim not only that the Democrats are the ones jumping the gun, but that the minority party is somehow responsible for the mess that is the war in Iraq." (Transcript follows)

Below is a transcript of how Olbermann introduced the October 30 Countdown show, with critical portions in bold:

Keith Olbermann: "Good evening. This is Monday, October 30th, eight days until the 2006 midterm elections, and the state of play for the Republicans is such that the President is no longer charging admission for each of his campaign appearances. That's right. He's now lying for free. At this point in the 2002 midterms, Mr. Bush had done at least eight rallies for other candidates, not fund-raisers, but free public events. This past Saturday, he did his first for the 2006 midterms. And it's not just about the money. There just have not been a lot of Republican candidates who've wanted to be seen with him with or without a cover charge. His Southern accent a little bit thicker, his rhetoric a lot more divisive, the President hitting the campaign in his home state of Texas in what was Majority Leader Tom DeLay's district. The Republicans now faced with getting a write-in candidate to hold on to that seat."

Olbermann: "And earlier in Statesboro, Georgia, billed as a victory rally, and yet Mr. Bush somehow making the claim not only that the Democrats are the ones jumping the gun, but that the minority party is somehow responsible for the mess that is the war in Iraq."

George W. Bush cilp #1: "If you listen carefully for a Democrat plan for success, they don't have one. Iraq is the central front in the war on terror. Yet they don't have a plan for victory."

Bush clip #2: "This election is far from over, although there are some people in Washington who already think they know the outcome of the election. Some of them are already picking out their new offices at the Capitol. You might remember, you might remember that around this time in 2004 some of them were picking out their new offices in the West Wing. The movers never got the call."

Olbermann: "Eventually, the movers always win."