Olbermann Highlights Edwards 'Shoot Dick Cheney' Joke

Once gain, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann seems entertained by the thought of conservatives being shot. Less than five months after depicting the image of Rush Limbaugh as the target of gunfire during his Countdown show, on Wednesday's show Olbermann included a joke about shooting Dick Cheney during the regular "Top Three Sound Bites" segment of the show. One of the featured clips was from the Tuesday November 14 Daily Show with Jon Stewart in which Stewart asked his guest, former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, whom he would have "accidentally shot in the face" if he had been elected Vice President, to which Edwards responded "Dick Cheney." Notably, just one night earlier, Olbermann had spent an entire segment discussing whether conservative commentators had inspired a man to mail fake Anthrax letters to public figures, and to make other threats, a la King Henry's declaration "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest," referring to Archbishop Thomas Becket. (Transcript follows)

Below is a transcript of the relevant portion from the November 15 Countdown show:

Keith Olbermann: "But first, here are Countdown's 'Top Three Sound Bites' of this day."

Jon Stewart: "Senator Edwards, if you had been fortunate enough to be elected Vice President in 2004, who would you have accidentally shot in the face?"

[audience laughter and applause]

John Edwards: "Um, Dick Cheney."

[audience laughter and applause]