No one has ever accused Keith Olbermann of having one iota of class, and what he publicly did Tuesday evening to someone he once worked with should finally explain to anyone that actually still admires this pompous buffoon exactly why!
During his "Worst Persons in the World" segment, the "Countdown" host absolutely tore apart CNN's Campbell Brown.
Adding insult to injury, Olbermann did this public evisceration on the 30th anniversary of the day the cable news network went on the air.
Readers are advised to have a bucket nearby, for whatever you might think of Brown, this pathetic and inexcusable display by MSNBC's leading anchor is sure to make you nauseous (video follows with transcript and commentary):
KEITH OLBERMANN: First get out your pitch forks and torches, time for tonight's Worst Persons in the World. The bronze, Campbell Brown, the lame duck anchor over at CNN. I like her. We once co-anchored "Weekend Today" for a weekend. She is skilled at her craft, but this "I am a martyr to real news tour" has got to stop. Her latest pity me interview with the LA Times, quote "People are drawn to the echo chamber and they want to have their opinions validated more often than they want to have their opinions challenged, and trying to present an unbiased perspective is simply harder."
Firstly, enough with the false equivalency again between O'Reilly and this show. I have never knowingly reported anything false, and we correct our mistakes. Secondly, she doesn't think the network's problems have anything to do with, you know, hour-long specials on Mick Jagger on primary night and American Idol in the last hours of top kill. Thirdly, I've done the two kinds of news hours that she references by implication: one where you just read what's handed you and you pretend that both sides correct and wrong merit equal consideration and you believe you and you alone in the world are objective. And I've done the news hour where you stick your neck out and you tell the echo chamber it's wrong and you try to get people thinking and you get death threats in the mail and dirty looks in the hallway and trust me, of those two kinds, trying to present an unbiased perspective is not just easier, it's as easy as rereading the Associated Press wire copy.
CNN's 8 o'clock news programs haven't failed because they're competing with opinion and interpretative news programs. They've failed because CNN hasn't figured out that everything it puts on the air is available to everybody who watches all day on the internet. If you don't bring something else to the table they aren't going to watch. Let's hope they don't figure it out. Oh, and Happy 30th Birthday, CNN.
Talk about your unjustified arrogance! Who is Olbermann to call ANYONE a failure?
After all, he continues to get absolutely trounced in his time slot by Bill O'Reilly.
In fact, last Thursday, O'Reilly had 3.3 million viewers to Olbermann's 1.1 million.
Even more embarrassing, this pompous moron came in third that night in the all important demographic of viewers aged 25 to 54 -- and he's calling Brown a failure!
To give you another idea exactly how offensive this segment was, the liberal leaning website Mediaite even seemed displeased by it calling Olbermann's performance the "Worst birthday present ever."
I'm not sure I agree with that assessment, but certainly feel this miscreant is possibly one of the worst television news personalities ever.
All in favor...
Post script: It really is delicious seeing one of the least impartial people on television claim that "trying to present an unbiased perspective is...as easy as rereading the Associated Press wire copy."
This gross caricature of incompetence couldn't present an unbiased perspective if his life depended on it.
