Keith Olbermann Must GO!

I forced myself to watch "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" Monday night because I thought I might have been a bit unfair to him in some of my previous postings. I'm a firm believer in evaluating fairly both points of view before making choices as do I'd guess most Americans, so I gave him another look.

I don't know any other way to say it except to just come right out and say, this man is embarrassing! Plain and simple. The entire show, not part, not most, THE ENTIRE SHOW WAS PRO-OBAMA, PRO-DEMOCRAT. Not once did he have ANY guest or point of view supporting the Republican perspective. For this show to air on a respected news network like MSNBC is appalling, and frankly, embarassing.

What do we think about the new John McCain ad chastising Barack Obama for his failure to visit ailing troops in Germany, choosing instead to play basketball? Let's talk to our first guest, the Obama Campaign Communications Director.

How bad is the McCain Campaign running these days with no clear strategy? Let's talk to our next guest, Rachel Maddow from Air America who wears "Democrat" on her sleeve and probably has a matching tattoo somewhere on her body.

How stupid is George W. Bush? Let's poke fun with quotes from his former Treasury Secretary, giving the audience the illusion of being fair to both sides. Forget the bad elevator audio, this stuff is good.

And what is it about Rupert Murdoch that Keith Olbermann has it out for? I watched with my mouth open a few weeks ago when Keith declared like a child "Ha ha Mr. Murdoch, see, I am successful and very, very rich. Nah." (I swear I saw him stick out his tongue afterwards.) Then, last night, it happened again when he roasted the Fox Business Network for its low audience levels as being less than 8000 people in daytime and "at this rate, it would catch up to CNBC in 2077." Of course Mr. Olbermann left out the part that CNBC's contract for DOW Jones probably wouldn't get renewed because News Corp. now owns them which would have a predictable impact on their numbers going forward, and that CNBC is carried throughout the world with greater penetration than Fox Business, on-air less than a year. If there ever was an apple to orange comparison, this was it. I too can read the ratings, Keith. I can make any show #1. I'm guessing Mr. Murdoch probably fired him from one of his sports networks or refused to hire him because of his reputation as being as completely unstable, which is why he left KCBS in L.A. (or was most likely asked to leave) and ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut. I know why Keith Olbermann isn't allowed to drive. He shouldn't be able to drive this train, either. make

Speaking of numbers and an audience, the point is to attract NEW VIEWERS and build an audience. There are already die hard Olbermann liberals watching the show (although I'd guess not for very long), but you can't grow unless you grow. That means broadening your horizons. Look left AND right. Let me be the judge, not you. Push me and I do the opposite. We all touched the fire when our parents told us we shouldn't, remember? Like guests on CNBC, Keith Olbermann should be required to provide full disclosure because he's obviously a Democratic supporter of zealots like Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), (whom Mr. Olbermann referred to on Monday's show) and whose own bill of impeachment was struck down by members of his own party as being too radically liberal.

MSNBC is a great network. "Morning Joe" is my favorite morning program, besting "Fox & Friends" for news value hands down. "Fox & Friends" has 3 commercial breaks to every one on "Morning Joe" and F&F can't even have a meaningful conversation with any guest without rushing them through it and either ending it abruptly or splitting the interview in 2 so they can tease, tease, tease and go to more commercials. They tease more than they report. But say what you want, Fox News Channel is fair and balanced and, for the most part, so is "Morning Joe" on MSNBC. Joe Scarborough, a Republican is very fair to both sides, sometimes even being a little more critical of the Republicans than most, but I respect him because he's honest and that's all I ever expect. Pat Buchanan, a Republican is fair. Andrea Mitchell, a great reporter, is fair. They step out of their skins to provide accurate analysis pro/con for/against both sides so independent thinkers like myself can make intelligent choices without being pushed. All in all, MSNBC is a great network and certainly deserves the moniker as "America's Fastest Growing News Network". Their anchors and hosts throughout the rest of the day seem to be fair, and I trust them to deliver the facts letting me decide, with opinion they don't hide under the guise of news.

I don't trust Keith Olbermann.

He's selling, pushing and force feeding one point-of-view down my throat for an entire hour. I kept asking myself, "What's in it for him?" My guess is that his cume rating is very low and his demo and household ratings are falling, as well. He's supposed to be counter-programming "The O'Reilly Factor" in primetime and not doing a good job of it. The only thing missing from his show was a lower 1/3 disclaimer throughout stating, "The following program is a paid advertisement for the Democratic Party." and V/O from Barack Obama saying, "I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message."

I'm predicting that the reason Barack Obama isn't as far ahead in the polls as he should be is because of "newscasters" like Keith Olbermann, who has the gall to 'humbly' refer to himself as such, keep pushing him on us. The writing is on the wall with the Desi Arnaz/CBS factor as my best example. "The more CBS told me not to hire William Frawley as Fred Mertz, the more I liked him", said Mr. Arnaz to Johnny Carson in one of his final interviews. I'm no newscaster, but I sure as hell know what one looks like. Keith Olbermann is no newscaster and Dan Quayle was no Jack Kennedy.

What was #1 on the Keith Olbermann Countdown Monday night? His foolish appearance on "The Soup" airing on E! It wasn't funny the first time and it sure wasn't funny played back over and over again by Mr. Olbermann, who was ogling himself. Here's another news flash: Keith Olbermann is not funny. I'd walk out of that comedy club faster than a speeding bullet if he were on the roster. My head hurts from rolling my eyes so much. Go back to Bristol, Keith. You're bad.

This show must go. I'd replace it with re-runs of "Captain Kangaroo" to save whatever is left of an audience, who I'll bet are beginning to lose interest in him too. There's only so much sell and hype one can stand on a day by day basis. Hell, I'll do it. I can beat Bill O'Reilly with my eyes closed and I could sure do a helluva lot better than Keith Olbermann, whose countdown to departure is the only thing NBC execs should be contemplating right this very moment.


Ron Maestri
www.ronmaestri.com