Thursday, August 31, 2006

Olberman Channels Edward R. Murrow

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amazing work by Keith Olberman. Perhaps he should've been handed the reigns at CBS instead of Katie Couric.

Doug said...

Powerful stuff. Thank you, Darrin.

Anonymous said...

Paul, your whole characterization of events reeks of partisan blindness. I'm a Libertarian, so I don't have any horse in this race. It's obvious the opposition party has been LOCKED OUT of doing anything but criticizing and opposing. When the GOP stops shooting down Democratic amendments left and right and stops locking Dems out of conference meetings, then you can whine about Democrats not offering an alternative.

I don't like the alternatives they do offer, but I'm sick to death of this incredibly stupid canard that keeps going around about their not offering anything, perpetuated by the same people who do everything they can to make sure Democrats don't have a voice.

Olberman was right on the money, and my only disagreement with him is that he ignored the Democratic party's complicity in all this.

Anonymous said...

Wow, Paul sure is upset. I guess the truth hurts. And what's that nonsense about Lieberman? "Radicals" didn't marginalize Lieberman. The Democratic Party supported Lieberman, but the VOTERS rejected him for being out of touch about the war and about issues that matter to people in Connecticut. Ned Lamont happens to believe what MOST Americans believe. Anyone who can describe MOST Americans as "radical" isn't exactly thinking straight.

Anonymous said...

About 283,000 people turned out to vote in the CT primary, and tens of thousands of them were newly-registered Democrats, who switched from IND or Republican so they could vote against Lieberman.

What "reputable polls" are you pointing to to suggest Lamont ISN'T in step with the majority of Americans or Connecticans?

Lieberman wasn't castigated for his support of the war. That's a simple-minded way to look at it that's belied by the fact that most Democrats who still support the war have NOT been castigated for it to the point where they've been marginalized. Clinton, for example, is coasting to re-election. Feinstein and Biden have nothing to worry about. Lieberman was given the boot because his BLIND support for BUSH's conduct of the war trumps his other positions. To say that he should've been kept around as some sort of reward for years of progressive votes is just dumb. The Iraq War is the most important issue of our generation. The enormous cost of the war affects every other aspect of our society, and it makes perfect sense for voters to make their decisions based on it.

Most Americans agree with Ned Lamont that this war is wrong and has to end. Lieberman seems as if he wants us to stay there forever and conduct the war the same way we've been doing for the past few years. Hence Lieberman's defeat. What "reputable polls" can you cite that dispute that?

And again, there's nothing "radical" about what the MAJORITY of Americans believe. The "radical" position these days is Lieberman's.

What's Valerie Plame have to do with this? The only thing Democrats were wrong about was the name of the original leaker. The central issue is that the White House used this info to try and discredit someone who pointed out their lies about uranium tubes that helped sell this war to the American people. Whether Rove or Armitage were the first person to leak that info is irrelevant.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and to say polls show Lieberman has a "good chance" of winning in a three-way race is laughable. A veteran senator like him should be COASTING to re-election, yet he's barely treading water and he's sinking in the polls. By election time, if the trend continues, Lamont will be the winner.

If Lieberman were truly in-step with what MOST people actually think, the power of the incumbency and his personal likeability ratings would have him winning in a LANDSLIDE.

Anonymous said...

What do you want to bet Keith Olberman will be shown the door in the next few months? MSNBC's always been afraid of conservatives, so much so that they cancelled Donahue when it was their highest rated show (nothing, not even Countdown, has come close to Donahue's ratings). They're a Fox News clone, and there isn't much room for the kind of integrity Olberman always displays on a station like that (or any station these days).

And Paul, I don't know how old you are, but I imagine you'd have said the same thing about Murrow a half century ago when he finally called McCarthy on the carpet.

The Old Man said...

Come on... don't put the Terrorists who are Muslim in the same category as your everyday Muslim! They aren't the same.
Terrorists can come from anywhere. The only ones that we hear about today are Muslim. But they aren't the only ones.

A terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist. Don't try to tell me otherwise. And don't try to sell me oceanfront property in Las Vegas. I won't buy that, either.

Anonymous said...

Right on, Chuck.

Anonymous said...

"My earlier references were to the effect the Republicans will likely do the same with the next Presidential candidate, opposing candidates such as McCain or Giuliani because of their views on abortion, gun control, etc. or because of Giuliani’s marriage history (they didn’t like what they saw with Pres Clinton and don’t like it in Giuliani, either). Moralizing trumps politics."

The difference being that abortion, gun control and Giuliani's marriage history are not the biggest issue of our times. The Iraq War is.

"Showing Armitage (critic of the Iraq invasion) as the source cuts the legs out from the suit (but it will likely continue – publicity and money)."

And why would that be? Rove also spoke with reporters confirming Valerie Plame's identity, didn't he? And last I checked, Armitage wasn't some outsider, he worked at State, which is in the executive branch and answers to the President. If anything, this simply adds another name that can be added to the lawsuit.

"I wasn’t around when Murrow called McCarthy on the carpet, but if I remember my readings correctly – McCarthy dealt in power, ego and speculation unsupported by facts, he resorted to labeling and namecalling his political opponents, he shouted down and attempted to intimidate those who disagreed with him – just like partisans on both sides today. "

And JUST like the White House. Besides, at the time, most people thought his accusations WERE supported by facts, and I'm sure some said the same stuff about Murrow that you're saying about Olberman.