Bearing the mantle of Murrow: Keith Olbermann
Sep 9th, 2007 by Paul Moor
Fellow codgers here will recall perhaps the first genuinely great American television journalist, the Columbia Broadcasting System’s Edward R. Murrow, whose numerous accomplishments probably hit their highest point when he single-handedly reversed the ultra-reactionary direction the USA had taken in mortal fear of that era’s villainous junior senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy. With his customary journalistic expertise, Ed Murrow, figuratively leaning out a national window and proclaiming something along the lines of “I’m sick and tired and I’m not gonna take it anymore!”, put together one single lethal CBS hour containing chapter and revolting verse from McCarthy himself, showing him speaking his very own self-damning words, and by the end of that hour the country could heave a vast nationwide sigh of relief, for Ed Murrow had just punctured the McCarthy balloon and left him to founder – and, not long after that, give up his political ghost, never to rise again.
With weighty significance, Murrow signed off that night with five words meanwhile permanently engraved in the record of American television’s finest hours: “Good night … and good luck.”
When I caught my present-day American television hero Keith Olbermann appropriating that lapidary sign-off this weekend, after the most powerful demolition job I’ve yet caught him doing on the current national administration, I automatically bridled a bit – but, by golly, once I’d thought about it for only a minute or two, I had to concede that if anyone who’s followed Ed Murrow in stateside television has a right to do that, Keith Olbermann does.
The Olbermann I so vastly admire never pulls his punches, but I’d never before encountered him blasting away at George W. Bush personally, individually, so punitively as he did this time; just to whet your appetite for the entire videoclip I’ll lay on you as soon as I’ve sufficiently whetted your political appetite, herewith a wee nosegay selected from the posies he delivered this time:
“You are, to use your own disrespectful, tone-deaf word, playing at getting the next Republican nominee to agree to jump into this bottomless pit with you, and take us with him, as we stay in Iraq for another year, and another, and another, and anon…. [Y]ou are lying, Mr. Bush. Again. But now we know why…. [T]his president has ceased to listen. This president has decided that night is day, and death is life, and enraging the world against us is safety. And this laziest of presidents actually interrupted his precious time off to fly to Iraq to play at a photo opportunity with soldiers, some of whom will on his orders be killed before the year, maybe the month, is out…. Mr. Bush, our presence in Iraq must end. Even if it means your resignation. Even if it means your impeachment. Even if it means a different Republican to serve out your term. Even if it means a Democratic Congress and those true patriots among the Republicans standing up and denying you another penny for Iraq, other than for the safety and the safe conduct home of our troops. This country cannot run the risk of what you can still do to this country in the next 500 days….”
Almost every time I revel in the stimulation of Keith Olbermann’s rhetorical onslaughts, I marvel that his MSNBC network can possibly find sponsors willing to arouse GOP big-business ire by keeping Olbermann on the air; anticipating this piece of political bloggery, I emailed MSNBC a request to provide me with a list of those sponsors, so I could also plug them by name at the same time here, but presumably the weekend has prevented my thus far getting a response. It does hearten me, though, merely to know that such sponsors exist in Bush’s USA – and this morning came an email claiming that Olbermann’s regular “Countdown” program has become, mirabile dictu, the most popular of all MSNBC offerings!
So brace yourself now for the full sledgehammer impact of this possibly unprecedented videoclip from American television.
LOL. Yeah, Olbermann’s a real intellectual there. The guy has a BA in sports management from some commmunity college. Oh, and he’s a former sportscaster – a regular Edward R. Murrow (a person Olbermann desperately wants to be compared to – as indicated by his pitiful and somewhat hillarious, roll-your-eyes “good night and good luck” signoff – even though he’s not close to anything resembling a journalist – In fact, most real journalists – e.g., Tom Brokaw – appear to be somewhat embarrasssed to be seen on-air with him).
Olbermann’s only “talent” is being shrill on a nightly basis – as hysterical, humorless and angry as the far-right’s Michael Savage – all while carefully reading off a teleprompter in a sanctimonious tone and surrounding himself with “yes men” guests.
His politics and all-consuming anger aside, the guy’s one of least educated and least thoughtful people you’ll find on any news outlet. Can you imagine him sitting down to discuss middle east politics with someone like Christiana Amanpour or Tim McGirk? Would be hysterical. Olbmermann would have absolutely nothing to contribute, unless a teleprompter were 2 feet in front of his face.
Funny to watch the left embrace him as their “hero”. Pathetic. Telling.