Olbermann needs to shut up for a while

[boolean]

Like all of you, I'm LOVING K.O. right about now. But it pains me to say that if he does this too often, if he does this every night, every other night, every week, it's going to start getting old and stale.

People (not us, but non-political fence sitters) will start to see it too much as a gimmicky rant. Right wingers who are thinking about switching parties (even the ones who won't, but are considering making an exception for the coming election) will start to feel like they're being manipulated (because they're stupid, as we all know...)

K.O. is our most powerful sword in the media right now. Let's not overuse it lest it becomes blunt and dull. Tell K.O. to keep up the good work, but to hold back just a little bit. A good kick ass rant every few weeks might be good.

Just not every night. Let the rants sink in for a while. Let them make their way through the blogosphere. Wait until the chimp does or says something especially idiotic before pouncing, instead of pouncing on every little idiotic thing he does.

Anyone agree?

ON EDIT: To clarify for some responses below. I'm not saying KO should stop telling the truth. If anything, he needs to keep on pounding it home. I'm speaking specifically about the rants. The worst thing we can do here is have him do one of these rants because he feels like he has to, or because they bring in ratings.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. Only when O'Liely, Rushie, and Coult-whore stop. n/t

MKJ

[Cha]

2. Funny how the rw shite on fauxsnews

doesn't get old for the fascists or the rw shite on cnn.

[movonne]

3. Yes I agree...

[Monkeyman]

4. No keep hitting them over the head

That what the right is doing to get out their base. Ours seems to be falling back

[Redstone]

5. Never say anything negative about Saint Keith.

Much more trouble than it's worth, trust me.

Redstone

[fooj]

16. "Saint Keith"...

Big fan, eh?

[Redstone]

24. I actually like the guy for the most part. He just gets wearisome now and

again, and really stupid once in a while as well.

Redstone

[Der Blaue Engel]

42. Don't we all

(get wearisome now and again and really stupid once in a while, that is). But he's the lone voice crying in the wilderness at this point, so it's only natural that people feel strongly about him.

[Redstone]

83. I can understand why people would feel like that. You make sense.

Redstone

[springhill]

58. Coming from you.....

that's high praise.

[Redstone]

84. Agreed. "Actually liking someone for the most part" is about as effusive

as I'm going to get.

Hey, somebody has to be like that.

Redstone

[madokie]

6. Not really, I say keep on trucking and talking KO

We need the voice

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. No way!

He's one of the very few media people who speak for us, and nobody does it better. The last thing I want is for him to shut up.

[grasswire]

8. I am Keith's biggest booster...

...and I agree with you to a certain extent.

I don't want his fervor commercialized. I don't want him to have to meet a deadline for a certain number of rants. I want them to be unique, thoughtful, and driven only by the overwhelming gut-felt need to inform the people of dangers to our Constitutional guarantees -- not by ratings or marketing.

Don't commodify Keith!!!

[Der Blaue Engel]

9. No, I don't agree

The only person with integrity in the mainstream media should shut up because the "fencesitters" will get tired of it? Too damn bad. This is the destruction of our country you're watching. Thank goddess there's one voice of the people out there.

[Sapere aude]

10. No I don't agree. If he says it every night people will begin to pay

attention.

I've heard that we shouldn't vote because we may win and the big bad repukes will lay into us. We should tell Keith to shut up because it is getting old to criticize the repukes. Hell why don't we just fold up our hands and let them run thing for the rest of our lives?

[LSparkle]

11. My boyfriend said the same thing last night

Said the "special comment" went on too long. But then at the end, he said he agreed wholeheartedly with what Keith said, so ... I think it should become at most a weekly event and keep it short and sweet. Otherwise, if these turn into extended rants, they're rich fodder for the turd-tossers (I've already heard a few beginning to lampoon KO).

[Raksha]

91. They're lampooning Keith because they know he's effective.

It was inevitable that they would do that as soon as people started paying attention. The more effective he is, the more they're going to try to discredit him. That's just how they operate and I'm sure he's expecting it. Maybe he'll start reading his "hate mailbag" on the air!

[Libby2]

12. Nope

I don't agree.

[shadowknows69]

13. Wait until the chimp does something?

Sheeit Keith still has a boxful of stuff to cover that the chimp has already done. Keep talking KO.

[Kierkegaard]

37. My God, the amount of material Keith has to work with

will keep him busy until retirement!

The only issue I have with Keith's rants is that they are not very accessible for the common person. I think he should tone down the message a bit so it is more easily digested by the people who need to hear it.

[JanusAscending]

75. In other words, he should "dumb it down" a bit,

so that the average voters can understand what he's talking about? They are so used to "bushspeak", or "stuck on stupid"!!! That was the first thing that went through my head last night, when he announced another "rant". Too much of a good thing, less is best and all that. It still does my heart good to hear truth spoken to power though!! How about once a week, on Fridays news dump, then he can lay it all out from the previous week?????

[mwb970]

127. I agree about the accessibility.

"The only issue I have with Keith's rants is that they are not very accessible for the common person."

I'm a pretty darn intelligent person (if I do say so myself), yet I frequently get lost in the middle of his rant and lose track of what he is saying.

I finally figured out that his rants are written to be read in print, not spoken out loud. When you read them, they are cogent and subtle and make perfect sense. When you hear them, the ideas just go by too fast to assimilate properly, especially with all the fancy phrases, historical allusions, etc. It takes me a moment to think about what he's said, but by then he's two sentences further on!

It's not a matter of "dumbing it down". It's just that you should write a speech differently than you would write a published essay.

[Kierkegaard]

129. That's precisely what I was alluding to.

I, too, feel that Keith shouldn't have to 'dumb down' his message, but rather write it in a manner that is more easily digested. The ideas expressed in these pieces are too important to be lost on verbosity.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

14. Agreed. Good observation.

[verse18]

15. I disagree.

KO is telling the truth and I, as well as most people I know, will never get tired of hearing that.

Fifty some odd days until the mid-term election and you want one of the lone liberal voices on MSM to shut up for a while?

[NVMojo]

17. Go, KO! Too many idiots in America still don't know how bad things are!

[Janice325]

18. No.

I'm sorry I don't agree with you.
We've been "nice" way too long.

[DearAbby]

19. Lets hide the truth and bring it out only in small doses...

Because some may not like the sound of truth, being brought out into the open.

Lets hide the truth and bring it out, only in small doses. Truth in large doses hurts our cause.

::Randi voice::: Whaaaat?

[BootinUp]

20. Counter point: He needs to keep it up...

The more people talk about it, the more people will check him out. I trust Keith will always have his facts to back up the rhetoric and he can defend himself quite well should anyone attack.

[sandnsea]

21. Let him run his own show, for cripes sake

Whine when people don't speak up enough and then whine when they do. Goddamn. Just let the man go - it isn't like there's a shortage of outrages for him to comment on.

[shadowknows69]

What I think is most important

that Keith doesn't become "champion of the left" We need a champion for truth. I expect mr. Olberman to give as good to corrupt Dems as this jackass administration.

[rodeodance]

22. I disagree. He is doing just fine. the more the better

[IChing]

23. Democrats need to shut up for a while

Like all of you, I'm LOVING the democrats. right about now. But it pains me to say that if they do this too often, if they do this every night, every other night, every week, it's going to start getting old and stale.

People (not us, but non-political fence sitters) will start to see it too much as a gimmicky rant. Right wingers who are thinking about switching parties (even the ones who won't, but are considering making an exception for the coming election) will start to feel like they're being manipulated (because they're stupid, as we all know...)

The democrats are our most powerful sword in the media right now. Let's not overuse it lest it becomes blunt and dull. Tell the democrats to keep up the good work, but to hold back just a little bit. A good kick ass rant every few weeks might be good.

Just not every night. Let the rants sink in for a while. Let them make their way through the blogosphere. Wait until the chimp does or says something especially idiotic before pouncing, instead of pouncing on every little idiotic thing he does.

Anyone agree?

[IChing]

32. I forgot this was sarcasm

Because it makes as much sense as my post with just a few words changed.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

34. Um, no.

The problem with the Democrats is that they have been too quiet. For years they've been getting steamrolled by Republican blowhards and they don't say diddly squat about it. Why should Dems be silent when bloviating asshats like Hannity and Limbaugh and O'Reilly hand on to the bullhorn and *never* shut up? And how the hell will the Dems' message get out if they continue to be so timid and fearful of offending or alienating somebody? Fuck that. We need them to yell at the top of their lungs.

[IChing]

54. Did you read my post? it was sarcasm

I just changed KO for the democrats in his post.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

60. No matter. The point is the same: Neither KO nor the Democrats

should shut up at all. They need to yell louder.

[IChing]

65. The democrats do talk but do not have access to the media

"No matter " still felt condescending and patronizing to my analogy of the posters own words

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

68. Sorry -- I certainly didn't intend it that way.

Just trying to emphasize the point. Didn't mean to give offense.

[Patchuli]

105. That's true and John Kerry pointed it out

discussed on another thread in here somewhere today. The Democrats do have plans to America's problems but the media doesn't cover that...they cover the RW bullshit spin!

[malaise]

87. Genius stuff

Profound. :D

[aaronbees]

108. I think people must have their sarcasm radars turned off today....

Your post was brilliant and spot on. :)

[Der Blaue Engel]

36. .

Excellent reply. :thumbsup:

[MODemocrat]

25. I think he needs to keep it up

The more Rush and Hannity rant, the more their side love it; we need someone with KO's savvy on
our side. He will know when enough is enough, and I, for one, just happen to love it.
Democrats have been too nice for way too long, and it got them absolutely nowhere.
:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[NNN0LHI]

26. I am slightly concerned he may self destruct like Howard Beale in Network

Howard Beale: {screaming at the top of his lungs} "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

But I think (hope) he knows what he is doing.

He has a lot of guts.

Don

[Captain Hilts]

66. No, he'd go back to the sports department like he did after Monica. nt

[melody]

27. I wish KO could be 24 hours, streaming

It still wouldn't be enough truth to blot out the BUSHit.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

28. Not Only Do I STRONGLY Disagree

But I also know how to correctly spell the guy's name.

[Divine Discontent]

46. LOLOLOLOLOLOL

exactly, some big fan they are (it would APPEAR, although they may love him, too!) if they don't spell his name right.

I SAY KEEP DOING IT, no one with that much talent should be told to SHUT UP! How odd... just maybe not do it so often. Weekly is a great idea, or when the need arises, which I think is what he's done anyhow.



GO KEITH!!!

The only reason people are scared is because he's drawn so much attention, as long as he stays on point and is true, he should keep talking. I think the few weeks of oct. he should slow down and then pump out 2 or so the last week before election day to get big ratings.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

47. His Ratings Are Going Up Up UP!!

So he must be doing something wrong, and should stop immediately.

It's about time we went back to the quiet, obedient, subservient democrats we were meant to be. Maybe he can be more agressive after the elections are over. That's when it will matter most.

[lgn19087]

29. How are his ratings?

I know MSNBC is near the bottom of the pack...how is he doing? If he's not reaching that many households to begin with, does it matter?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

49. Hi, lgn19087, Welcome to DU, enjoy your stay.

Yep, what does it matter, it's just a few households anyway.

:rofl: MKJ

(BTW, your previous posts are fascinating.:hi: )

[The_Casual_Observer]

30. Finally somebody in the media is willing to speak out & you want

him to tone it down? No way.

[Raffi Ella]

31. No,I do not agree

Staying silent has got us into the mess we find ourselves in.Shutting up wouldn't help ANYbody at this point.If anything Keith needs to speak up more and others need to follow suit.

This kind of truth speaking is long overdue in my opinion.Liberal media my ass...

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

33. Yeah, He Should Be Like The Faux Hosts Who Only Rant Like That Rarely.

:sarcasm:

:eyes:

[LiviaOlivia]

35. Jeeez!

I nominate this for the stupidest post I read on Du in a while.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

50. I second the nomination, LOL.

MKJ

[FogerRox]

57. I 3rd the nomination

[lgn19087]

81. I've seen some stupid ones

But this one is up there. If Keith wants to go on TV and speak truth to power, he's got my vote.

[0007]

128. A very dumb post

[lgn19087]

136. Mine?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

38. Totally disagree. He's just about the only one currently out there who

is openly stating that the emperor has no clothes.

[rzemanfl]

48. I think all he really said is he'd like to see the receipt for 'em. n/t

[DURHAM D]

39. Good lord - are you a regular watcher. He does not have

a special comment every night.

He only comments when the Bushies do something incredibly offensive. Lately Bush is campaigning every hour of every day and lying and spouting crap 24/7 so KO sometimes responds.

So you call the comments "rants".

Do you call the estate tax the death tax and pro-choice "pro-abortion"?

[datasuspect]

40. and the lord said "let there be light"

and when someone steps into the light, it doth revealeth SO MUCH.

[AlCzervik]

41. he's had all of 2 special commentaries so far, he's a long way from stale.

once a week would be a good feature.

[rzemanfl]

52. What about the Rummy thing? Wasn't that a "special comment-

ary?" What about "Louisianna is a city under water." All brilliant, by the way.

[B Calm]

43. Mike Malloy never got old and stale, why would Kieth?

[BootinUp]

44. K&R!!! SERIES@!!111!

Sorry, couldn't help it.

[RagAss]

45. Our country is circling the bowl...and you want a truth speaker to STFU?

[Horse with no Name]

51. Hmmm yeah

let's just sit down and shut up when we have some momentum going.
I am SURE that is what is the best thing to do.
Let me clue you in...we have a lot of people trying to decide who to vote for.
Many people have no idea the extent of crimes this administration has committed. 73% MORE people tuned in to Keith AFTER he started this commentary. There is an audience of people hungry for the truth.
Let's not shut him up--hell, let's put him on twice a day.

[KamaAina]

53. Actually, no. What we need is for others to speak up

so Keith doesn't feel he has to carry the whole load all by himself.

Look at how many RW wackos there are to tag-team the liberals: OxyMoron, O'Really?, Insannity, Coultergeist, Savage Weiner, and on ond on ad nauseam. Compared to that, Keith must be feeling a bit lonely out there on the limb.

[JuniperLea]

55. Nope... sorry... the gloves are off!

We need his voice! Strong, clear and constant!

[davidwparker]

56. He needs to keep on, keeping on.

[ima_sinnic]

59. no, NO "regulation" of Keith's commentary--he gives them as he sees fit

--he does not give a Special Commentary (sorry but it is not a "rant"--sheesh) when he is so moved. They are not every evening, they are when he can no longer keep silent. Let there be absolutely no "rules," no "guidelines," no nothing one way or the other about how often and how long his commentaries are going to be. Let him be Keith Olbermann to his fullest extent. The more he talks, the more curious people get and the more they will tune in to find out what the stir is about.

But did you know, in "conditioning experiments" with animals, the animals (such as rats, pigeons, dogs, whatever) responded in whatever way was being rewarded (by finding some food behind a screen, say) when that reward was given inconsistently--not every single time but frequently enough so the animals got the idea that it paid to do that thing often to get the reward. So too with viewers hoping to catch the latest "rant" as you call it--he does them every now and then, lately a couple in one week or once a week for two weeks--and that will keep people tuning in to try to find out if TONIGHT is the night he is going to give one of his famous Special Commentaries.

[AlwayzADem]

61. Keith Olbermann Rocks!!

I say......KEEP TALKIN', KEITH!!!

We need to do whatever it takes to get through to the beer-swillin' dittoheads out there. The righties have no problem ranting and repeating ad nauseum and I say we need to fight fire with fire.

Go, Keith, go!!!

[VOX]

62. Let's mind our manners in the face of galloping totalitarianism...

And for God's sake, don't make any waves or show any emotion.

Sorry, but NO. The RW controls all 3 branches of government now, and KO is just about the only talking head who's sticking it to them. (Democratic candidates should tear a page out of the KO playbook, get tough and make that kind of eloquent, emotional connection.)

The idea of his quieting down is no strategy at all against what probably will be known as our country's darkest hour.

[durrrty libby]

63. I disagee

He needs to rant every frigin day and twice on Sunday

[Change has come]

64. What a pile of horse shit

Do you think we should all stay home and not vote as well?

[kiki]

67. Maybe Keith just doesn't give a fuck any more...

As someone who's aware of what's going on, perhaps his latest missives are the rhetoric of a man who feels he genuinely has nothing to lose.

Pray we don't all feel that way before too long. Holding back because we're worried about who's going to win the rigged elections will surely get us there sooner.

[Berry Cool]

69. In the recent article on him in Salon, Keith made it clear that

his bosses at MSNBC would be happy if he did MORE commentaries. His commentaries draw attention and ratings. Like typical clueless TV executives, their theory is if something works, all you have to do is ladle on more, more, more.

He himself has been resisting the push to make his commentaries an every-night, routinely expected phenomenon. He understands fully well himself that after a while, the law of diminishing returns will kick in. He appears determined to ensure that his commentaries are something he presents only when he feels they are warranted by events--not when someone else feels one needs to be thrown in as a ratings booster. I think Keith himself realizes that if his commentaries become routine, they will be drained of the immediacy and the passion that makes them so effective.

Let's give the man some credit here. He knows better than to try to make every day "special" and wear out his welcome. At the same time, he has no intention of shutting up and piping down.

I trust his instincts to do what is right.

[sueh]

70. Nope. He should keep going...

and going...and going, just like the energizer bunny. There are a lot more people who need to hear this.

[TomInTib]

71. I completely agree. Talking about this just last night.

I am totally amazed at 99% of the replies above.

Does anyone here know anything about marketing or psy-ops?

Pheasant, done right, is just wonderful.

Pheasant, seven nights in a row, becomes old and tired.

Grow up, folks.

[Raffi Ella]

98. Grow up?You are well informed

and knowledgeable about the corruption going on in the White House but don't forget that mr. bush still enjoys 35 % or so approval ratings and he gets to be on TV for half hour long speeches any time he feels like it.
The public is being bombarded at this point by insanity from the WhiteHouse.We are heading into one of the most important elections in recent history and NO body is really fighting for the truth.Atleast not on the "Nooz"...

So!when a man(or woman in my case)hasn't had pheasant in years(six to be exact)a few pheasant dinners cooked to perfection are just what the Dr. ordered.Especially in times like these :)

Forgive me for enjoying them so much.

[TomInTib]

119. My point on this is that I often observe folks here hanging on to the ..

next thing, the next installment.

When your eye is focused on the icon, you cannot see the ball.

Keith Olberman (God bless him - I never miss a show but one must be realistic about his viewer numbers) is not going to save this Nation.

But he could make a huge contribution to same.

He just needs to choose his shots carefully.

[Raffi Ella]

134. Oh yeah,I can see your point I just disagree with you.

:patriot:

The GOP have an entire network devoted to their message 24/7.And as we can all see that's worked out pretty well for them hasn't it?
Keith Olbermann calling a spade a spade is exactly what we need.In fact we need more of it.NOT less.
I remember back when Clinton was getting impeached, before I was involved and engaged in politics on any level;The GOP message got through to me loud and clear.Why?Becasue they made their case 24/7,screaming on every network that would allow them to(which was all as I recall).

I don't think with the dire straights America is in that Keith Olbermann needs to pick and choose his battles.I think he needs to devote entire shows to special commentaries.Like Fox does. :)

[meldroc]

72. Keith himself agrees...

IIRC, in his Salon.com interview, KO stated that while everyone's clammoring for his special commentaries (including his producers,) if he uses his big guns too much, they lose their power. He wants to keep his special commentaries special, IOW.

Don't worry too much. Keith Olbermann's smart enough to understand this.

[Catchawave]

73. "Special Comments" are important right now...

Midterm elections sprinkled with Terra, Terra, Terra by lying professional politicians who are full of poo.

Keep on Keeping on Keith :applause:

Keith is our only light in this endless tunnel of DOOM :hi:

[marions ghost]

122. yep

ratcheting it up right now is exactly what we need.

Keith's doing a great job. :bounce:

As for 'dumbing it down' for the masses. Most people can get what Keith's saying. They might have to stretch a bit in spots.

[Skidmore]

74. Would it be a novel idea to encourage others to speak out like him?

Or, is only one man at a time allowed to be pissed off at the absurd indecency of our government? They need to hear a roar from the people...and the press.

[Disturbed]

76. He doesn't deliver these every night.

If he did they wouldn't be "special" would they? Rants? Uh...no. They are well thought out and finely worded commentaries.

KO is our Edward R. Morrow. We desperately need more people on TV that delivery the Stark Truth.

[Skidmore]

133. The ideas behind those commentaries should not be in the

realm of "special" but should become common utterances by all Americans. It would be refreshing to see more journalists and editors get in touch with the concepts of honesty and integrity.

[ikojo]

77. After 16 years of Democrat bashing by the likes

of Rush Limbaugh I'd say Keith has just begun to even that score!

[left is right]

78. Propaganda is spread by repetition

We have grown so accoustomed to the propaganda that the truth will have to be consistently spoken over and over again for most to even hear it. KO should speak the truth for as long as he is able.

[Clarkie1]

79. A rant a night up until election night would be the right amount.

After that, depending upon the outcome, it might be o.k. to go to a rant every other night or even weekly.

No use kicking a dead horse.

[zonkers]

80. Keith should just call it as he sees it.

[Uzybone]

82. No wonder people think Liberals are pansies

We finally have one person in the MSM telling the truth and some want him to stop. Why? RW drivel is forced down our throats everyday. I doubt anyone leaning dem will change thier vote to repub because of KO. In fact it will make them more strongly dem.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

85. Hellooo, boolean. No response? Are you doing a post and run?

Just asking. :shrug: MKJ

[BlooInBloo]

86. Maybe he should *be* shut up! Yah! And you're the one to do it!

sheesh. The things people say around here....

[StrictlyRockers]

88. You are wrong. Keith needs to rant more.

Here is my opinion on this subject:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2174903

[Roxy66]

89. I think your right...

[Dinger]

90. No, I Disagree

In fact, I think he needs to crank things up a bit

[Hamlette]

92. I agree, he seemed to rant on the "unacceptable to think" line twice

and his rants are too long.

IMHO

I'm not recommending him to my friends as much now. I'm a little embarassed for him. It's like he sees this as his road to fame, and honestly, he's not that good at it.

[FredScuttle]

93. Yes, god forbid he bring in....(gasp) ratings!

n/t

[lonestarnot]

94. WTF? STFU when the nation is craving truth from the MSM?

Are you loosing it?

[insane_cratic_gal]

95. Sorry, I Strongly Disagree

If he listened to your "sage" advice he be like any other collared and tied reporter out there.
We have enough of those "reserved stuffed shirts who are media whores working for the Pimp Broadcast that restrain speech cowards who would not dare utter the the truth because of wing nuts or because of their rabid bosses are wing nuts!

So If you were to ask me? I'd say rant Keithy baby RANT, He isn't saying anything we haven't felt for the last 6 years. For me, I finally feel represented, I have a champion to fight along side me. AND as long as he's ranting, I'm watching and I'm paying rapt attention.

[dollydew]

96. KO Rants

I agree with you. Too many rants from MLK Jr. Shut up. To many rants from RFK. Shut up. Too many rants from Medgar Evers. Shut up. Too many rants from Fannie Lou Hamer. Shut up. Too many rants from the founding fathers against King George. Shut up. Too many rants from Nelson Mandela. Shut up. Too many rants from Bishop Desmond Tutu. Shut up. Oh and that Jesus fella could really rant. Wouldn't want offend the moderates of his day. He really should have shut up. Buddha, can't have him going on and on about finding your spiritual center and peace. Shut up. Anti slavery ranters, shut up. Anti genocide protesters, shut up. Anti lynching ranters , shut up. We can't upset the "moderates". All of these truth tellers should have shut up.

[insane_cratic_gal]

97. you might want to add sarcasm in there

some people knee jerk

[dollydew]

103. sarcasm

I figger if ya can't tell the forest from the trees, I ain't explainin'. I been called the "n" word to my face. I owe no explanations. P.S. If ya didn't get this then Colbert must really baffle ya.

[Raffi Ella]

130. lol

Welcome to DU :toast:

[insane_cratic_gal]

135. I never said I didn't get it

I just said some people have knee jerk reactions so it's best to leave a note giving them a clue

[donheld]

99. Please, Someone explain to me why

everytime we find someone to speak for our side, others on our side decide they need to shut up? :grr:

[tyedyeto]

100. Who else in the M$M (corporate media) is speaking for us these days?

Please speak your mind Keith...no matter what the naysayers say.

[darkism]

101. "Special commentaries" should stay special.

Having Keith write and deliver them every night would eventually take its toll on their quality after a while. So while I agree in theory with what you're saying, I definitely wouldn't phrase it as him needing to "shut up" and I most definitely wouldn't call valid, hard-hitting commentaries "rants," which has a connotation of pieces of unfounded opinion instead of truthful and warranted condemnations of evil men and evil policies.

[lectrobyte]

102. It sure as fuck didn't seem to get stale when Limbaugh, Hannity or

any other ranting RWer pundit I can think of does their bit for years and years on radio/TV... If it's bothering you, turn the box off. It's working for me, filling in the Malloy gap.

[darkism]

106. That's because they're right-wing pundits.

Their job is to bloviate endlessly with opinion.

Keith is an objective newsman, not a liberal pundit. As a newsman, his job is to report neutrally the facts and nothing but. However, he also has an obligation to deliver commentary where commentary is due - on things that are too outrageous to go unchallenged, such as the administration's 9/11 disgrace and the "Leader of the Free World™" implying that it is wrong to think for oneself.

Simply, there is no comparison between Olbermann and Malloy or other current or former AAR hosts cited in this thread. Malloy's job is to boost our side. Olbermann's is to speak the truth. While the truth almost universally boosts our side, a newsman must not be a pundit.

Just my two cents, of course.

[lectrobyte]

110. Truth is not incompatible with ranting. And seriously, what kind of

reaction did you hope to arouse with a thread entitled "Keith should shut up for awhile"? Did it meet your expectations?

[darkism]

113. I'm not the OP, just (mostly) agreeing with him.

Refer to #101 for more on my position >> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2173776&mesg_id=2175963

[lectrobyte]

114. OK then, sorry for the mix up on that. But I stand by the rest of it. We

could use some ranting, every day if necessary. The folks that it may turn off are probably lost anyway, and if someone in the middle happens to flip across one and it makes them think, so much the better.

[Truthiness Inspector]

104. Keith needs to keep "ranting"

The more often the better. Voices like his are what change minds.

[bobthedrummer]

107. Strongly disagree. KO is only one venue in the perception management

MSM.

Remember the movie "Network"?

It IS time to go to your window, open it up and not yell "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"- just fearlessly speak the truth about what has been hidden for so long about these criminal RW fascists.

[Mr_Spock]

109. Calling his great oratories "rants" only serves to make your point

I'm not liking your language here at all. You are denigrating Olbermann by even implying that his speaking of truth to power can be lowered to the level of "rant". This post insults the intelligence of a lot of people - and you as well.

[aaronbees]

111. If O'Reilly can be O'Reilly and Coulter can be Coulter then lets let ...

Olbermann be Olbermann and enjoy the ride while he can. It's not often we get a voice like his on corporate-robot TV land, so we should cherish it, I say.

[w4rma]

112. I couldn't disagree more. (nt)

[AtomicKitten]

115. He is a voice in the darkness

that cannot be heard often enough or loud enough.

We are very lucky indeed to have someone step up into the void of the MSM. He deserves our support.

[Batgirl]

116. IMO you need to find something else to worry about

After all it's not like this is a case where you have billions of viewers breathlessly tracking every move and utterance of some crappy reality TV "star."

We have this one guy periodically calling out Buscho to an audience that represents a tiny fraction of the public. I highly doubt most people will feel he is getting "old and stale" since as far as I know his commentaries have yet to air on American Idol.

But maybe, if he keeps sit up, his criticisms will begin to enter into the public discourse. Not just the discourse of political junkies.
It's all to easy to forget how large these things DON'T loom in the consciousness of people who aren't plugged into the political blogosphere every waking minute.

It wasn't that long ago no public figure was allowed to even vaguely hint that Bush might be slightly less than a demi-god. KO's commentaries are a nice healthy antidote to any lingering "we can't say anything bad about the War President lest we be accused of harboring an unnatural fondness for Saddamossama".

[MrSlayer]

117. Step on their fucking necks.

With this non-stop Chimp coverage we need someone doing this every fucking night.

[Blackthorn]

118. NO.

Utterly ridiculous notion. The RW has got where it is by pounding its message home repeatedly, not just throwing it out there to be kicked around for a while.

[MzNov]

120. Not until everyone in America hears him!!! Turn it UP KO nt

[Stardust]

121. Boolean, I don't know where to begin...surely you jest. The FIRST

news anchor since I can remember that has the courage to challenge * and you want him to **NOT OVERUSE IT???????** I'd suggest you research the meaning of the word "rant" before you accuse him of it. Now go to your room and stay there.

[KT2000]

123. Cannot agree with you

Let's see - America is now the land of torture, illegal wars, abolishing public health standards for corporate profit - and on and on.

Rant on Keith!

[Duppers]

124. HELL NO!

NT

[NotGivingUp]

125. Strongly, wholeheartedly, without a doubt DISAGREE.

[LaurenG]

126. Well I don't agree

I hope that Keith NEVER shuts up. He says what we feel and he's right on the money. The truth should NEVER be silenced. Maybe he'll influence more media talking heads to start telling the truth too.

[Name removed]

131. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[semillama]

132. I agree with your addendum comment

However, I think that perhaps what would be better than saying Keith Olbermann needs to speak less is that others wiht similar messages and views need to speak MORE. There need to be KOs on every network.