Keith Olbermann Canned. Again. (This Time By AlGore)

From the Daily Beast (seems a fitting name for the situation...)

It’s hard to know whom to root for in the coming legal showdown between Keith Olbermann and Al Gore, the former a widely reviled liberal polemicist who cannot hold a job in cable TV and the latter a failed presidential candidate who launched a cable network in 2005 seemingly just for the fun of running it into the ground.

The ground got a lot closer on Thursday when Gore canned Olbermann, at once his worst nightmare and his foundering Current TV’s last real shot at success. The former vice president and his partner Joel Hyatt put out a statement “to viewers” in the pre-weekend news hole of Friday afternoon accusing Olbermann of breach of contract, meaning they have no plans to pay out the $50 million they reportedly owe him. A source suggests the figure is actually much lower, and in any event, it includes an equity stake in a television network no one watches.


But the real punchline comes at the end of the third paragraph--wait for it, wait for it...

Well, not no one: Around 177,000 viewers tuned in to watch Olbermann’s 8 p.m. “Countdown” broadcast at Current on the nights he turned up to work to host it. (Gore and Hyatt accuse him of breach for refusing to anchor many nights, including such important ones as the Iowa caucuses.) By contrast, Olbermann was pulling in around a million viewers from his old perch at MSNBC, from which he departed acrimoniously just 14 months ago. According to a statement from Current, Olbermann will be replaced by prostitute-aficionado Eliot Spitzer, who was fired in July from CNN.

 Eliot (caught banging teenaged hooker while Governor of New York) Spitzer! Yeah, baby, yeah!

On the one hand it is great fun to see the wheels come off the Al Gore clown car. On the other hand, it's pretty sobering to realize just how close we came to having this man as President of the United States.

It's Getting Ugly Out There: Janeane Garofolo Rants About Herman Cain

Sort of a Department of HUH?? moment, ya'll. Why either of them would burn air time over a retired business exec from Atlanta who decides to run for President is waaaay beyond OS's abilities to comprehend. The man's got all the money he can spend for as long as he wishes to spend it, and Miss Janeane opines that he's been bought off by the BigBadMean Wepubwikans.

Actually, Herman probably makes establishment Republicans highly nervous, since he does understand math, knows how to explain it to his audiences, and doesn't care what the GOP National Committee thinks about him.

Oh, well, ya'll. Read it and see if Miz Garofolo makes any sense to you...

The full transcripts of her remarks on Countdown with Keith Olbermann:

GAROFALO: In this presidential race, because he deflects the racism that is inherent in the Republican Party, the conservative movement, the Tea Party, certainly, over the last 30 years the Republican Party has moved more and more to the right, but also race-baiting more, gay-baiting more and religion-baiting more; but Herman Cain, I feel like, is being paid by somebody to be involved and to run for president, so that you can go, 'Oh, yeah. They can't be racist! It's a black guy, it's a black guy who is asking for Obama to be impeached.' Or, 'It's a black guy who's anti-Muslim.' Or, 'It's a black guy who is a Tea Party guy.' And I feel like, well, wouldn't that suit the purposes of whomever astroturfs these things-- whether it be the Koch brothers, or ALEC, or Grover Norquist or any anything. Or it could even be Karl Rove. Let's get Herman Cain involved so it deflects the obvious racism of our Republican Party.

OLBERMANN: Well I mean, would that be separate of his delusions of grandeur, or were they just taking advantage of it...?

GAROFALO: He's a business man!

OLBERMANN: He's a business man, ultimately!

GAROFALO: Whoever pays him and he may have a touch of Stockholm Syndrome. There may be a touch of Stockholm Syndrome in there, because any time I see a person of color or a female in the Republican Party or the conservative movement or the Tea Party, I wonder how they could be trying to curry favor with the oppressors. Is it Stockholm Syndrome or does somebody pay them?

Keith Olbermann, Truly One Of The Worst People In Journalism, Is FIRED

Just in at 9:00 pm Central US Time. OS was surfing, stopped off at CNN out of boredom, and Anderson Cooper makes the announcement.

He was fired tonight, said 'goodbye' tonight. And he's gone.

Comcast bought NBC, and has decided not to let MSNBC be a deserted island.

Plus, the man was just sooooooo obnoxious, hateful, spiteful, and constantly angry.

The sort of guy that chases viewers away.

Finally (at last?), is he gone?

Keith Olbermann, Truly One Of The Worst People In Journalism, Is Busted For Making Political Donations

GRINNNNNNN!!!!

Politico broke the story today.

MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been suspended indefinitely without pay after POLITICO reported that he made three campaign contributions to Democratic candidates.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in a statement Friday: “I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay."

Olbermann made campaign contributions to two Arizona members of Congress and failed Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway ahead of Tuesday’s election.

Olbermann, who acknowledged the contributions in a statement to POLITICO, made the maximum legal donations of $2,400 apiece to Conway and to Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords. He donated to the Arizona pair on Oct. 28 — the same day that Grijalva appeared as a guest on Olbermann’s “Countdown” show.

NBC has a rule against employees contributing to political campaigns, and a wide range of news organizations prohibit political contributions — considering it a breach of journalistic independence to contribute to the candidates they cover.

The Politico link also features a 'best-of-Keith' video gallery, as he rails about the evil people who donate to causes he reviles.

It isn't like the policy hadn't been made clear, as found on the MSNBC website:

"Anyone working for NBC News who takes part in civic or other outside activities may find that these activities jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist because they may create the appearance of a conflict of interest. Such activities may include participation in or contributions to political campaigns or groups that espouse controversial positions. You should report any such potential conflicts in advance to, and obtain prior approval of, the president of NBC News or his designee.”

Keith found out this week that that word 'anyone' meant, well, 'Keith'...

OS does not spend much time with Rush, or Sean, or Savage, or the other ideological screamers that mount the radio and tv pulpits. They're so busy scoring points that they often miss the point--the point about the culture itself. Screaming people are difficult to reason with. It feels great to feel that rush of adrenaline when someone you agree with turns the phrase just so, and verbally slam-dunks any and all who may disagree.

But the feeling goes away, and usually, the problem isn't solved. We really need grown-ups behind the mic, people with great minds, and definite opinions, but with some old-fashioned manners. Bill Buckley did it so well, as did David Brinkley, and David Frost. No one seemed to be taking notes on how they did it, though. No one filled their shoes.

Keith is just a Leftie doppelganger of Michael Savage, raging and fuming, cheered by those who agree and reviled by those who don't. The ratings go up, and the civil discourse swirls the drain.

Unfortunately, this won't be the end of him. He'll be portrayed as a victim, a crusader for Hope-n-Change. There will be a fresh radio show, a book deal, the lecture circuit, etc. etc, etc. Who knows, TheOne may choose him to replace ObamaBob next year. Who knows? Stranger things have happened. In any event, the circus will simply move to another town. He and Al Gore can co-produce a series on ethics in public life, with John Edwards as the first hero held up for our admiration. The possibilities are, after all, endless, if one is unencumbered by reason or conscience.

But, today, let us count our modest blessings. For now, he's off the air, and the silence is golden.