# Keith Olbermann should kill himself **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 17, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756 "2009-05-17T16:36:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/81 "2009-05-18T03:03:53Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > My point is that I often hear people considering an honest difference of opinion to be a lie. But you’ve claimed that Limbaugh and Olbermann mostly agree, so surely you yourself have fallen into the trap of assuming that the idea they honestly disagree is a lie? > [@](#): > > Or people thinking that someone who agrees with them on a lot of things is a good honest bloke. So where are you getting the idea that \*\*elucidator \*\*thinks this way from? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/82 "2009-05-18T03:13:17Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I clicked on every link on that page and they were all 404 errors. This guy actually dealt with Limbaugh and has links to many of his lies and hateful remarks: > **[Rush Limbaugh Confronted On the Air](http://scoobievslimbaugh.blogspot.com/)** > > Exclusive Transcript of A Blogger's On-Air Grilling of Boss Limbaugh about His Lies, Dishonesty, & Deception. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/83 "2009-05-18T03:18:37Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > But while we are grabbing links for highly partisan sites that happen to be the first google link under So and So Lies. > > [http://olbermannwatch.com/](http://olbermannwatch.com/) That is mostly opinion that is not even from the owner of the site. I would expect specific lies, not just opinion or demonstrated disapproval of what he says. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/84 "2009-05-18T03:36:54Z")
An honest difference of opinion isn’t a lie, of course. But Limbaugh has the habit of presenting his utterly unfounded opinions as though they had some support in facts, when they haven’t any such support, and couldn’t. For instance, his famous claim that Michael Fox was exaggerating his Parkinson’s symptoms for political advantage. Leaving aside that this is an unspeakably cruel sarcasm on a man who has done nothing to Rushbot other than disagree, there is simply no way Rush could know this, short of a Certificate of Telepathy, or at the very least a medical degree. Or his recent spiteful rants about how Obama seeks to exploit the recession for political gain. He’s not accusing Obama of being simply wrong, but of a horrendous cynicism. Again, I see no reason to believe that Rushbot can take Obama’s inventory, nor to believe that he can peer into Obama’s mind. There is no pretense of objectivity here, so, in that regard, you might say he is honest enough. But he doesn’t have the honesty to even hedge these outrageous opinions, he presents these wild accusations as simple facts, and of course they are no such thing. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/85 "2009-05-18T03:42:12Z")
Didn’t he also say the Swine Flu was an Obama conspiracy? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/86 "2009-05-18T03:47:40Z")
I’ve also never heard Olbermann say that he hopes the economy and/or the nation _fails_. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/87 "2009-05-18T03:56:58Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I’ve also never heard Olbermann say that he hopes the economy and/or the nation _fails_. But this is likely an example of Rush being HONEST. He really would rather have America fail than have Obama succeed. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/88 "2009-05-18T04:29:47Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Or his recent spiteful rants about how Obama seeks to exploit the recession for political gain. He’s not accusing Obama of being simply wrong, but of a horrendous cynicism. Every politician seeks to exploit problems for political gain. And Obama certainly was eager enough to sign that horrendous stimulus package that was thoroughly packed with pork by a cynical Congress seeking to exploit the recession for political gain that he can hardly be considered exempt from the process. (And what happened to the posting of it 48 hours in advance on the White House web site? Why didn’t Obama insist on that before signing it; it sat on his desk all weekend while he was out of town.) There is a reason why it is said that action speaks louder than words. One of the silliest and most dishonest aspects of life on these boards is the stance that unless it’s borne out by written data somewhere, a thing simply doesn’t exist. Limbaugh has just as much standing to allege that Obama is trying to exploit the recession as posters around here (ad infinitum) have to allege that Bush lied about Iraqi WMD. Both are based on personal opinion, political bias and personal observation, and both are voiced as absolute fact. So unless you’re willing to concede that you don’t know for a fact what Bush’s thinking was with regard to Iraq, it seems to me that you have no standing to criticise Limbaugh’s take on what Obama is thinking. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/89 "2009-05-18T04:44:43Z")
Well, first and foremost, we hardly need trouble ourselves about Mr Bush’s “thoughts”, such as they were. He made public statements, they are on the record. He subjected Saddam to an ultimatum on the subject of WMD. Did he believe what he was saying, or no? I don’t know, and cannot think of any good reason to care. He said these things were so, they weren’t so, and a whole fuckload of innocent people are dead. If Bush believed what he said, he is a fool. If he didn’t, he is a villain. Either way, those people are just as dead, and that is a crime. And the author of that crime is he. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/90 "2009-05-18T04:48:42Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > that horrendous stimulus package that was thoroughly packed with pork. That is a fucking lie. Stop claiming it. And by the way, the people attacking pork the most were the ones with the most pork in the damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/91 "2009-05-18T04:59:54Z")
We don’t know what Bush was thinking or even if he ever was thinking, but we know what he said and what he said wasn’t true. That is not a matter of opinion. That is a matter of Congressional Record and military history. There have also been documents recently made public that show that Vice President Cheney was responsible for the torture of an “enemy combatant” _before_ the war for the purpose of gaining information that would **support** a war in Iraq. The man was waterboarded 83 times for that purpose. (Hardball, May 15, 2009) This was happening during the time that Bush was trying to rally support for the war in Congress. If Bush was merely “misinformed” by the CIA, why did he give Tenet the Medal of Honor? And why did Colin Powell have such detailed information about WMD when he addressed the UN? Of course President Obama had to tolerate pork in the stimulous package. That’s how he got the stimulous package passed. Is the Dow-Jones higher or lower since the stimulous package passed? Has the housing market gotten better or worse? Are traditional economic indicators up or down? I certainly got a bonus from the government this month: $250 that I had not counted on. You, you, you…Republican! ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/92 "2009-05-18T05:09:32Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > [**Keith Olbermann’s scathing criticism of Obama’s secrecy/immunity claims**](http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/08/criticism/) > > OK I 've showed you mine, now you show me yours. Or to make it easier for you to understand, find me anything similar coming out of the mouths of Hannity or Billo that remotely approaches such level of criticism regarding Bush and his cabal of merry men. > > 'nuff said. This. O’Reilly, Hannity, Savage, and Beck never took any real shots at “their” boy, did they? As far as I can see, they’re ALL full of shit, but some are more repugnat than others. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/93 "2009-05-18T05:20:21Z")
I’m an Alabamian, an Auburn grad (and a U of Alabama grad), and an Olbermann fan. I certainly don’t agree with him on everything but, like Rush and Hannity, he’s an entertainer. Unlike them he doesn’t make much pretense of it. Currently my only real beef with him is that he’s been waaaaaay too light on the Hannity waterboarding issue. He needs to borrow just a dash of psychotic obsession from Lou Dobbs (just a dash, mind- you see what too much of the spice did to Dobbs, turning illegal aliens from an interest into his precious) and make a much bigger deal of 1- Hannity’s _offer_ (which had nothing to do with Keith) to be waterboarded for charity 2- Olbermann’s substantial counter-offer to said offer 3- Hannity’s silence You know that if it was the reverse Fox sure as hell wouldn’t let up. I can’t imagine it’s money since Olbermann makes $7 million per year, and if it is there are many like me who’d gladly pony up. I couldn’t go $1000 per second but I’d go $1 and there are thousands like me, so let us be like his sponsors in a March-of-Dimes walk. Hannity is letting this pass too easy. That said I love his rants. I challenge anyone who’s not Orson Scott Card or Carrie Prejean (or their immediate families or inner circles) not to laugh at least twice during his [WTF skewering](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwkTAzcToic) of Our Lady of the Born Again Bogambas. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/94 "2009-05-18T05:29:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I’m an Alabamian, an Auburn grad (and a U of Alabama grad), and an Olbermann fan. I certainly don’t agree with him on everything but, like Rush and Hannity, he’s an entertainer. Unlike them he doesn’t make much pretense of it. I think there is a vast gulf in sincerity and honesty between Olbermann and Rush/Hannity, but one thing you can’t say about KO is that he lacks pretense. He signs off with “goodnight and good luck,” for god’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/95 "2009-05-18T05:37:11Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Limbaugh has just as much standing to allege that Obama is trying to exploit the recession as posters around here (ad infinitum) have to allege that Bush lied about Iraqi WMD. Both are based on personal opinion, political bias and personal observation, and both are voiced as absolute fact.. So exactly where are these WMD? Hmmmm. They never turned up. It is a simple fact that they never. turned. up. Personally, I would call Limbaugh a horse ass, but I don’t want to insult the horses. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/96 "2009-05-18T05:38:14Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > If Bush was merely “misinformed” by the CIA, why did he give Tenet the Medal of Honor? That would be Medal of Freedom, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/97 "2009-05-18T07:58:12Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > So exactly where are these WMD? Hmmmm. They never turned up. It is a simple fact that they never. turned. up. Slight hijack, but I’ve noticed a resurgence in the “there _were_ WMDs, but Saddam spirited them out of the country” rhetoric. This is up there with the Prophet’s Curse on the American Presidents and other claims of American Indian curses and magic; even as I kid I wondered if American Indians had magic and curses then why they didn’t use them when they were getting killed, culturally destroyed, forced west, their land stolen, etc., by the Euro-American settlers. If Saddam had WMDs (and to my regret I believed in the war in the early days); when the U.S. is shelling your country it’s probably not a good time to get rid of your super secret weapons, and when you’ve had to flee your capital, your sons and grandson have been killed in a gun battle, and you’re living in a hole in the ground near your birthplace, this would be a _really really really_ good time to use them. If you’re waiting for a rainy day I don’t think it’s going to get much wetter, nor do I think Saddam had them but decided not to use them because that would be mean and cause harm to people. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/98 "2009-05-18T08:33:38Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Hannity is truly a vicious, repugnant individual. Probably the single worst human being on all of cable news. Worse than Glenn Beck? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/99 "2009-05-18T08:38:57Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Slight hijack, but I’ve noticed a resurgence in the “there were WMDs, but Saddam spirited them out of the country” rhetoric. > > This is up there with the Prophet’s Curse on the American Presidents and other claims of American Indian curses and magic; even as I kid I wondered if American Indians had magic and curses then why they didn’t use them when they were getting killed, culturally destroyed, forced west, their land stolen, etc., by the Euro-American settlers. If Saddam had WMDs (and to my regret I believed in the war in the early days); when the U.S. is shelling your country it’s probably not a good time to get rid of your super secret weapons, and when you’ve had to flee your capital, your sons and grandson have been killed in a gun battle, and you’re living in a hole in the ground near your birthplace, this would be a really really really good time to use them. If you’re waiting for a rainy day I don’t think it’s going to get much wetter, nor do I think Saddam had them but decided not to use them because that would be mean and cause harm to people. I believe the meme was that the WMD (or more likely, WMD-in-progress) were spirited out of the country prior to the shelling/invasion. I imagine that a good deal of effort and intelligence-gathering has been expended by the U.S. in an attempt to find out if that was so, and I’d think that we’d know by now both whether it happened and which countries they wound up in if it were true. ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_With\_Words](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weird_with_words/32/385_2.png) [@Weird\_With\_Words](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_With_Words)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756/100 "2009-05-18T10:40:32Z")
I remember when Olbermann’s “special comments” felt… well… special. There was a time, deep within the dark hours of the Bush presidency, when Olbermann provided some much needed fire. But that fire was only necessary in the absence of light. With things looking brighter politically, and everyone in agreement about Bush being a thimble-full of brains in a ten gallon hat, his fire is only serving to thicken the air with smoke. Much like a henchman halfway into a movie, he’s “outlived his usefulness”. I’m not proposing we deal with him in the same way the villain usually does, but it would be nice if he could find a way to relive his usefulness. Of course, it’s mostly because of him that Rachel has her own show, so to make me stop liking him he’d have to really screw the pooch. On camera. With a live studio audience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keith-olbermann-should-kill-himself/496756.md?page=6)