How Keith Olbermann Could Cost Obama the Election
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Guess what? Americans do not like to be told what to think. It’s a simple truth that goes all the way back to our nation’s origins. Even if what we are being told is the correct opinion, our natural tendency is to resent the message since we are being told instead of be allowed to make our own decision. This is especially true when an argument comes across so one sided that it ridicules those who hold the opposing view as being the stupidest people on Earth. Many have argued that tactics like this (primarily used by Michael Moore) helped cause John Kerry to lose the election in 2004. Although Moore was making some very valid points, the approach that he took to deliver his views allowed his entire work to be dismissed and even served to validate his opposition’s views.
Keith Olberman is this years Michael Moore.
Yesterday (9/8/08), MSNBC announced that David Gregory will take over as anchor during their coverage of the debates and election day, while former co-anchors Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews will serve as political analysts during the coverage. Now let me take this opportunity to separate Olbermann from Matthews. Although no one can deny that both (at the very least) lean to the left, Matthews can at least interview someone who does not share his beliefs without trying to portray them as a total buffoon.
It really was a disgrace to give Olbermann the anchor reigns in the first place. Can you imagine if Fox News decided to let Bill O’Reilly anchor their coverage? MSNBC played right into the hands of the Right’s view of the “liberal media” by allowing Olbermann to become an anchor. Let’s take a step back here and clarify the completely different roles of an anchor and a commentator. An anchor must come across as 100% objective and not show bias to either side. Commentators (or analysts) can offer their opinions as any fair news organization will always have the same number of “liberal” commentators as they do “conservative” commentators. At least MSNBC has decided to admit their failure and will be moving in a more objective direction.
Returning to Olberman, his show Countdown has become MSNBC’s top rated show and is often filled with witty remarks, pop culture references, and some very strong and compelling arguments. However, when opposing opinions are not engaged in a healthy debate but instead end up being branded the “Worst Person in the World,” there is something terribly wrong. In my opinion, more often than not, the position that Olbermann is taking is the correct one. However, his tactics of portraying his opposition as complete idiots defeat his purpose. Yes, if you had already agreed with Olbermann, you likely find this technique very amusing. However, if you are undecided or currently posses the opposing opinion, you are likely to be completely turned off and will probably become even more entrenched and convinced that your viewpoint is correct.
Now wait a minute, why am I singling out Olbermann. Couldn’t I have just as easily written a post entitled, “How Bill O’Reilly Could Cost McCain the Election?” Yes, I would be making many of the same points that I do in this post if that were the name of the article. There are three major reasons why I am holding Olbermann to a higher standard. First, as I have stated previously, as an anchor Olbermann had a responsibility to be objective. Secondly, for better or for worse, there is a perception of there of a liberal media bias, not a conservative one (I guess not everyone gets Fox News). Consequently, rants and raves by O’Reilly on Fox are more likely to be viewed as a conservative niche viewpoint rather than a mainstream bias. Lastly, Olbermann is held to a higher standard since he the network he works for MSNBC has the letters NBC in it. MSNBC got instant credibility when it launched because of this fact and is viewed by many as an extension of NBC. The downside in this case is that they really can not have a different identity from NBC. So if MSNBC wants to become the answer from the Left to Fox News, they are going to have to change their name. If they did change their name, Olbermann’s message would then be more likely be portrayed as a liberal niche viewpoint instead of blantant mainstream media bias.
Let’s look at an example to better explain my theory. Imagine if you were sent back in time with the onus of convincing people in the 1400’s that the world was not flat. What approach do you think would have more success out the following two scenarios:
1. You carefully explain your position, acknowledge why others might disagree with you, and respectfully debate those that disagree with you.
2. You declare your position and declare that anyone who doesn’t see it your way must be some kind of idiot. During debates, you focus more on trying to humiliate your opposition rather than explaining your point.
Which scenario do you think will be more likely to win people over?
Which scenario do you think will more likely cause you to end up being burnt at the stake?
If Olbermann does curtail his message, Obama may see a similar political fate.
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Filed under: Politics
I simply stopped watching MSNBC and CNN. Whether you agree with John McCain or not you have to admire him. And even though I am Pro Choice I can not help myself, I simply love Sara Palin. Let’s hear about Obama’s church some more, because that is his history and his wifes history for the last 20 years!!! Let’s talk about how that qualifies him to be President. Let’s talk about what the candidates have done!!
@janie–I think that there are a lot of people like you out there. Palin was truly a great choice for McCain. I find MSNBC to be more over the top than CNN.
First, Michael Moore didn’t cost Kerry the election. Kerry cost Kerry the election. He didn’t stand up to the ridiculous swift-boat allegations, so the country viewed him as weak in an election in which protecting the country was the top issue. That’s why “swift-boating” has entered the political lexicon, not “Michael Moore-ing.”
Second, Keith Olbermann speaks truth to power, which people DO like. Yes, he should try to present himself as more objective when anchoring coverage, and he absolutely has the chops to do so. BUT Olbermann won’t cost Obama anything. Consider that Obama just appeared on Countdown. He wouldn’t have done so if Olbermann were a liability. Plus, MSNBC is lucky to pull in 500,000 viewers. If everyone who watches MSNBC turned against Obama, he should still win the election. If he doesn’t, that’s his problem. The best analogy is the following: In sports, bad officiating don’t cause a loss. Maybe it doesn’t help, but the team should win despite such bumps in the road. If Obama can’t win after eight years of Bush and Cheney, with their dreadful approval ratings, Obama needs to stare squarely in the mirror for someone to blame. Olbermann would be but a bump in the road at worst.
Third, to the person who loves Sarah Palin and wants to hear more about Obama’s church, how about finding out more about Palin’s church, too? Praying for an oil pipeline? That’s an inappropriate use of God, in my opinion. (These fundamentalist Christians are the same types who prayed for the Democratic Convention to be rained out. God, ironically, decided to rain out day one of the GOP convention instead, but I digress.) What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. So if you’re going to peer into one candidate’s religious beliefs, be equitable. Otherwise, you’re guilty of the bias that’s the subject of the blog posting you’re commenting on.
Great post. Loved the information it was very entertaining to see these two.
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Oh please, Olberman ticked off King George, Prince Rove, Prince Cheny and king in waiting Mccain. He wasn’t singing the John Mccain song, you know pow ad. nausem….he dared to tell him to grow up…you can’t tell me Keith did not tick off the owners of NBC who support the republican base as well…I am sure a lot of republicans complained that he dared to speak the truth and they don’t want to hear it…and now we have to go back to pablum….now we go back to boring reporters who fawn all over palin and mccain and make much ado over nothing…..
What in the world is wrong with praying for an oil pipeline? People pray for peace and prosperity all of the time, and a pipeline contributes to both. I think that some people just don’t like the idea of praying for anything.
It’s to bad we don’t have moreOlberman’s.When u listen to him you get the truth.Why other stations can’t do that is a shame.The times were in the truth is what we need.
Fox has someone “fair and balanced”? Oh please!
Here’s a fuller text of Palin’s comments on religion:
In an address last June, the Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it “God’s will.”
Palin asked the students to pray for the troops in Iraq, and noted that her eldest son, Track, was expected to be deployed there.
“Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God,” she said. “That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God’s plan.”
A video of the speech was posted at the Wasilla Assembly of God’s Web site before finding its way on to other sites on the Internet (and subsequently removed from the church site).
Palin told graduating students of the church’s School of Ministry, “What I need to do is strike a deal with you guys.” As they preached the love of Jesus throughout Alaska, she said, she’d work to implement God’s will from the governor’s office, including creating jobs by building a pipeline to bring North Slope natural gas to North American markets.
“God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that,” she said.
“I can do my job there in developing our natural resources and doing things like getting the roads paved and making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded,” she added. “But really all of that stuff doesn’t do any good if the people of Alaska’s heart isn’t right with God.”
In addition, this video is disturbing; but gives an idea of the character of the Republican VP candidate, Sarah Palin. The second and third links are information on her views on the oil industry, environment in general, etc.:
gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/8/31/22337/7183?source=daily
gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/8/30/20129/1935
justmoreofthesame.com/fact_check/26/fact-check-sarah-palin
An email from a resident of Wasilla:
crosscut.com/politics-government/17341
This is from a military newsletter:
military.com/news/article/mccain-plan-moves-some-out-of-va-care.html?col=1186032310810
It seems horribly arrogant of Palin to pray for what she thinks is God’s will. Isn’t that the problem Christians site about fundamentalist muslins, thinking they are killing for God’s will. Sure, pray for love, pray for healing people, pray for peace, things in the bible that Jesus prayed for, but to pray for a pipeline? Something that will profit you in money and destroy nature! There is certainly nothing in the bible about praying for profit for a particular thing you think up, particularly when it will harm the environment that we all depend upon. Praying for prosperity in general leaves the specifics up to God. Get specific like a Pipeline and you are really getting into magick and having your will be done. And I don’t think it is white magick either, which is done for the good of all, the common good, rather than self serving or for $profit. Is Palin’s church really so fundamentalist that it is almost New Age like, except that I think New Age people usually do pray/meditate for the common good rather than a specific profit like a pipeline. And if they do pray for a pipeline, they also respect that the over all common good is God’s knowledge ultimately not human knowledge. Praying for a pipeline is not the Christian ways I grew up with. How can other Christians be behind this women? She sounds really out there in a spooky sort of way. As a Christian, I am horrified with Palin as a choice for vice-president.
The first few times I saw Olbermann it was on utube and I promise you I thought he was a comedian making fun of liberals. I had no idea he was supposed to be a serious commentator. When I found out he was supposed to be serious it really blew me away. He’s a cartoon of a serious commentator. As far as him always telling the truth, well his truths are subjective depending on YOUR point of view. If your a liberal you probably love this guy if your conservative he just appears to be ridiculous. If you still call yourself a democrat then take a long look and listen to this guy. He is the face of the new democratic party. I am independant and mostly down the middle on most issues with my eye always on the constituion. Until this election I never noticed how much actual hate comes out of the democrats. I mean it just spews with lots of name calling thrown in for flavor. I don’t see this from the Christian right. What is called hate by the liberals is simply disagreement. My parents are in their 70’s and were democrats their entire lifes up until this election. They are puzzled because they can’t figure out what happened to their party or why it happened.
oberman and many of NYC media have attitude that they know the “truth” and republicans dont and ALL republicans are stupid,,
i dont not know many republicans who refuse to talk to dems but there are sure alot of dems who immediately devalue a person if they are repub,,,,and ridicule them as being “less” than they are (micheal moore, oberman,,stewart etc)
,,it is this NYC left wing media elitism that really turns off alot of americans off
you know?,,alot of republicans are very smart ,,very well informed ,,,they may have some “truth” too
oh PLEASE RN,,,you think oberman speaks the “TRUTH”,,,exactly what TRUTH are you talking about?
,,he speaks your concept of TRUTH right?
,,,that is why i cant stand left wingers,,,,they think they have a handle on the TRUTH and riducule anyone who disagrees with them,,
,,at least 50% of america doesnt agree with your TRUTH RN?,,,,,get it?
I am so sick of you right wing idiot spouting off, you do not know what you are taking about!!
Unlike Fox News, Oberman freely admits Countdown is not a news show is is a commentary!! Emails have been leaked from Fox News stating that they intentionally promote a conservative point of view, something unforgiveable for a new show.
Unlike Countdown, Fox News is suppose to be unbias because it is a news show, but is is not. It is unfair and unbalanced and it has a huge spin zone.
If you find Oberman offensive (even though you agree with most of his opinions???), what do you think about Fox News. The day after Tim Russert died they were making disparaging remarks about him. O’Riley bullies his guests.
Again so you understand this- Countdown is not a news show and Oberman is giving his opinion throughout the show. Compared to Fox News and Bill ORiley he does it with intelligence and respect.
@Penguin
You just made my point. You can disagree with some one else opinions and debate them intelligently. Or you can resort to name calling and sensationalist remarks. Which tactic do you think will more likely cause those who do not share your opinion to actually consider it?
It’s funny, I have now been accused of being a communist with my do we need a salary cap for ceos post and now I am labeled a right wing idiot. I bet I am one of the few people in America who have been called both
[...] How Keith Olbermann Could Cost Obama the Election [...]
rutgerskevin
You are right, I knew when I was writing my post that I was over reacting. I am just so tired of right wing bloggers that spout BS with no regard for the truth.
The thing is that Oberman does try to get his point across with humor and he does try to be truthful unlike Fox News.
@PenguinPete–Thank you for returning. I also think Olbermann can be very funny and if he just left it at that then most of his points would be slam dunks. However, I feel that too often he goes over the top and trounces the opposing opinion.
It is one thing to do this on Countdown as a commentator/analyst. It is another thing do to the same thing while serving as anchor during a political convention.
Don’t worry about becoming frustrated with bs bloggers (even this one), as it just means that you really care about the subject. Your opinions are welcome here ANYTIME!!!
The GOP and Fox News, et al seem to be bent on reducing the discourse in this country to grunts and rock throwing. You can’t argue with someone who throws their own feces instead of responding to your argument. That, in a nutshell, is exactly what McCain and the media are doing right now.
This country needs the fourth estate — there can be no democracy without it — and it’s failing miserably.
Thats a great article, Fox news has always made some pretty big mistakes when it comes to politics.
The media on the left is blinded and has been for years. They do not see it because they do not want to. Olbermann is a shill and a hack with no credentials other than jock sniffer. The funnier thing is more people are talking about him being fired then watch MSNBC in the first place. Olbermann when he interviewed Obama only had 500,000-viewer watch the interview. Pathetic
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[...] Brink presents How Keith Olbermann Could Cost Obama the Election posted at The Red Stapler [...]
I have to say that the only thing Keith did wrong, besides the bias thing, which we can ignore (I’m joking… but not really. No I’m just joking), is fighting with other people on national TV. That was just plain stupid.
Well I would be willing to bet that the viewership increased exponentially when Olbermann was making these comments. People love to hate certain things, However, there is a fine line to walk when you are in the eyes of the public.
In some cases support can cause more harm than good. However, the problem is that it is so difficult to know the effect before hand. It is simply unpredictable…
Yea, I think you’ve made a valid point here, I suppose only time will tell. Right now in spite of this Obama seems to be the clear leader but again you never know for sure, Thanks for sharing - very thought provoking
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Might a disgrace to give Olbermann, mnay people told that they stopped watching MSNBC and CNN, but people saying Keith did wrong, but many have vision that Obama going to win and today we have result that America created History , and Obama is a President of America. Cheers….
Keith Olbermann was on the payroll of the Obama campaign. I would feel just as strongly about KO if he was ripping Obama w/out reason. Obama is a great cand. And that helps obama to be a great US president, Congrats Mr. Obama.
Congratulations to Obama for a great win!
Obama had won 50% of his voters when he had talked about United states changes. They can feel obama as their strongest US president and that’s give him a great victory and made an history in US politics. I would like to ask you where is KO now? He must be finding a safe place…Lol.
I have always thought Keith was pretty funny. Sometimes though he can be a bit of a prude. Obama won anyway so it doesn’t matter. Great post.
i think very funny, but you did great job with this post , but after all Obama won.
i think now keith realized what a huge mistake done, so sad… keith, i think this all are favoured to elected president obama.
I agree with you on Olbermann, he is very abrasive even for my taste, I find somethings he say o.k but then he is even to far left form myself. Great post thanks.
You stated “It really was a disgrace to give Olbermann the anchor reigns in the first place. Can you imagine if Fox News decided to let Bill O’Reilly anchor their coverage?”
I could not agree more the big O is a little to left for me as well.
Yes We Can!
Yes We Did!
Obama was the best candidate and the best person for the job. And that’s why he was elected.
Yes Obama was Great Candidate of US President Election. Today Obama is Take Charge of US.
Obama taking America towards communism. His policy towards capping CEO income and protecting jobs will discourage CEOs to work hard and encourage the lazy inefficient workers to remain way they are.