MSNBC’s Worst Persons in the….whatever

Countdown with Keith Olbermann is probably my least favorite MSNBC evening show, though Hardball with Chris Matthews and his obsession with the pronunciation of former VP Dick Cheney’s last name (pronounced chee-knee, according to Matthews) comes close.

As far as morning/early afternoon personalities I dislike, number one is David Shuster. I hate his know-it-all smugness, and inability to keep his blatant biases out of his “reporting” segments. Maybe MSNBC never told him 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was canceled and Shuster is under the impression he is filming the show in short pieces.

Tonight Shuster is filling in for Olbermann, and Arianna Huffington is a guest.

Could it get any worse?

Only if Dr. Nancy comes on next with another prescription for boredom.

On MSNBC’s Obsession With Michele Bachmann

The evening opiners on MSNBC are aggravating me with their devout coverage of all things Michele Bachmann. I agree with Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz and Keith Olbermann; Bachmann makes maniacal statements on a regular basis. But the constant coverage only serves to elevate her name recognition on the national level, essentially increasing her influence, at least within the GOP.

I am not the only person noticing the MSNBC hatefest of Bachmann. She’s noticed too. Wednesday, while I was busy watching Olbermann’s wide-eyed call for health-care reform, Bachmann was on The O’Reilly Factor. Bill called out MSNBC on the excessive attention the network has been paying Bachmann, who then compared unnamed hosts on the network to stalkers.

Rep. Bachmann has no reason to complain about the attention. If the left-wing media hadn’t picked up on and attacked her crazed statements on anti-Americanism in Congress, she wouldn’t be the darling of right-wing media she is today. She has Olbermann and company to thank for her many cable news appearances.

The left would be better served by dropping the constant coverage of every dumb statement Bachmann makes, that puts her in the spotlight at least once a week. The pundits cover her so heavily because she’s an easy target and they’ve got time to burn. I’m guilty of the same thing, and I guarantee this won’t be my last post with a Michele Bachmann tag.

“That’s hypocrisy, and it’s wrong” -David Shuster

I hate that guy.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment on Health-Care Reform

After viewing the Countdown: Special Comment on health-care reform, I take back some of the nasty things I’ve said about Keith Olbermann, but he’s still a demagogue in a nice suit.

Olbermann’s proposal of free health clinics in the states of the holdout Senate Democrats? The image of sick constituents lining up for health care instead of angry constituents shouting “read the bill!” may cause the Senators to rethink their positions and do the right thing. (Sidenote: Rachel Maddow refered to the idea as clinics in state capitals but Olbermann refered to Butte, MT when mentioning Baucus, neither the capital, his hometown or current residence as far as I know) Who said “Canadians may have to wait in line for health care, but at least they have a line to wait in?”

Olbermann’s personal accounts of recent hospital visits were particularly moving. Long story short, he has lots of money so he bought the best doctor money could buy for his father, ran into an old acquaintance selling his farm to pay medical bills, and feels guilty about it. I had someone very close to me spend a lot of time in a hospital but the insurance always covered everything, leaving me free to focus on things such as impending mortality. I may have been too young and dumb to have considered the cost anyway. Either way, at present I cannot imagine the ordeal involving financial struggle as well.

I spent most of the show working on another post and reading the news, did anyone actually spend the entire hour staring deeply into Keith’s eyes? If so, tell me how you felt afterward.