Sometimes Keith Olbermann Goes Too Far Even for Me

I'm no big fan of the Republican Right, George W. Bush and John McCain (aka Bush III). And I am a big fan of Keith Olbermann's nightly news show on MSNBC, "Countdown." But sometimes, Keith goes too far even for my taste.

First, while it's obviously true that McCain is a flip-flopper to end all flip-floppers, making John Kerry look like a steady Ship of State, not everything he says that seems to contradict a previous position is either a flip-flop or necessarily even a real shift. Case in point is the recent attacks on McCain's statement a couple of years ago about Hammas being "part of the new reality of the Middle East" contrasted with his attacks on Sen. Barack Obama's stance that he would be willing, under some circumstances, to talk with Hammas leaders. McCain did not say he would be willing to sit down and talk with Hamas; he said they were a new force that would have to be reckoned with "one way or another." He could well mean attacks as far as that goes. So it's unfair of Keith to hammer McCain for this inconsistency; it's really only partly inconsistent. And, as McCain often says, if the facts on the ground change, you have to be willing to change your opinion.

Second, whle it was patently ridiculous for President Bush to say in all seriousness (and as it turned out in all untruthfulness as well) that he gave up golf fairly early in his unprovoked war on Iraq, out of concern that the widows and mothers of servicemen being killed in Iraq might find his playing golf unseemly, that shouldn't have provoked the nasty attack Olbermann launched one night last week. He showed a series of clips in which Bush was engaging in various bits of playful behavior. And the question he asked, essentially, was, "Is it OK then for the President to do this...or this ...or this... in time of war?" And while I got his point, I think it was way over the top.

Keith, your special comments are powerful and insightful and right on. You don't need to stoop to silly and off-target attacks to make your point to the Left. We're capable of thinking these things through.