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On FISA: Keith Olbermann and His 'Blind Devotion' to Obama
salon.com — On January 31 of this year, Keith Olbermann donned his most serious face & most indignant voice tone to rail against Bush for supporting telecom immunity & FISA revisions. Last night, Olbermann invited Newsweek's Alter onto his show to discuss Obama's support for the FISA & telecom amnesty bill. There wasn't a word of rational criticism of the bill
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- JoeParanoid, on 06/26/2008, -3/+22As I've been saying for months, Keith has lost all rationality and has become simply a cheerleader for the candidate of his choice, and a boorish one at that. It has made his show unwatchable. I note also that today Obama decried the Supreme Court's commendable ruling yesterday that the death penalty is a disproportionate sentence for child rape and therefore violative of the 8th Amendment. Considering that capital punishment for rape was a Jim Crow invention, I can't for the life of me understand how Obama doesn't get it. But then Obama doesn't seem to get a lot of legal issues, ironically for someone who taught at a law school.
- thejoshuablog, on 06/26/2008, -3/+11I love Keith. I was also pretty upset at how nonchalant he was with the change in Obama's stance, which as an Obama supporter I haven't gotten over yet. I understand why he did it and perhaps he's seeing a bigger picture thing here that will one day show itself publicly, but that doesn't make me feel any better. Keith should have called Obama on it. I was expecting it and disappointed it didn't happen.
- Terr01, on 06/27/2008, -2/+7While I enormously disappointed and pissed at how things are happening in terms of Obama, the Democratic leadership in Congress, and Olbermann...
It's nice in that it's put a few self-doubts to rest in terms of whether or not I've been suckered in to brainless constant support of a candidate or person. I know I haven't been because I want to shake them and yell: "What the heck are you thinking!?"
It's not too late for Olbermann or Obama to recover my (and others') rapidly-leaking respect for them, but it remains to be seen whether they'll try.
I think it's really important that supporters of Obama (particularly self-considered "Progressives" like myself) push back on this and make it stick, both in terms of our Representatives and Obama too. - sanman, on 06/27/2008, -3/+9Let's stop rationalizing for the guy. Olbermann is just an open toadie and lapdog. I think he's hoping to become Obama's press secretary one day. This guy isn't a journalist, he's a pitch-man.
- kuantan97, on 06/27/2008, -1/+4Yup. Olbermann should've just stuck with Sportscenter.
- Terr01, on 06/27/2008, -2/+7While I enormously disappointed and pissed at how things are happening in terms of Obama, the Democratic leadership in Congress, and Olbermann...
- kingsbridge77, on 06/27/2008, -2/+18Keith is incapable of critical thinking. He support whatever positions Obama supports. Sad.
- thejimmyo, on 06/27/2008, -1/+8Olberman is more of a liberal comedian than a serious thinker. I tried watching his show a long time ago, but it focused too much on funny voices and bears bouncing off of trampolines. We deserve better journalists than this.
- FrankHope, on 06/27/2008, -2/+19Forget Olbermann. The issue here is Obama supporters in general. Is this a Cult of Personality in the making? This is Greenwald's point. It is PRECISELY because Obama is so charismatic that we should be even MORE wary. We should not become apologists for Obama when he does the same thing that we would repudiate had Bush done it. So when Obama supports a FISA bill that tramples on the 4th Amendment, ESPECIALLY as it applies to electronic communications, we should be outspoken in our criticism.
FTA:
"The real danger is that those who defend Obama the Candidate no matter what he does are likely to defend Obama the President no matter what he does... Those who spent the last five years mauling Bush for "shredding the Constitution" and approving of lawbreaking -- only to then praise Obama for supporting a bill that endorses and protects all of that -- are displaying exactly the type of blind reverence that is more dangerous than any one political leader could ever be."
This is not an issue of the Left or the Right. This is a fundamental issue that affects all Americans. The issue is whether we will continue to live in a Democracy that protects our inalienable rights and freedoms, or live in constant fear under a Fascist dictatorship that strips us of our rights and imprisons anyone that voices any criticism. - synarchy, on 06/27/2008, -2/+12This is like a disease on the left, and reminiscent of the way that that National Organization for Women refused to ever criticize Bill Clinton despite his deplorable behavior toward women, including his own wife. NOW destroyed its credibility and made itself completely irrelevant in political debate by its failure to criticize Clinton. Olberman now proves that his anti-Bush rhetoric is little more than partisan bombast when he fails to call his own side to account for supporting the same crap. Just goes to prove that Washington and the beltway media, including Olberman, are all playing us for fools as they plunge their snouts into the special interest money trough.
- yellowcakewalk, on 06/27/2008, -2/+2News from us on "the left". Obama is not one of us.
- kuantan97, on 06/27/2008, -1/+4A little late for that, wouldn't you say?
- FrankHope, on 06/27/2008, -1/+4Obama deliberately misled the left into voting for him in the primaries. It's not to late to hold his feet to the fire and force him to keep his promises, like opposing FiSA. Moveon and DailyKos are attempting to do just that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn5ozxkrPZU
I wish I would have voted for Kucinich instead of Obama.
- FrankHope, on 06/27/2008, -1/+4Obama deliberately misled the left into voting for him in the primaries. It's not to late to hold his feet to the fire and force him to keep his promises, like opposing FiSA. Moveon and DailyKos are attempting to do just that:
- kuantan97, on 06/27/2008, -1/+4A little late for that, wouldn't you say?
- yellowcakewalk, on 06/27/2008, -2/+2News from us on "the left". Obama is not one of us.
- kuantan97, on 06/27/2008, -2/+13Ahhh, yes. The Great Changer reveals his establishment self. What say you, digging Obamadrones, about being dupes to such a conman?
Meanwhile, Ron Paul's stance on the criminal FISA and Telecom Amnesty bill is well known. - netsql, on 06/27/2008, -2/+8Change = more of the same. Bye O, due to the 4th.
- zerocool1990, on 06/27/2008, -3/+8The minute he stood in front of AIPAC I know Obama was all about *****.
Change, my ass! - JDenigma, on 06/27/2008, -2/+4Oh surprise surprise, this didn't make the front page! /sarcasm
- JKap, on 06/27/2008, -2/+7Time to wake up from the mass-hypnosis of the fraudulent left-right paradigm of the War Party, O-bomb-a koolaid snorters. Support the Campaign for Liberty for real change or come to love Big Brother like Winston Smith did in 1984.
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/ - DuggRonPaul, on 06/27/2008, -2/+5Olbermann is a shill. A disinfo agent. to divide Americans and then start feeding them poison after they trust him. He will say all the right things and then slowly shift Americans to the left and then start feeding them communism.
Anti-war, Pro-Life, and Pro-Gun. The Only position that makes sense
join Ron Paul's campaign for Liberty and lets work together to clean house
http://www.campaignforliberty.com- slayerab, on 06/28/2008, -0/+1Olbermann=Bill O'reilly on the left
- JKap, on 06/27/2008, -3/+2Sign the petition to remove Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House for the purpose of pursuing impeachment of the Bush cabal.
http://digg.com/politics/Online_Petition_to_Remove ... - davidhallstrom, on 06/28/2008, -1/+2I can't say much as I never watch Keith Olbermann.
- transcendsmas, on 07/09/2008, -0/+1I disagree with this article. Read all of Senator Obama's comments about FISA with an open mind. Bush will push through the right wings version of FISA if the compromise version is not approved. However, Senator Chris Dodd is working to revoke the telecoms immunity portion and Senator Obama has stated he will support him. Politics is a complex business and before we judge we must become Politically Astute.
I like Keith Olbermann, but I do not depend on MSM to make political decisions for me. The internet is available "Research for yourself."
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