List of Keith Olbermann's special comments
Keith Olbermann occasionally deilvers "special comments" -- commentaries usually several minutes long -- on his MSNBC news show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann. The first commentary specifically designated as a special comment was delivered on August 30, 2006[1].
Olbermann originates and writes his special comments himself, which he has described as a two day process that begins with "get[ting] pissed off" and involves a number of rewrites and rehearsals before the show airs.[2]
The special comments usually take the form of criticism of the Bush administration or other conservatives, like Newt Gingrich[3] or Tom DeLay[4], though one special comment was highly critical of Democrats for what Olbermann characterized as capitulating to the Bush administration over the Iraq War[5].
Olbermann's special comments have generated much attention and controversy, especially on the Internet. They are generally credited with Countdown's uptick in viewership and a re-interest in the show by various news articles. They have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube, and, the day after the first special comment, Olbermann's name became the #4 search term on Technorati and his book's Amazon.com ranking jumped from #98 to #19.[6]
There are at least two instances where excerpts from the special comments have been entered into the Congressional Record, including a speech by West Virginia Representative Nick Rahall on the House floor.[7]
Special comments
| # | Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 30, 2006 | Feeling morally, intellectually confused? |
| Olbermann responds to a speech by Donald Rumsfeld where Rumsfeld characterized those who disagreed with the Iraq War were "morally or intellectually confused." Olbermann compares Rumsfeld's certitude to that of Neville Chamberlain's government. | ||
| 2 | September 5, 2006 | 'Have you no sense of decency, sir?' |
| Olbermann responds to a presidential press conference where President Bush quotes a purported Osama bin Laden letter that mentioned a "a media campaign to create a wedge between the American people and their government," which Olbermann alleges was an attempt to link the media to terrorists. | ||
| 3 | September 11, 2006 | This hole in the ground |
| Olbermann, from Ground Zero, comments on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and the slowness to rebuild on Ground Zero. He goes on to accuse the Bush administration of failing to build on the unity following 9/11 and implies that the Bush administration has committed an "impeachable offense." | ||
| 4 | September 18, 2006 | Bush owes us an apology |
| Reaction to a Presidential Rose Garden address | ||
| 5 | September 25, 2006 | A textbook definition of cowardice |
| Bill Clinton's Fox News interview | ||
| 6 | October 5, 2006 | A special comment about lying |
| The difference between terrorists and critics | ||
| 7 | October 18, 2006 | 'Beginning of the end of America' |
| The Military Commissions Act and its effect on habeas corpus | ||
| 8 | October 23, 2006 | Advertising terrorism |
| Alleged fearmongering by the GOP | ||
| 9 | November 1, 2006 | Bush owes troops apology |
| Kerry's comment and subsequent apology and the apology owed the troops from Bush | ||
| 10 | November 6, 2006 | Where are the checks, balances? |
| Accusation that President Bush has been 'making it up' for too long, and the people have let him | ||
| 11 | November 20, 2006 | Lessons from Vietnam |
| Response to President Bush's comparison between Vietnam and Iraq | ||
| 12 | November 30, 2006 | Free speech, failed speakers, and the delusion of grandeur |
| Regarding former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's comments regarding free speech protections | ||
| 13 | January 2, 2007 | Special comment about 'Sacrifice' |
| Reaction to President Bush's plan to send more American troops to Iraq, despite public opinion and the Iraq Study Group's recommendations | ||
| 14 | January 11, 2007 | Bush's legacy: The president who cried wolf |
| Reaction to President Bush's announcement that he will send more troops to Iraq. | ||
| 15 | January 30, 2007 | Bush shoots for 'Jaws,' delivers 'Jaws 2' |
| Regarding evidence of President Bush's State of the Union claims about having stopped four terror plots. | ||
| 16 | February 26, 2007 | Condi goes too far |
| Regarding comparison of Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler by Condoleezza Rice. The only Special Comment to be made in a satirical tone. | ||
| 17 | March 26, 2007 | DeLay's DeLusions |
| Regarding comparison of liberals to Adolf Hitler by Tom DeLay. | ||
| 18 | April 25, 2007 | Republicans equal life; Democrats equal death? |
| Rudy Giuliani exploiting fear for power and personal gain. One of the two Special Comments that were made outside of MSNBC's main studios (this one in the New York studios). | ||
| 19 | May 23, 2007 | The entire government has failed us on Iraq |
| Reaction to "compromise" between Democratic Party leaders and the Bush Administration on Iraq War funding | ||
| 20 | July 3, 2007 | Bush, Cheney should resign |
| Reaction to Bush's commuting of the sentence of Scooter Libby, followed by a call for Bush and Cheney to resign | ||
| 21 | July 12, 2007 | All hail the prophetic gut! |
| Reaction to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's remarks regarding "gut feelings" of possible terrorist attacks | ||
| 22 | July 19, 2007 | Go to Iraq and fight, Mr. President |
| Response to a leaked Defense Department memo blaming Hillary Clinton and war dissension for failures in Iraq | ||
| 23 | September 4, 2007 | Bush just playing us with 'troop withdrawl' |
| Reaction to statements made by President Bush on a surprise trip to Iraq earlier in the day in light of his previous comments in Robert Draper's book "Dead Certain" | ||
| 24 | September 20, 2007 | Olbermann to Bush: ‘Your hypocrisy is so vast’ |
| A reaction to a September 20 press conference: President Bush was the one who interjected Gen. David Petraeus into the political dialogue in the first place | ||
| 25 | November 5, 2007 | On waterboarding and torture |
| Keith Olbermann comments on Pres. Bush and Michael Mukasey’s response to allegations of waterboarding in the Bush administration. Why was an Acting Assistant Attorney General forced out – just because he had the guts to do what Pres. Bush couldn't? | ||
Other information
Before Olbermann started designating his commentaries "special comments," he delivered a commentary on what he characterized as the Bush administration's incompetence in handling the Hurricane Katrina relief effort on September 5, 2005[8]. The commentary was widely shared on the Internet and prompted Rolling Stone to name Olbermann a "truth teller" in its 2005 Men of the Year issue[9].
On December 18, 2006, MSNBC first aired a show dedicated entirely to Olbermann's special comments. The show, which aired during Countdown's normal time slot during Countdown's holiday hiatus featured four Special Comments -- "This hole in the ground", "Feeling morally, intellectually confused?", "A special comment about lying", and "Where are the checks, balances?". Olbermann revealed during this show that his first Special Comment, "Feeling morally, intellectually confused?" was written on the back of a travel itinerary while waiting for a flight in Los Angeles.
On August 31, 2007, Keith spoofed himself and the Special Comments with a guest appearance on The Soup. In it, he and host Joel McHale berated Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan for their misbehavior, going so far as to put up a photo of Anna Nicole Smith as an example of what could happen to them if they don't change their ways.
A new book written by Olbermann entitled Truth and Consequences: Special Comments on the Bush Administration's War on American Values is currently scheduled to be released on December 26, 2007.