Olbermann Slams O'Reilly For "Lynching Party" Remark

Last night on "Countdown," Keith Olbermann slammed Bill O'Reilly for saying on his radio show, "I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence." In an ironic twist, Olbermann used the words of President Bush — who just last week said, "Some Americans do not understand the effect that references to nooses and lynching can still have" — to excoriate O'Reilly's insensitive remark.

Watch:

Comments

[unionave]

Is there some reason why Mr Olbermann and the rest of the media all leave out or edit out the word "REALLY" when airing the excerpt from Mrs Obama's speech ?

[TimN]

Apparently you aren't aware that Michelle Obama has made this speech twice. The second time she ommitted "really".

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/02/oops-she-did-it-again-michelle-obamas.html

[TyroneHed]

It really pains me to say this, but--while I cheer Keith Olbermann and despise O'Reilly--I have never heard Bush more on the side of the good!
George Bush for once was vehement and he sounded like a liberal, excoriating the insidious intimidation of "lynching".
Where has Bush's righteous indignity been hiding all these years?

[joebaggadonuts]

Bush is an ACTOR, _a FRONT man_, NOT a real person.

Bush says what he believes you need to hear in order to keep you in line. Fear, Righteous Indignation, Hate, Hope, it's all the same to him.

He's a Compassionate Conservative, a Uniter not a Divider, remember? He's none of these things. He's an ACTOR.

[engineer68]

The FCC should require MSNBC to post a disclaimer before each program: Warning: MSNBC is not a news organization, What you are about to see and hear is personal opinion of persons hosting the following program. Viewer discretion advised.

[BeamMeUpScotty]

Warning: Fox News is not a news organization. What you are about to see and hear is personal opinion of persons hosting the following program. Viewer discretion advised.

[engineer68]

Agreed. MSNBC and Fox which I never watch should have warnings. I trust you! I hope to be able to watch MSNBC again someday. They were a good organization in the past.

[basquebob]

I haven't seen that disclaimer on FAUX.

[ravlaw]

Then what warning would the FCC post before FoxNews programs?

[researcher]

and fox noise is a news organization? keith is the only one that sees bush for what he is a sociopath.

if we had more keith's in the world maybe we would not be in iraq stealing their oil.

[jfh]

As long as the following disclaimer is posted before any Fox noise broadcast.

Warning: FOX Noise is NOT, and NEVER HAS BEEN a news organization. What you are about to see and hear is the highly opinionated, ramblings of the GASBAG(S) hosting the following program. Some people state watching this program has been shown to drop IQs by 50 to 75 points. VIEWER DISCRETION HIGHLY ADVISED.

[AurigaRa]

Easily as bad, if not worse, than the Imus comment.

Where is Al Sharpton?

[Vixen0932]

Really how hard is it to have a discussion w/o using terms that are clearly in poor taste toward most people? Especially Black Americans that have been tormented with the though on being hung in the coutry.

I am not a Obama supporter, but I am Black and Billy stepped out of line yet again.

He could have made a dissapproving comment about what she said w/o using lynch! Maybe he isn't that smart and maybe he does not have a large vocab because it was over the top and poor wording...­NOTHIN' NEW

[SethBLiNK]

I'm a liberal democrat and a volunteer for the Obama campaign. I am a big fan of Michelle Obama and no fan or Bill O'Reilly.

But...

Olberman is wrong here and O'Reilly is right. He wasn't advocating lynching. He was comparing what happens to people like Michelle Obama to a lynching. Overstating perhaps, but he's on the right side of this.

Can we please stop acting like them?

We, the liberals, are lynching O'Reilly for this and it's wrong.

[billicone24]

did you listen to what he said? you missed the worst part!
he said "UNLESS." as in, "i'm not gonna support a lynching party against obama UNLESS she actually believes those things." the implication being he would support a lynching party if she actually believed what she said last week.
then he said "we'll find it out".
it's creepy.
what an idiot. a real big idiot.

[Durango]

No. You are wrong. Listen to the tape

OReilly would agree to lynch Michelle if the callers story panned out.

Don't give him the benefit of the doubt. He doesn't deserve it. What he said was clearly racist. And despicable.

[jimmyjones22]

It's forgivable if it's a first time, but he's done it several times.

[LeftVetPatriot]

We the liberals?

Who died and made you spokemodel?

[starboymikey]

I watch O'Reilly & he didn't mean anything by that remarked. Of course, he should have been more sensitive but everybody goofs up sometimes
__________­__________­__________­__________­__

If that's true, shouldn't he just apologize for his goof up and move on? All he has to say is, "I didn't realize until afterward that my words could be seen as hateful and insensitive. I am truly sorry that I am such a dimwitted asshole. I am an even bigger sewer pile than Rush Limbaugh. Please forgive me."

See? Over and done with, and then we can all move on.

[kaafir]

Olbermann and O'Reily represent everything thats wrong with the US. Olbermann is no saint himself, stereotyping Hispanics with a Guacomole slur.

[jfh]

But Olberman thought it was OK for his buddy Shuster to say Senator Clinton was pimping her daughter.

Olberman can not have it both ways.

[dajay]

Right Olbermann can't have it both ways. O'Reilly is a bigot who should be shot off the airwaves, but Keith O, Chris M, and David Schuster, and the commentators on MSNBC have played dirty and unfair and said a lot of despicable things on their network during this primary season, and it has all been directed toward bashing HIllary as a candidate.

A

[Katharine Zaleski - Huffpost Blogger]

hi

[Superbus]

If Bill O'Reilly didn't exist, Olberman wouldn't have a show.

[surfcitysteven]

If Bill Orally didn't exist, you would have to play with yourself for 1 full hour every night.

[surfcitysteven]

Maybe you do during his show anyway.

[StanTheManic]

Bush has never sounded drunker!

[GregSolo]

No matter how reprehensible Reilly or Beck or Limbaugh are, there will always be people out there saying "Oh, it's not that big a deal you whining liberals." "The deficit isn't a big deal. The war isn't a big deal. Habeas Corpus isn't a big deal. The constitution isn't a big deal." Can neo-cons be anymore un-American? Assholes.

[MikeDu]

Complete this phrase:

O'Reilly is to Obermann as reactionary ass is to ____.

[kisamija]

O'Reilly is an idiot nonetheless Keith needs to be careful because I am also a viewer who stopped looking at his show...I think I will return when MSNBC starts to be neutral with their reporting of Barack and Hillary. We all know that they are in love with Barack but they are making it way to obvious...

[preatorius]

George Bush is in love, and it is reflected in his remarks about lynching, and his trip to Africa.

[engineer68]

Now that they fell out of love with Rudy, McCain, Thompson and other manly men.

[iPolitics]

Are his listeners that stupid:

"The New York Times unleashes a lengthy, front-page hit piece on John McCain—and NBC News gives it heavy coverage. Is the mainstream media working to derail the likely Republican nominee? We'll have fair and balanced analysis."

http://www.billoreilly.com/show?action=latestRadioShow

[BOfever]

Is that really that stupid?

There is no evidence or facts about this relationship, the NY Times hasn't reported anything but hearsay as of yet.

If they had proof that somehow he changed votes or pushed bills that would be a story.

[iPolitics]

He slams the liberal Times and liberal NBC News then says he'll give a fair and balanced analysis.

Do you understand "fair and balanced analysis"?

[PaceSetter]

McCain has not denied any of the details of the story.

John Weaver said was that he spoke with Ms. Iseman and told her he heard that she was telling people around town that she had influence over McCain. That is what set the bells off.

Iseman lobbied on behalf of telecom companies Many of them, as the Times noted, were "companies for whom Mr. McCain's commerce committee was pivotal."

The Senate votes 69-29-2 to let the Telecom companies off the hook for their role in revealing private consumer information to the intelligence community under the direction of the Bush Administration. McCain (R-AZ) voted Yea.

Whether or not he was sleeping with her, it is the appearance of impropriety that is at issue. A presidential candidate whose platform states he is not beholden to special interests and lobbyists, but has an eyebrow raisingly close relationship with one, is definitely fair game for discussion.