Olbermann: "What Was Jon Stewart Doing" With The Coulter-Like Oscars Monologue?

In last night's #1 story on "Countdown," Keith Olbermann asked why Jon Stewart would sink to Coulter-level humor in making jokes about Barack Obama's middle name (Hussein) and the fact that his last name rhymes with "Osama." "What was Jon Stewart doing?" Olbermann asked in the opening segment of the program, seen below:

In the actual introduction of the segment — ten seconds not available on the MSNBC.com official clip — Olbermann explicitly calls Stewart out for channeling Coulter. "If Ann Coulter makes a reference to Barack Obama's middle name and then throws in an allusion to Hitler, most of America cringes appropriately. Jon Stewart does it at the Oscars, it's funny?" Coulter has recently said she makes references to Obama's middle name because she thinks it's funny.

Below, Olbermann's full discussion with Patton Oswalt about the appropriateness of the Stewart joke and Saturday Night Live's implication that the media is "in the tank" for Barack Obama, which Olbermann claimed were "moments in which even the most pro-labor people would have regretted the settlement of the writers' strike."

Comments

[Dannydel]

Olberman really ought to do a Jimmy Kimmell/Matt Damon type video: "I'm F**king Obama". For aguy who has done some serious and powerful commentary, especially when it comes to the administration and the war, he totally lost me with this tirade. The John Stewart Oscar joke was 'FUNNY'! It by no means, debased Obama. Rather, it pointed out that Obama got to where he was IN SPITE OF the name. And the Gadolph Titler thing was hysterical. Lighten up Keith, you've been spending too much time with Matthews and 'Crazy' Joe Scarboro.

[Suprshrink]

I stopped taping Countdown to my DVR weeks ago because of the obvious slanting of the news by Keith and his guests. Truly only Pat Buchanan made any sense. I kept wondering why I was agreeing with Mr. Buchanan since we share no common views of the world but then, on Friday night's Real Time, I found myself agreeing with David Frum. Oh, my God. What is happening? Oh, I know. They have not drunk the Obama Kool Aid and they are seeing what so many of the Clinton supporters are seeing --- BIAS!!! Bias, among the progressive talk shows on TV and radio. Frankly, I have removed them all from my life and I feel so much better.

[smayhew]

FINALLY - thank you, Suprshrink, I've done the same. I do not tape Olbermann at all anymore. I'm tired of Keith digging Hillary's grave ('a Guiliani moment, maybe she should step down?') omitting the fact that Rudy had 1 delegate and she had nearly 1000 at the time. Not only Olbermann though. Am760 has Jay Marvin who bashes Hillary, Ed Schulz who calls supporters of HIllery 'Clintonistas', Randi Rhodes who talks about Hillary's 'Wilma Flintstone necklace'. When Michelle Obama let us know that for the first time she was really proud of her country - Tom Hartman leaped to her defense, calling her 'new to politics' whereas Bill Clinton's stupid remark about South Carolina sunk the campaign because of 'progressive' news.
These 'liberals' should understand that just because a black man makes them feel that they aren't racist, that's not enough to qualify him for the most powerful job in the world. The Democrats will make him win (Randi Rhodes is already telling her listeners if the super delegates 'ignore the will of the people' they should bombard them to comply).
Obama Kool Aid is right Suprshrink, and we need to remember that the Republicans haven't drunk it.

[accountability]

The headline should read "WHAT WAS OLBERMANN DOING WITH O'REILLY LIKE OBTUSENESS OVER JON STEWART'S OSCAR JOKES LAST NIGHT."

oh well

[steviec]

I'm afraid Mr. O didn't like the SNL sketch because he (and the msnbc media, except for Abrams, maybe) was being skewered. His new idea of a laugh riot is to run Bill-o saying the 'L" word every night. Yeah, Stewart was a lousy host, but every Oscar host has at least one lame joke to regret. If that guy from Talk Soup, Joel something, had made the same joke on Countdown, Mr. O would have yucked it up, guaranteed.

[accountability]

You know, none of the MSNBC people seemed to realise that the SNL skit was a satirical piece on ALL the media/MSM not CNN alone.
Are they really that obtuse or do they really believe in their own objective "fair and balanced" coverage.

Whether you support Obama or Hillary with any objectivity at all you get the truth. It just is what it is and once SNL or any comedian or comedy starts doing satire on a person, a situation, a group or organization it shows how noticable it is.

they aren't foing to waste their time on something that no one has noticed or wouldn't recognize.
And if it pisses some people off all the better, satire is supposed to make you think a little bit., try yo draw you out of your limited vision-- on either/both sides and get a laugh at a situation and encourage some objectivity... at least I think it is. Granted SNL plays very broadly. It has to due to the medium. Its a TV show not a theater where a small audience will be able to pick up on subtlety.

I thought it was hilarious as a commentary on the media, not on Barack.
I just can't believe that MSNBC doesn't get that they are included and probably the main target. It just so happened that the show was schedualed to debut right after the debate and you work with the materiel you have not the one you want to paraphrase some ass that used to be in the Administration.

I just hope they do the thrill up the leg thing and start in on Olbermann.

Who could do them.
I'd like to see a black person do it... that would throw everybody for a loop!
LOL

[bookerone]

Keith is so in bed these days with Obama that he can't think straight anymore. Jon Stewart was funny, and Keith has become a CRASHING BORE!

[accountability]

he has a man crush on Obama as do many of the white man talking heads.
I don't know if it is "white man's burden" guilt, the desire to not be percieved as racist in any way, shape and form, or wish they were him, wish they were as "cool" debonaire, charming, good looking, hip, intelligent, multi ethnic and seemingly unflappable and untouchable as he appears.

Hell, I'd like to be him and I'm a 59 year old white woman.
I might have handled Hillary and the mass love affair a little differently though, not basked in the love light nor allowed myself to gain such an advantage over Hillary with the obvious bias.
Of course it would be tricky to do that, what could you do? Take out an ad saying "I'm not all that and don't believe everything you hear from MSNBC, they are biased" or let a skeleton or two out of the closet?

I don't know.

Anyway
Keith has become a bore, I turn him off after Hardball, which I only watch out of the perverse pleasure of seeing him squirm between trying to pan Hillary and yet seem fair and unbiased. Its kind of enjoyable.

Yeah, a man crush, complete with thrill up his leg.

So does Joe Scarborough, though he at least does attempt to give Hillary some credit for what she has done in her life... though not in the campaign, which is hard to defend because it is a mess. Partly though it is a mess because of the coverage.

UGH.

I'm so glad this is almost over. I'm unplugging my TV after the next Tuesday, and if she is still in it I might tune in to the Pa.

[sdmike]

I couldn"t agree more.

And this comes from a longtime fan of KO.

It seems ever since the Clinton campaign called out David Shuster then entire MSNBC 'male' staff (except for Dan Abrams) has dug in their collective heals and become even more anti-Hillary than they were before. Which of course only reinforces the notion than Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough are sexist?

Lighten up Keith. Jon was making fun of those who use Barack's middle name as if it is an epithet.

[accountability]

SDMIKE:

"has dug in their collective heals"

They also dug in their collective heels.
as in "he's become such a heel."

[junglejane]

You know, I never watched Bill O'Reilly and said to myself, "Boy, we liberals could use a humorless, sanctimonious asshole like this on our side of the debate." But that's what Olbermann turned into.

[accountability]

I know!

I used to really admire him but his self righteous ridicule of everything and everybody... sans Obama so far...
is starting to wear thin.

Even the last Special comments section, which always knocked me out with the audacity of it, didn't wring true. for some reason I spelled ring wring and decided to leave it. Seemed appropriate! It sounded forced like the outrage wasn't really there but he felt it needed to be said.

And the constant plugging himself and MSNBC is getting annoying, the book, OK, but the O'Reilly thing and then the other night doing it to CNN.
UGH.

PLUS, you can't email anymore and voice admiration or complaints.
Or I can't find it.

Self Righteousness, arrogance, sanctimoniousness, and ridiculing sarcasm always feel creepy to me and unfortunately Olbermann has begun the slide.

Is he believing his own hype?
The disease of conceit.

[lvogt]

Obama's middle name is getting more airtime on media complaining about it's use than by those trying to make it an issue. Fine. The more it's out there now the less strange it will seem to the morons who think it matters.

[accountability]

agreed.

That is what I have thought.

I just didn't get it, why this should be an issue. I get why the right wing like to make it an issue like the constant calling of Hillary Mrs. Clinton rather than Senator Clinton to keep her linked to Bill rt al.

I never get why the left even pays it attention. Instead of being outraged they should turn it into ha ha ha, look at the silly far right Republicans trying to create controversy over a name. how silly that is.
stop it now, stope being such dopey.

Infantalize them and make fun of it.

That is what I liked about the Stewart Jokes, I thought they were great.
It was hard for me to believe that Olbermann didn't get that.

Maybe he was just trying to be fair and find a way to pretend he is critical of the left/Dems?

Nay.
Funny how in the end he was agreeing with the gues.
That is my SIL's maiden name so maybe I'm inured.

[RudyJulieAnnie]

While certainly no fan of Bill O'Hypocrite of Faux News, I think that Keith Olbermann is a complete idiot.

So what if someone brings up the fact that Barack Obama's middle name is "Hussein"? What's the big deal anyway? McCain has a funny middle name also... it's "Sidney"!

And as for the Obama-Osama name similarity... Don't you think that if there was ever a Presidential candidate named "Hitner", jokes about the similarity of that name to the name of Adolf Hitler would be made? Of course there would!

[junglejane]

I think it's ironic that it was Keith Olbermann who used to call Mitt Romney by his real first name "Willard."

[ClaudiaJean]

Well, it would be ironic if "Willard" conjured up in the minds of the uninformed and easily misled masses an imaginary connection to something other than Mr. Brimley and his oatmeal shilling, Mr. Scott and his celebrations of 100 year old Smuckers loving viewers or a stereotypical bespectacled, book-loving, asthma-inhaler carrying member of the junior high debate and chess teams.

The middle name, first name, changed name... it's only an issue when you know it's being done to malign Obama and plant seeds of suspicion about ties to the big bad Muslim world... If you choose not to acknowledge that is the underlying reason, agenda and goal of constantly evoking a middle name he had no choice in being given, you're being intentionally obtuse.

[dam1r]

Oh puhlese! It starts running down to Olbermann's legs too (like it already happened to Matthews). Keith ran out of grudges so now needs to shoot at Jon. BLAH!

[lovetheworld]

Olbermann was right on this topic, and I suspect Jon Stewart will lost some viewers from his show.

Stewart will never, ever be invited back to the Oscars for his truly tasteless joke. I guarantee it.

Go Olbermann!!!

[PJay]

I agree. Olbermann WAS right. I had the same cringe reaction when I heard the Stewart "joke".
Not only was it NOT funny, but it just perpetuated the smear, regardless of who Stewart was making fun of.
Also, last night on his show, Jon played the clip about Clinton's first question complaint, but the SNL/pillow reference was edited out. I wonder if that's because she REALLY looked small and bitter when she did that.

[connorin]

love the world...but hate Jon Stewart? what kind of love is that?

[dajay]

Boy, you are dreaming. That's right Stewart is going to be banned from Hollywood and the Oscars because he made a joke about Obama.

Again, delusions of grandeur from the OBama supporters.

How is it living in the Twilight Zone, pal?

[SeanGardner]

I think you are missing the point. The commenter is saying Stewart won't be invited back because of the tone of the joke.

I also cringed when I heard the joke. I doidn't find it funny. And I did not see the point of comparing him to a fictitious presidential candidate named "Gaydolph Titler".

It was in poor taste. I agree with lovetheworld, Stewart will not be invited back. And he shouldn't be. Besides, it was the lowest rated Oscars in history. In history. Yes, the writers strike can blamed a little bit, but it doesn't help your case for being invited back when you can't pull viewers.

Stewart will not be invited back. And frankly, he wasn't that funny throughout.

[MNmommy]

Sadly, Olbermann has jumped the shark.

Hopefully, once the primaries are over he'll put down his pom poms and return to normal.

It's a sad day when Pat Buchanan has become one of the more reasonable commentators left on MSBC - well he and the awesome Rachel Maddow!

[GoldCanyonGal]

I think the real question is..."What are you doing, Keith....?"
I really have not been able to watch MSNBC lately...Keith was my last holdout. Alas! Now that too is gone! What an ass Olberman has turned out to be.

[accountability]

Well, though Dan Abrams kind of annoys me in his delivery... a bit overwrought... he really tries to make a fair assessment of what is happening.
You sense in that delivery a passion that is not about self aggrandizement or even self righteousness, just a passion to be fair most of the time.
Again I may not always agree with him or what he is covering even (like when the poor Brittany Spears stuff comes up.

Actually that was when I started colling off towards Olbermann. Taking advantage of tragedy is ugly opportunism. He did it with Anna Nicole which made me uncomfortable too... then when she died they all were so innocent about what the media did and distanced themselves from even their own coverage of her death which was non stop and filled with platitudes and cliche's.

I really dislike anyone who uses people's real problems to showcase themselves.

Even Letterman, who I've always liked does it andhe is the one who has praised Johnny Carson for always laying off if he knew someone had a personal problem.

We have become so uncivilized its painful.

[dajay]

It is a sad day when I am only agreeing with Pat Buchanan when I watch Keith's show!

Geez, who would have thought.

[accountability]

Who would have...
As an almost 60 year old from the left "wars" obviously Pat Buchanan was not on my top 10 of people I admired!

But when I hear him on MSNBC I think he has more sense and "heart" than any of the others (especially his sister... UGH)
That doesn't mean I agree with him but I like the way he makes his points with some kind of logic, fairness, objectivity (in a sense) and a self deprecating humor which is always agreeable... rather than the sanctimonious "I'm better than everybody else" pomposity.

Maybe I'm just getting old and more realistic, less willing to just agree with someone and defend them because they are liberal, more objective, less ideological..."better than everybody else!"

LOL

But even Buckley who just died, of course he was right next to Buchanan in my least admired category... however as I have understood more, even though I didn't agree with him in so many things... or in anything really... he did think government should stay out of people's lives, and he wasn't an attack machine. He said what he said through analysis and his values.

God, I'm scaring myself.
Glad this is anonymous.

Now, if I ever think bay buchanan has any admirable qualities somebody please take me out back and shoot me!

[dam1r]

Exactly!

Keith's the last major media-disappointment :(

[lovetheworld]

Jon Stewart is a xenophobe, and racist. His monologue during the Oscars highlights why Stewart continues to be a POSTER BOY for a problem in television: the lack of racial and ethinic inclusion behind the camera.

Jon Stewart's fake correspondents, producers and writers were 100% caucasian for ten years.

He was even taken to task for this by comedian Jordan Carlos, who in a January 2007 recalled his frustration with THE DAILY SHOW:

"I cornered a "Daily Show" writer, doing my best to get the inside track on a possible actor/writer gig. We broached the subject of black correspondents. He told me that they "tried a black guy once, but it didn't work out." I nearly threw my imported beer in his face. Tried it once and it didn't work? You say that about Toyotas, not a whole race of people. But to date, comedy writing is pretty whitewashed. As of this season, "Saturday Night Live" has no black writers. "The Daily Show" also doesn't have any, and neither does "The Colbert Report," a show on which I've played Stephen Colbert's black friend "Alan," a member of the staff. That's right. "The Colbert Report" had to hire an actor to play a black person who works on the show."

So you see, he only brought on a black correpondent when he got letters and calls from people of color like me. He felt the "heat" so he did something.

I wonder if THE DAILY SHOW and THE COLBERT REPORT (both of which are produced by Stewart) now have non-white writers behind the scenes, after the big flap with his longtime 100% caucasian show.

Stewart is generally funny, and has great comic timing. But that doesn't erase his lack of sensitivity regarding racial inclusion in what is the most multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural America in history.

And his truly tasteless joke about Barack Obama, which compared Obama to Adolf Hitler, highlights his aversion to hiring qualified black, latinos and other racial minorities who would never have written a racist, xenophobic joke like that.

There is no excuse for what Jon Stewart said. Period.

And, to take it further, if a black or latino Oscar host had made a tasteless joke about a Jewish candidate for president, he or she would have been slammed by Jewish groups that very day, branded an anti-Semite, and their careers would have been over. We all know this to be true.