Aaron Brown: Olbermann Is "Smarter, Funnier, Better Read, And Eminently More Talented" Than O'Reilly

Aaron Brown is back. Earlier this week, it was reported that he will be joining PBS' "Wide Angle" show and now, in an interview with TVNewser's Gail Shister, he's throwing punches and taking sides in the Olbermann-O'Reilly battle:

Brown says he never felt like a real cable guy. That doesn't exclude him from having opinions about it, thankfully.

His take on the battle at 8 p.m. between MSNBC and Fox News Channel, for example:

Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly "are both larger-than-life figures," he says, but Olbermann is "smarter, funnier, better read and eminently more talented."

Read Shister's entire interview here.

Comments

[jayburd]

I dare you wingnut O'Reilly fans to come up with something that Olbermann has lied about on his show.

Anything at all...

[DallasMike]

Hey Jayburd Here try out this link

http://www.olbermannwatch.com/archives/2006/12/keith_olbermann_2.php

Doberman is an ASS and he makes one of himself every time he opens that foul mouth of his.

[LiberalBuzz]

Funny thing about KO Watch, All I kept getting was PAGE NOT FOUND. Sounds just like the typical rightwingers. "See it's right here" Uh well it was a minute ago. BUT hey take my word for it, he lied.

Uh yeah sure whatever you say. So far all I read were OPINIONS without any proof, but keep telling yourself that he lies.

AND let's be honest, SUPPOSE There were ten lies, that doesn't even make up for the TEN LIES A DAY Billo makes.

If in KO's career all they could find was ten stories, then Billo is still supreme leader of lies. Since his lies can be counted DAILY.

So keep drinking the koolaid, the rest of are working in the real world.

[jayburd]

Yeah, based on the weird, badly photoshopped pictures I'd say that website has an air of...hmmm...how shall I put this...INSANITY to it.

Even if they're bald faced lies (which I doubt), most of the items on that list are pretty insignificant, having mainly to do with various feuds Olbermann is involved in with people like Drudge, Gibson, and O'Reilly of course. Also, the list is from 2006, so it's a tad out of date and most of the links that are supposed to lead to FACTS that back up the blogger's case don't lead anywhere.

The big one on this list is the Writ of Habeas Corpus, which is inexplicably listed as #2 behind his feud with John Gibson. And what the blogger says is patently untrue. The Military Commissions Act of 2006 gives the Bush administration the ability to indefinitely detain anyone considered to be "unlawful enemy combatants" in the Global War on Terrorism. That means anyone, period, can conceivably be locked away forever without ever going before a judge in an American courtroom.

[Redrover666]

I thought and thought and thought about it. And I still can't think of anything he has said, at all. So you've got me on this one.

So tell me, who is Olbermann anyway?

[jdmccl]

Keith doesn't outright lie as much as he spins everything against fox and conservative voices. I am guessing he is going to blame the DC Madam suicide on Hannity or some other cause celeb. The propaganda is pretty much the Soros talking point which, as yet, has had no facts to back up the anecdotal hype. i remember Keith comparing Gitmo detainees to American citizens with rights. It has been established the Constitution doesn't apply to prisoners captured on the battlefield. But the horror of water boarding, scootergate, FISA courts killing rights of privacy, are all example of just getting the facts wrong. I was taught if you were going to tirade, back up with References. I wonder if Olbergiest ever made a proper college paper, my teachers would point out his lack of sourcing. Just because you think it true, objective analysis is helpful. O Reilly gets stupid often with the moral crap he spews but I watch more Bill than Keith.

[Deni]

And you have citations (other than from Fox Noise) to back all this up? Yeah, that's what I thought.

[rgblue]

Olbermanmn sources everything he presents, and when he is incorrect he makes the correction the next night on the air. Always. Also, sometimes he's joking and if you don'r know his show you might not catch it. Don't forget, many righties have absolutely no sense of humor and walk around like they've got a stick stuck up some place where it really hurts.

If you look broadly at history, you'll find the truth is almost always associated with what you people label as "liberal" or "far left". Dignity, morality, freedom, compassion, truth, logic, the process of rational thought, the practice of application and long term thought, etc... you know, all those things those good goose-stepping conservatives have no use for anymore.

[demdan07]

He tends to lie by omission - he covers the stories that coincide with his point of view and nothing else. Even his guests are people that agree with him.
I agree that he comes off as smarter, funnier, and more well read than O'Reilly, but as far as biased reporting go, I see no difference. O'Reilly slants to the conservative, republican view, and Olbermann is far left, and in the camp of Obama. He is a little hypocritical in that he is constantly pointing out that Fox and CNN are slanted in their reporting, when he is every bit as biased in his.

[jayburd]

The slants of Fox and CNN he reports on are usually deviations from the truth. Also known as lies. Most of the time when you hear him complaining of a Republican or conservative bias in the media, it's when he's doing what he does best - exposing a lie and revealing the truth. I see no hypocrisy in that.

[Rashomon]

The problem with Olbermann is the has this arrogance that is hard to take. His show is a decidedly one-sided one. He has the same rotating six guests that all nod in agreement with everything he says. At least O'Reilly has on people who disagree with him. Granted he shouts them down and doesn't give then the last word. But if Olbermann allowed on real debate his show would be better.

[jayburd]

That's what Hardball is for.

[LiberalBuzz]

Why bother with debate that if you watch all the other shouting heads show nothing is ever resolved. They are all nothing more than opinions being shouted back and forth.

KO is far above that. Truth needs no debate and that is the problem with the other cable outlets they are less interested in what is actually truth rather than getting people to shout at each other with their opinions.

[moda31]

keith olberman is deserving of the intended complement, but Bill O is a pretty low bar.

[Mattjoe]

That particularly fascinating headline and subsequent story line should simply read –

"None of us are as dumb as all of us"

We could all nod yes and move on.

[desmirl]

Olbermann is quite simply smarter than O'Reilly. At least he hasn't paid out millions in a hush-hush settlement for sexually harassing one of his employees.

[Pansy]

Keith Olbermann uses his vitriolic venom to carry out his personal vendetta against anyone who disagrees with him. One can almost see the spittle fly and hear the storm trooper boots when he unleashes one of his tirades. He has a flunky off-camera who laughs everytime Olberman twists his mouth into a smirk. His ego is off the charts. Why would anyone like Chris Matthews, Eugene Robinson, or Chuck Todd ever agree to appear on camera with this man?

[atomic]

You have completely missed what Olberman is about ... his "tirades" as you call them are in defense against a tyranny brought about by a criminal president. They are not ego based nor are they for his own pleasure ... either his words are just too big for you and you gloss over their meaning ... or .... you listen to O'Reilly who is an ego maniac and would say or do anything for attention. To recap : Olberman is fighting for truth ... O'Reilly sold his soul to the vitriolic extreme right wing.

[hoopesaz]

The words must be too big for me too, educated elitist. I have the same opinion. People who believe that KO is a truth dealer just really isn't paying attention. Olbermann is a spinmaster and entertainer of those who wish they could think of the clever attacks that he manages to string together.

[DallasMike]

Atomic,
Again, the same thing can be said about Oberman.
You hate O'Reily because you do not agree with his point of view.
If he spewed hate and lies about Bush and Co you would be watching singing his praises too.

[zippywpinhead]

hyperventilate much?

[SubparDude]

:
Nobody said you were smart. Relax.

:

[ilcapo]

i swear if you change kieth olbermann to bill o reilly at the beggining of your post,it makes so much more sense

[hoopesaz]

only because you have your liberal glasses on that blind you to the liberal stunts that so enrage the left when played out on the right. KO, O'Rielly or just two peas in the same pea holder. They are both just entertainers. Nothing remarkably intelligent or insightful from either of them.

[Burkelbile]

O'Reilly, along with his falafel / loofah, or any "loyal" viewers he may have,
will go down in history, along with Fox in general, as one of the biggest media fools in history.

I am old enough to remember the McCarthy era and some of the borderline media fascism of the late '50s / early '60s. Sensationalist bozos like Joe Pine, etc. Later, pigs like Morton Downey Jr.

All of them will end up in the media hall of shame.

At least Olberman occasionally has some legit point or entertainment value.

[stillfresh]

Just about anyone is funnier than Orally. But few people are meaner.

[conlawprize]

i would agree with all of aaron brown's assesments.

i would add, however, that o'reilly has more common sense, understands american culture better and has better politics.

i dont know how somoene so smart can have politics as bad as olberman. probably because good politics has more to do with common sense than intelligence.

olberman is also way more narcisstic.

[dbeden]

my, what pure and utter non-sense.
O'Reilly has better politics? Like saying we didn't invade Iraq?

[donkat]

Degrees only go so far.. and are frequently not a good way to determine intelligence! Bill Gates didn't graduate High School, I think, and he certainly isn't a dummy. Olbermann towers above O'Reilly in all comparisons - if Bill is better read, he clearly has comprehension problems. What a dunce.

[OldDawg]

Bill Gates didn't graduate from Harvard College,dropped out (took a leave of absence in 1975). Received an honorary degree from Harvard University 2006?

[Deni]

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to found Microsoft. So, he did graduate from high school. He didn't graduate from college.

This stuff is pretty easy to check out on www.wikipedia.com.

[Blutus]

Brown: University of Minnesota drop out.

Olberman: BA in communications from Cornell

O'Reilly: honors grad in history from Marist and a Masters from Kennedy School at Harvard.

I hate O'Reilly, but Brown is simply wrong.

"Better read"?? How the hell does he know?? Did he give them a comparative lit test or something?

As silly as something you would hear on Fox

[jayburd]

All that proves is that O'Reilly is a well educated fascist, racist pig.

[DallasMike]

Jayburd,
I see you did not take the tolerance for all people that the left requires you to take.
You are suppose to be the tolereant one who rises above name calling and spreads love thoughout your Utopian little world. the words "fascist, racist pig" do not fit the liberal agenda of peace, love and fellowship that the left is known for.

[Cybesq]

Reading a resume is not the only way to determine whether or not someone is well read or not. You can listen to O'Reilly for five minutes and tell that he's not well read or even well informed. Every time he is challenged by a concept that he doesn't know or understand, he fumbles his way through. His classic punt when confronted with a challenging concept is to use the word "thing", e.g. "Oh that's just an economic THING", "That's just a Bush THING", "That's just a liberal THING".

Also, have you ever heard O'Reilly's side kick, Harvard lawyer Lis Whiel? Her presence on the show is actually sad. I've never heard her utter an intelligent legal position about anything. She's there as a bobbing puppet whom O'Reilly can insult, "Lis Whiel's a pinhead". She also politely cackles at O'Reilly's bad jokes and often talks about her free O'Reilly Factor t-shirts and coffee mugs. A Harvard trained crap merchant shill. She's also a tool so O'Reilly can brag about his alleged knowledge of popular culture, because she doesn't know the Beatles from Nirvana.

O'Reilly is really a lot like Bush. Arrogant and stupid is a bad combination.

[Blutus]

I think it is interesting that a right-wing blow-hard got a masters from such a bastion of liberalism as Harvard. I just wonder how such an idiot managed it.

I think O'Reilly is a lot more intelligent than you imagine. Yes, "imagine" because he is a PERFORMER and his show is no more an indication of his intelligence than "Friends" is for David Schwimmer so to make the conclusions you have made is just a bit of a stretch and really an example of what you accuse O'Reilly of doing.

And his 'side-kick"? I have no clue. I do not watch FOX.

[rgblue]

Uh, duh,
You can tell Keith is better read just by listening to his show as compared to Billo's. Keith occasionally corrects Bill's incorrect versions of history on his own show, to boot. Plus no one gets a mastery of trivia like that unless they read a lot and retain it.

[ImmanuelKant]

I'll go back and read the article I was just so happy to see Aaron Brown I had to say so. Hope you are doing well and happy. I miss you Aaron and I stopped watching CNN soon after you left.

[snruB]

Smarter and better read for sure....but O'Reilly is a lot more funny, unintentionally

[rubberneck]

Olbermann's format is old. His kissing of Obama's ass is painful. His night attacks on Hilliary are stupid. He's lost half of his audience, and will be off the air in a year.

[ctbutte]

Yes Olby is so much better. I suppose that why his audience is 5 times smaller tha O'Reilly huh?

[politricking]

Fantastic logic. O'reilly's audience also voted for GW Bush twice.

[popecorvo]

So whoever has the larger audience is "better," right?

So "Married With Children" is "better" than Shakespeare.

To you, I'm certain it is.

[peskyliberal]

Yes, NASCAR have more views than PBS....What's your point.

[ilcapo]

there are more stupid people than smart people,you re one example of that

[Cybesq]

They sell 5 times more Happy Meals at McDonalds than they sell sit down dinners at nice restaurants. So go play with your purple plastic Grimace whistle and leave political analysis to the kinds of people that understand quality over quantity.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

No kidding. It's not setting the bar very high, if you have to compare anyone to O'Reilly.

O'Reilly and other Fox hacks like him do cable news and Americans a great disservice.