A lot of people are speculating about Keith Olbermann's future, now that the NBC/Comcast merger and his departure from MSNBC have been announced. Depending upon how you look at things, Olbermann is (a) an enormous talent (b) pompous (c) brilliant (d) a powerful voice for social justice (e) too loud and unnecessarily polarizing (f) all of the above, or (g) some combination of the above. He is certainly an oversized personality who is smart, articulate, often ideologically and partisan, but not 100% predictable, and in the longer run, maybe more independent than partisan. What should he do next?
My suggestion for KO's next job is to team up with David Frum as co-hosts of a television show on politics and public policy. Right now Frum is by far the most entertaining and interesting "conservative" in Washington, DC. He has reinvented himself into something the country needs -- a conservative who is not brain dead or humorless. Frum has things to say, he listens to others, and is likable, and a good communicator.
I don't watch much of the current cable news/commentary/talk shows, often relying instead on the Daily Show for political commentary. I would probably watch Keith Olbermann and David Frum square off against each other on the events of the day. I think others would too.
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Quick, someone in TV read this and do it. And please make sure we get this in Canada, okay?
Cry me a Boehner.
refuse to look at facts... faced with righteous indignation.. which is hard to take when passionately expressed. (e) - too loud - yeah, sometimes.. intensity sometimes fosters being loud unnecesarily - isn't received well by those who don't want to hear..errr.. listen, re-evaluate assumptions and pre-conceived notions.. have a few in my family.. frustrating..
Polarizing...only if listeners can't hear... but fact of the matter (gotten to hate that cliche, too) strong speech evokes strong reactions. And maybe stating things in "polarizing" language just might get people to actually THINK.. perhaps the calculus in choice of presentation. There always comes a time when we have to make a CHOICE.. not once, but many times..in the face of current circumstances.. but to make a real choice, one has to understand what the alternatives are... which means one has to be informed.. Too much chatter,slogansand self interest..not enough real thought.
or caring about general welfare.
Ya know? - we need thinkers who can articulate issues in context of common sense thought process..many don't have time or ability to think things through.. an area which MSM has generally FAILED to do for the general public, but it is the 4th Estate's JOB. MSM, Congress.haved failed us. Keith is a ray of hope.. haven't seen the end of him.