This is a clip from Keith Olbermann's show which might interest (and even please) those who don't like Keith Olbermann. I thought it was at least a semi-extraordinary moment in cable television.
One recent night on his show, Jon Stewart took Olbermann to task for certain remarks. That alone was unusual. Folks who deal in televised opinion programming almost never criticize those on their side of the aisle. Stewart is way too close to unique. I am amazed when his detractors say he never goes after Obama or other Democrats or Liberals. These folks are not watching his show.
And you almost never see the person who is criticized admit that the criticism is correct and accept responsibility for it. Sean Hannity admitted that Stewart was right recently when he pointed out that Hannity's show had passed news footage of one event after another but Hannity claimed it was a mistake. In the clip you're about to see, Olbermann simply admits that Stewart is right and that he's misbehaved. That also is generally unprecedented.
Jon Stewart is beginning to occupy an amazing role in TV punditry — a position halfway between the media criticism of David Gergen and the conscience watchdogging of Jiminy Cricket. Bill O'Reilly had Stewart on this week and tried very hard to achieve four things at the same time. One was, of course, to garner some ratings with the booking. Another was to satisfy the Fox viewers that he was slapping around the Misguided Liberal. Yet another was to show he was as witty as the Misguided Liberal. And the fourth thing was to win the approval of the Misguided Liberal. I'm not sure he didn't achieve all four objectives to some extent.
Anyway, here's the Countdown with Keith Olbermann segment, which includes the entire piece that Stewart did about him, followed by Olbermann's response. I would like to believe Olbermann was sincere because, in a medium where everyone seems to defend everything they do to the death, it's nice to see a gracious acceptance of criticism. And I do think Keith has toned it down a bit lately…which is impressive because these guys never tone it down…
