Olbermann clarifies "taking her into a room and only he comes out" comment

[DeepModem Mom]

TV Newser: Friday Apr 25, 2008
What Is Olbermann Suggesting, Exactly?



Calling it "much worse than Pimp-Gate," HuffPo's Rachel Sklar writes about (and has video of) a comment made by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann the other night. It came during a post-PA discussion with Howard Fineman about how the Democratic primary race might finally come to an end. Fineman said it was going to take "some adults somewhere in the Democratic party to step in and stop this thing, like a referee in a fight that could go on for thirty rounds. Those are the super, super, super delegates who are going to have to decide this."

Said Olbermann: "Right. Somebody who can take her into a room and only he comes out."

"Words matter, and so do the images they evoke," surmises Sklar.

> Update: Olbermann responds to TVNewser: "It is a metaphor. I apologize: the generic 'he' gender could imply something untoward. It should've been 'only the other comes out — from a political point of view.'"

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/msnbc/what_is_olbermann_suggesting_exactly_83330.asp

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The original post from Huffington Post (video at link):

Keith Olbermann's Idea For Beating Hillary: Literally Beating Hillary
Rachel Sklar | April 25, 2008

There are two kinds of people in the world: People who think there's an ugly strain of misogyny running through Hillary Clinton's media coverage, and people who think she's just not very likable and deserves it for running such a mean campaign and is ruining the Democratic party and has an annoying laugh and should just shut up and get out of the race already. Regular readers of this column won't be surprised to learn that I fall into the former category, having cataloged a fair number of examples here, but I'd think that even if I agreed with the second part I'd still agree with the first, because her coverage is just that bad. I am not going to run through it now — if you're interested, there are 83 specific examples documented here — but I am going to offer up an unbelievable statement made by Keith Olbermann on Wednesday night's show as proof....

What does that mean? Really, it can only mean one thing: Beating the crap out of Hillary Clinton, to the point where she is physically incapable of of getting up and walking out. At minimum. We know this. We know this because we have all seen movies where people are invited into private places to have "discussions" and the unruly party is, um, dealt with accordingly. It's an unmistakably violent image.

Do I really think Olbermann thinks Hillary Clinton should really be violently beaten to the point of physical incapacitation, or worse? No, though some have taken that statement to its logical conclusion. But it is an unmistakably violent image — and that point seems to be undisputed by those who have written about it so far (Google "Olbermann" and "take her into a room" and you'll see results like "Keith Olbermann Advocates Violence Against Hillary," "Olbermann: Misogyny 101," "Calls To End Race Turn Violent," "Olbermann: How To Snuff Out Hillary Clinton"). Even Fineman seemed taken aback by the statement -- there is a distinct pause after, and it's an eternity in TV time. He's not facing the camera but you can tell that the statement was jarring. (Even so he agreed, saying, "Yes, yes exactly.")

There really seems to be only one interpretation here, and the only point of debate is on whether it's okay or not. I'm going to cut that one short: It's not. To the fellow (male) journo I wrote to about this yesterday, who waved it off as just some colorful film-noir imagery, I say: can you IMAGINE if someone had said that about Obama? That he should be taken somewhere and dealt with, so that he wouldn't come back? Can you imagine if some right-winger had talked about getting Obama out of the race "the old-fashioned way?" If that last one makes you cringe, it should, because it evokes a history of violence against black people in this country that is raw and real. Well, frankly, the same goes for women — many of whom have been taken somewhere private, and never returned.

I can already hear the outcry of those who can't believe I'd equate the gender card with the race card. Well, too bad. They're both issues, they're both factors, and in the first presidential campaign where both a woman and an African-American have a real shot at the nomination, they're both all too germane....

Like I said above, I don't think that Olbermann meant it literally, but that's not the point. Words matter, and so do the images they evoke. This can't be ignored.

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Update: And it wasn't — an MSNBC spokesperson sent over an apology from Olbermann, which I have reprinted in full:

"It is a metaphor. I apologize: the generic 'he' gender could imply something untoward. It should've been 'only the other comes out -- from a political point of view.' You could've called for reaction first if your main motive had merely been criticism."

It is true, I did not contact MSNBC for comment -- I was reacting specifically to the on-air commentary by their top-rated anchor, as seen by me and about 900,000 other people. To be fair, Olbermann regularly does the same in his "Worst Persons" segment, which often calls out on-air personalities for their remarks. I do appreciate the alacrity of Olbermann's and MSNBC's response, however.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/25/keith-olbermanns-idea-for_n_98557.html

[BlooInBloo]

1. Uncharacteristically bad wording from him. Ugh.

[noamnety]

4. Unfortunately

it IS in character for him.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/2006/10/10/todays-worst-person-in-t_e_31430.html

[lumberjack_jeff]

2. I guess smoke-filled rooms are okay again. n/t

[The_Counsel]

12. Wait ... I Thought Hillary WANTS That "Smoke-Filled Room...?"

She's been playing to the superdelegates for weeks, knowing that's the only way either she or Obama gets the nomination.

So in short, yes: smoke-filled rooms are okay again.

I guess...

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. It apparently is only a smoke filled room when the wrong candidate emerges.

If Obama and HRC were to walk into a room with the expectation that only one will walk out...

I know who my money is on.

[CBGLuthier]

3. I love the double standard here

She is as tough as any man but how dare you talk about a woman that way.

You can't have it both ways.

And this false outrage over a poorly expressed metaphor is just sad.

[meegbear]

5. It wasn't about being a woman ...

'two people go in and one come out' implies one kills the other. If he said it referring to Obama, it would have the same meaning.

I think you need a hug.

[CBGLuthier]

14. Read it again

She throws the word misogyny (and that may be the overused word of the year, believe it or not most of us don't hate women, just this woman) around a lot. Then she refers to her male counterparts as not getting it.

And again, anyone who takes the metaphor seriously is really reaching.

Oh, and I am an aspie and I can not stand to be hugged thank you very much. :-)

[Rob Gregory Browne]

6. Oh, come ON. Are we really serious here?

This is just the silliest thing I have ever heard. It was a figure of speech, nothing more. To suggest he meant anything violent or untoward is simply ridiculous. When people make a big deal over things like this -- a simple metaphor -- and fail to see it as exactly that, I worry about the state of this country's discourse.

[Kurovski]

10. Edwards said in one debate...

"Now, what I would say this: Any time you speak out powerfully for change, the forces of status quo attack. That's exactly what happens."

Kieth is also paying the price for that. Attacking Clinton, a representative of the status quo has a price. They've been waiting to have a good "gotcha" event with him, a "Howard Dean scream" moment they can blow up in his face.

[susankh4]

19. If you were one of the millions of battered women in this country....

you would not be so cavalier about such "figures of speech."

[Kurovski]

7. To see how anger can have us saying stupid things,

I invite you to stroll through GDP.

We couch elections in terms of a fight. The fight metaphors are all over the place. Personally I think they're all stupid and offensive. CNN has been the worst with the metaphors, they've even got graphics.

Anyway, I thought Olbermann was already tossed under the bus?

[midnight]

8. I have not been following the media and their comments, but

here at D.U. where I expect each candidate to be treated with more support, I'm truely not sure what is going on. Hillary and Obama both want to win. They both want to be President. Only one can be president. We don't want McCain. Vote for a Democratic President. And as far as Hillary being cold, one only has to meet her daughter to know that isn't true.

[movonne]

11. I don't think anyone would say hillary was a bad mother just a bad

candidate..

[Liberal Gramma]

9. More false outrage

We have so many things to be genuinely outraged about: the economy, the war, Americans engaging in torture, jobs being outsourced for investor gains. WHY are we focusing on the petty?

Two part answer: first, it serves a political end. Second, we can't do anything about the things that really outrage us, so this makes us feel more powerful. However, like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, making an issue out of something like a metaphor doesn't solve our big, daily becoming bigger, problems.

[Cheap_Trick]

15. Hillary may like it in the kitchen

but apparently her lemmings swoon in the heat.

[mitchtv]

16. I saw it, and took it for what he meant, a metaphor

But I am not female, and haven't been looking for the same things as the author. I will say this, I am sorry Keith decided to take sides in this one, I enjoy him a whole lot less, and he was asking for it, I also sense he has toned down his anti Hillary invective a bit in the last few weeks, and made his show more watchable for those of us who are not Obama devotees.

[southern_belle]

17. Now it's time to silence Keith, huh Hillary?

:eyes:

[susankh4]

18. This particular comment is the frosting on the cake...

it is pure evidence that K.O. is *not* a "progressive." At least not where women are concerned. He is hopelessly tainted by too many locker room interviews. He cannot be taken seriously as a political commentator, let alone a journalist.