What Would Happen If Olbermann Named GWB "Worst Person In The World?"

[Syrinx]

Do you think MSNBC/NBC/GE would fire him?

[RagingInMiami]

1. It's gotta be coming

You can only call Bill O'Reilly that so many times.

(I don't have cable so I have no idea how many times he had given O'Reilly that title)

[Syrinx]

6. I watch the show almost every night...

But I've lost count with O'Reilly nominations. I say it's time to move on to bigger targets! :D

[Swamp Rat]

2. He'd get a raise

Keith's fan mail would just pour in... :D

[Syrinx]

5. I know Keith would hear from me!

I hope it happens sometimes soon, it would be really cool. Maybe he can practice with Cheney. :)

EDIT: Maybe we should lobby him for it, then send roses when it happens. ;)

[Swamp Rat]

11. I think he should hold off a little

Maybe work his way up through the administration first. :D

[Syrinx]

12. Good Idea!

Let's start with this guy.



Mike Johanns
Secretary of Agriculture

I never heard of him, but since he's a Bush appointee, he's got to be in contention for the prize. :D

[PublicWrath]

3. A year ago, yes. But not these days. n/t

[nonconformist]

4. No. I think public opinion has changed too much.

I don't even think it would be viewed as that controversial nowadays.

[Selatius]

7. Keith is bringing in too much ad revenue for General Electric to fire him.

General Electric is looking out for itself; it could give two shits worth a damn about the truth or America. As long as Keith gets the ratings, they get the money, and that makes them happy, in general. I'm sure there are those who would love to see Keith removed because he pushes the subversive truth.

[napi21]

8. No they wouldn't fire him, but he won't do it!

That would be a bad move right now, and Keith is too smart for that!

Maybe in the forseeable future, but now right now.

[az chela]

9. the applause heard round the world woule be deafening

[PublicWrath]

10. It will come and we should watch for it.

When he does name bush as Worst Person, we'll know the bush era is over, all but the shouting.

[ClintonTyree]

13. Olberman's is the only MSNBC show steadily gaining viewers....

so, thinking like a network executive, yes, they'd fire him. We're not dealing with logical, sane people here. These are cable news executives, not usually known for their savvy business acumen.

[Berry Cool]

14. He's already gone on the record as saying that they only care about what

gets ratings. If praising the president gets ratings, they are all for praising the president. If criticizing the president gets ratings, then let the criticism flow! All they care about is what pulls in viewers and sells ads.

They may not be logical or sane, but they didn't get hired because they know how to lose ad revenue. Even Phil Donahue didn't get fired because his ratings were going up--he got fired because the war was about to start, and they were afraid the country would turn pro-war and his ratings would drop and so would their ad revenue. Cowards.

Now that Keith's proven he can get ratings for a slant on the news that is more likely to pull out the brickbats than the pompons for the White House--and is reflecting a growing shift in public sentiment--he's not going anywhere. Heck, they just decided to RERUN his shows on the morning after they air. MSNBC may be slow on the uptake, but I think he is safe.

That having been said, though, don't expect him to name Bush Worst Person in the World anytime soon. Worst Person tends to be his forum for the smaller potatoes who say and do dumb, thoughtless or mean things that he wants to call to our attention because otherwise they might get lost in the flotsam and jetsam of news. Bush isn't likely to get lost--the blunders of his administration are top news every day.

Worst Person choices tend to be:

--ordinary people doing stupid things to take advantage of or hurt others
--petty local politicians making dumb, shortsighted decisions
--companies and corporations, both big and small, making bad policy or issuing stupid statements
--media pundits (usually on the far right) saying thoughtless, insenstive things

Nah, Bush and his follies will continue their run as the usual #5 Story. He can only wish for the relative obscurity of being named Worst Person in the World.