Product Description

Short, sharp, and oftentimes shocking, Keith Olbermann’s “Special Comments” have made his nightly MSNBC program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, must-see viewing–and the fastest-growing news show on cable TV. In these segments, Olbermann calls out the perpetrators of mismanagement, brutality, cronyism, and the appalling lack of accountability at the highest levels of the Bush administration. In so doing, Olbermann goes where most of the mainstream media fear to tread–and his rapidly expanding audience eagerly follows.

In Truth and Consequences, Olbermann collects the best of his Special Comments, presented here with additional observations and other new material. Whether taking to task the likes of Vice President Dick Cheney and (the thankfully former) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who compare critics of the Iraq War to Nazi appeasers, or giving his impassioned perspective on why torture is un-American and what it really means to support our troops, or grilling timid lawmakers who fail to rein in presidential overreach and abuses of executive power, Olbermann’s devastatingly blunt (and at times wickedly funny) commentary cuts to the core of the duplicity and cynicism of a government that has lost the ability to distinguish between leading our great nation and ruling it.

Naturally, Keith Olbermann’s candor and razor-sharp polemic have earned him many detractors and enemies. His antagonists in the media, such as Bill O’Reilly, have mocked him and accused him of rank intolerance. Yes, Keith Olbermann is intolerant–of hypocrisy, demagoguery, fear-mongering, and especially the equation of dissent with treason. In Truth and Consequences, he fights to reclaim for himself and all Americans the dignity of speaking one’s mind and acting on one’s conscience.

Praise for Keith Olbermann
“A truth-telling, Bush-bashing accidental liberal hero.”
–New York

“The most honest man in news . . . Olbermann clearly relishes his feuds and doesn’t seem to worry much about sparking new ones.”
–Rolling Stone

“Part Jon Stewart (the funny), Dennis Miller (the erudite and biting sub-references), [and] H. L. Mencken (the skewering of power and stupidity in equal doses) as well as crusading journalist . . . Olbermann has emerged as a kind of force of nature.”
–San Francisco Chronicle

“Intelligent, well-read, forceful and incisive.”
–Rocky Mountain News

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15388 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-26
• Released on: 2007-12-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In just two years, MSNBC host Olbermann (The Worst Person in the World) has become one of the most recognized critics of the George W. Bush administration. This book explains how and why Olbermann's televised special comments began, then reprints them from September 2005 through July 2007, with postcomment explanations. Before becoming a Bush administration critic, Olbermann had achieved fame as a sports commentator on the ESPN cable network. The genesis of commentator Olbermann as political celebrity makes it difficult to determine if he ought to be considered a fact-based journalist, but however Olbermann should be labeled journalistically, the commentary collected here demonstrates that he is a first-rate writer unafraid of expressing criticisms of most Republican decision makers and, on occasion, Democrats. Understanding from the start that Bush defenders would label the special comments unpatriotic, Olbermann decided to wear this label as a badge of honor and makes a persuasive argument that he is the upholder of traditional American values, while Bush and his colleagues are the transgressors. Olbermann's editorials are bound to stimulate and incite arguments as election season ratchets up. (Jan. 2)
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About the Author
Keith Olbermann is the host of Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. A veteran broadcaster, he was the co-anchor (with Dan Patrick) of ESPN’s SportsCenter from 1992 to 1997 and helped to launch ESPN2 and ESPN Radio Network. Olbermann is the recipient of numerous awards in radio and television broadcasting, including the Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of the events of 9/11. He has hosted prime-time news programs, moderated a debate between Democratic presidential candidates, anchored the World Series broadcast, and written for dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, and Sports Illustrated. He co-hosts MSNBC’s election night coverage and NBC’s Football Night America.

Customer Reviews

K.O. Power
First, I would like to point out that what you're getting in Truth and Consequences is basically the transcripts of Olbermann's Special Comments from his show, Countdown on MSNBC. The twenty-four Special Comments, from Sept. 2005 to Sept. 2007, constitute the bulk of the book. However, Olbermann opens each commentary with a brief introduction in which he provides some context and the impetus for creating the comment. For those of you who haven't had the privilege of experiencing a Keith Olbermann Special Comment, then this would be a 5 star rating. Nonetheless, as a Keith Olbermann fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought he articulated and bolstered his case very well, interjecting history and wit all while being critical.

The book is full of expertly placed jabs, if you will, which we've grown accustom to in the traditional K.O. style:

"...depraved indifference to democracy..." (pg. 153)

In reference to the Bush Administration's total disregard of the evidence proving that there was no WMD in Irag or a al-Qaeda Iraq link, Keith channels George Orwell: "To enforce the lies of the present, it is necessary to erase the truths of the past." (pg. 39)

Referring to Bush and Cheney: "Which is the ventriloquist and which the dummy is irrelevant." (pg. 136)

Keith Olbermann truly has his fingers on the pulse of democratic America. He has provided a voice for many whose cries have either gone unheard or just blatantly ignored.

A truly revealing and excellent book
Certainly, those persons who spend their days as apologists for the Bush Administration, with their heads firmly buried in the sand, will list out all the reasons why this book is owned by the democratic party, and they'll shriek out the usual evangelistic defenses of Dumbya. But truly, Olbermann is a thorough, well-researched and articulate journalist, and his book touches on so many of the key problems and disasters that a patently dishonest (and at times, illegal) executive branch has taken us down a horrible path, leading this country further into ruin with poor decision-making and downright deceit.

Nothing new
Nothing new.
Journalism with two faces.
Intelligent? Yes!
Necessary? No
Importance? So so.