Olbermann "Tainting" MSNBC?

As Thomas might opine, "say it ain't so," or something to that effect. Newsbusters has the scoop and it came courtesy of Ace @ AoSHQ. There really is not too much one can say, and given the fact MSNBC ranks dead last in the ratings wars of cable news, we wonder why MSNBC just does not get rid of this guy. He was terrible as a sports commentator on ESPN. He is atrocious as a political pundit. (And yes Keith, Thomas and I are shooting for the vaunted "Worst Person in the World" Award you bestow on people. It is not fair that Hugh Hewitt has received two, and we have received none. We try, you know.):

A “high level source inside MSNBC” tells the TVNewser blog that network stars like Tim Russert and Chris Matthews are “upset” and “pissed” that the far-left Keith Olbermann is tainting the network’s credibility with his “activism,” such as blogging for the hard-left Daily Kos site.

“What’s it going to be like in the general election now that everyone knows we’re the in-house network of Barack Obama,” TVNewser’s Steve Krakauer quoted the MSNBC insider as fretting. The source suggested Olbermann was allowed to get away with his activism because the network fears the Countdown host would quit:

“They are convinced that he will walk. He behaves like a man who has nothing left to lose. He is not central to MSNBC, he is the center of the MSNBC ratings strategy. We hang the entire schedule on him."

A network spokesperson dismissed the complaint, telling TVNewser, "Your source is ill-informed and the assertions are laughable."

Excerpts from the June 3 posting, which went up before tonight’s primary coverage began:

Tonight may be the last of the primaries, but the discussion of the cable news coverage will no doubt continue for months to come. MSNBC has bore the brunt of much of the criticism, from a candidate, a competitor, and many voices in between. Now, TVNewser speaks with a high level source inside MSNBC, who sheds light on some of the inside rumblings.

"Every Tuesday night Keith is up there as the face of NBC News. That's a problem," says our source. "[Tim] Russert is upset about it. Russert has spent 20 years building credibility. All of a sudden he's taking questions from Keith Olbermann, the Daily Kos blogger?"

The insider says Olbermann's election night partner has reservations as well: "Chris Matthews is quite pissed about it. He knows a lot about politics and he takes it seriously. He's so close to it that he's not that political. He's not an activist — Keith's an activist. That's the difference."

Suspending excerpt: Okay, I'll concede that Matthews, unlike Olbermann, has a true political insider's grasp of politics, but it's absurd to claim that Matthews is "not that political." Back on February 12, when he admitted getting thrills up his leg from hearing Barack Obama speak, it was actually Olbermann who told Matthews to "steady."

This is MSNBC's problem now. They have put everything on Olbermann, which was stupid in the first place; ignoring real news people like Russert. (Ladies and gentlemen, we do not like the station any more than most people -- recall I said they were dead last in ratings -- but you have to admit that Tim Russert at least tries to do his job.) But to pin the network's hopes on such a crank is insane. Did they forget what happened to CBS? Do they not recall Dan Rather? Granted, all Dan Rather did as peddle a phony story. But his childish antics after getting caught, and since then with this ridiculous lawsuit, is nearly Olbermann-esque.

Here is our take on it: If MSNBC wants to do a stupid move like this (granted they did give him the job) then they deserve all the hits they get; they deserve every punch(line) thrown at them. Keith Olbermann should never be taken seriously. He is a dolt of the first order, and has zero credibility in any serious thinker's mind.

Marcie