As expected, Olbermann defends Webb’s smut books, but a year ago he slammed a similar type book of Scooter Libby’s
When I blogged earlier this week about the Allen campaign releasing selected excerpts of books written by Jim Webb, I made clear that I didn’t think the book excerpts were a big deal. Were they sexually bizarre? Yes. But were excerpts of fictional books relevant to this race? No.
In that same post, I noted that a year ago on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, KO slammed a similar type book written by Scooter Libby. Here’s what KO said:
Artists and actors and satirists and newscasters are all quick to remind us, hey, just because I played this part and created this character, read the story, that doesnΓ’β¬Λt mean I am them. But how much insight does a novel really give us into the psyche of the author?
[Γ’β¬Β¦]
Now we have beaten the hell out of Libby for this, and deservedly so. If a Democratic White House official had written this book, his head would be on a pike somewhere.
I asked in my post: “Will Keith provide the same attention to the excerpts from Webb’s books?”
The answer: No. KO used a few minutes of his broadcast time to defend Jim Webb’s books, carefully noting they were fiction. Read Olbermann Watch for a recap of KO’s Friday show, in which he did everything he could to defend Webb’s writings, a stark contrast to how he not only treated Scooter Libby’s fictional book, but the fictional book Bill O’Reilly wrote as well. The show transcript at KO’s site has not been posted yet, otherwise I would have linked to it as well.
Memo to Keith: Consistency can do wonders for your credibility, pal.