List Of Keith Olbermann's Special Comments
Keith Olbermann occasionally delivers "special comments", commentaries usually several minutes long and often directed at a political figure, on his MSNBC news show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann. The first commentary specifically designated as a special comment was delivered on August 30, 2006. He continues this practice on his CurrentTV program, also called Countdown.
Olbermann originates and writes his special comments himself, which he has described as a two-day process that begins with " pissed off" and involves a number of rewrites and rehearsals before the show airs. Olbermann delivered a total of 57 Special Comments on MSNBC's Countdown. The special comments almost always take the form of criticism of the conservatives, including the Bush administration, Newt Gingrich or Tom DeLay.
He also criticizes the Democratic Party and President Barack Obama when they seem to be catering to the whims of the right wing. His criticism of Hillary Clinton's response to the comments of Geraldine Ferraro about Barack Obama and the comments aftermath was the first time a special comment has been "directed exclusively at a Democrat."
Some of his most vehement Special Comments are about the need for universal health care in the United States. He has appealed to viewers several times to support the National Association of Free Clinics. On October 6, 2009, Olbermann delivered a one-hour Special Comment devoted entirely to the need for health care reform, detailing history, statistics, and a personal account about what he witnessed while caring for his ailing father.
Olbermann's special comments have generated much attention and controversy, especially on the Internet. They have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube. The day after the first special comment, Olbermann's name became the #4 search term on Technorati and the Amazon.com ranking of his book Worst Person in the World jumped from #98 to #19. On at least two instances, excerpts from special comments have been entered into the Congressional Record, including a speech by West Virginia Representative Nick Rahall on the House floor.
A book compiling Olbermann's Special Comments, Truth and Consequences: Special Comments on the Bush Administration's War on American Values, was released on December 26, 2007, containing all the Special Comments that aired on or before September 4, 2007, including the one on Hurricane Katrina.
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