BuzzFlash Reviews

BUZZFLASH REVIEWS

An online reviewer:

Keith Olbermann's first Special Comment (although it was not called such at the first broadcast) was a scathing critique of the failure of the Bush administration to "save its citizens from a biological weapon called standing water" in the state of Louisiana. The more well-known inaugural Special Comment came a year later, when the anchor launched into a six-minute diatribe that began "The man who see absolutes where all other men see nuances and shades of meaning is either a prophet or a quack. Donald Rumsfeld is not a prophet." Olbermann concluded that broadcast with the words of his hero, Edward R. Murrow: "And so good night, and good luck." Truth or Consequences collects two dozen of Olbermann's Special Comments, which are intensely organic by nature. When his management encouraged him to develop the Special Comments, the anchor refused to do so on any schedule, insisting that by their very nature, Special Comments are only warranted by the instantaneous political climate.

The author insisted that his broadcasts be reprinted in the book as they were stated on the air, including any of "the sort of little grammatical infelicities that my copy editor tried to weed out." Each Special Comment is introduced by the author, bringing greater context (and fun stuff like a behind-the-scenes look at the off-camera character of President Clinton) to the impact of his message. Reading the twenty-four chapters over the span of a few days, I was struck by how well-constructed Olbermann's analysis is. He repeatedly exposes logical fallacies and inconsistencies in the message of the Bush administration, and he delights in taking Bush's ill-formed historical analogies to task. He might seem passionately charged up on air, but his monologues are well-crafted and comprise a complete, scholarly look at modern American politics. There is merit both to watching him live in the heat of the moment (or on that little network called YouTube) and to reading his Special Comments as a unified collection.

Do you worry about Olbermann running out of material with a change in administration? Don't worry, he told NPR. "I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican. This isn't right -- you're not doing what you said you were going to do. You have not restored habeas corpus fully. We're still in Gitmo. We're still in Iraq. We're not out fast enough. These are still going to be issues. They don't go away with George Bush."

Another online reviewer:

In the marketplace of ideas in a free society, compelling voices will ultimately be heard. This dynamic helps explain how a former ESPN commentator, known for tongue-in-cheek delivery, has become heir to the mantle of Murrow and Severeid as well as the often outraged defender of the right to dissent. Citing the comic team of Bob and Ray as inspiration while quoting Murrow's advice that we not confuse dissent with disloyalty, Keith Olbermann explains that he wrote his first "Special Comment" because he saw no one else expressing indignation at statements made by then Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.

Diving into deep waters with some trepidation, Olbermann followed this initial video editorial with a series of comments over the last 3 years which are collected in this book.

About Keith Olbermann:

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.

From Random House, the publisher:

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.


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