Keith Olbermann Takes Swipe at Rachel Maddow

[Samantha]

13. Doesn't sound bitter to me, more like hurt

He is the reason she has that job today. He kept bringing her back to be on his show because he thought she was superlative. At that time, it was pretty obvious that a number of other commentators were not "welcoming" to her. I thought they felt threatened because she was just light years ahead of them. But because he persevered in giving her a spotlight, she managed to gradually become a part of that network on a regular basis. They had an extremely strong friendship at one time, and I read into that statement that has lapsed and he misses it.

But as far as MSNBC is concerned (nothing to do with Rachel who I do like very much), it deserves its pitiful ratings. I used to have it on an awful lot but I seldom tune in now. NBC has made some extremely bad judgment calls (maybe it is the Comcast influence) and I think its numbers have not found their true bottom quite yet. It cares more for the opinions of the dictates of the sponsors than its viewer's preferences. I am sure it counted on people still tuning in despite the disappointing decisions the network made, but it miscalculated.

One of the reasons Olbermann chose to leave was he said he was feared when Comcast entered the picture, he would be muzzled. Two words: Ed Schultz. I truly believe Olbermann was correct in his thinking, and it is a tragedy he is not broadcasting political commentary today because he is the best in his field (IMHO).

Sam