Al Gore: Why We Fired Keith Olbermann

[Ian David]

27. I'm shocked that Keith Olbermann is difficult to work with. He always seems so mellow and laid-back.

Al Gore knew what they were getting when they hired Keith.

Hell, even we, his fans, knew it.

Mr. Gore should have been prepared to deal with it, if he was going to hire Keith in the first place.

Are you going to tell me that he expected Keith Olbermann to just do what his bosses told him to, and not make a fuss? That he expected him to show-up for work every day, just because he was supposed to?

We love Keith Olbermann because he is unpredictable and confrontational.

And he was confrontational at a time when nobody on the left was allowed to be confrontational on television.

Am I alone in saying that we expected, and even looked forward, to Mr. Olbermann raising hell not just against Conservatives, but also against his own bosses, in the hopes that he would help make Current TV a better network, and also provide some excitement in the process?

I mean, since they canceled the fictional show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, where else are we going to get drama about in-fighting at a TV network? (30 Rock doesn't count).

Current should have accepted it and incorporated it into their programming, instead of firing Keith.

"Hi, I'm Eliot Spitzer, sitting-in for Keith Olbermann today. He couldn't be here because he's protesting against Current for not providing wireless lapel microphones in the studio. Which brings us to tonight's edition of, 'What's Keith Mad About Today?'"

Correct me if I am wrong, but did you ever notice that while Keith was at MSNBC, The Worst Person in The World was never Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborrough or even Pat Buchannan? I always found that disheartening. Maybe Current should have let Keith have a segment called, "Worst Person at Current," to inform us about whoever it was he was fighting with.

Tell me that this would not have been Ratings Gold.

I want Keith to get a new show.

And I want him to have his show someplace where he either has complete control, or where they're willing to accommodate his eccentricities.