Olbermann: The 'stuff' Bill O'Reilly thinks is more relevant than the horrors of war David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Thursday June 21, 2007 Print This Email This "Bill O'Reilly has resumed telling you what you can and cannot think and what you can and cannot watch," Keith Olbermann stated on Wednesday. "Angry at MSNBC as usual," since Olbermann reported on his being thrown out of a baseball clubhouse for lack of credentials, O'Reilly has been attacking NBC for what he claims is excessive war coverage: "Dead Afghan kids killed in an American airstrike? NBC News is jazzed." "[O'Reilly] also explained that he brings his listeners and viewers 'stuff that is new, stuff that is relevant to your life,' Olbermann continued. "We decided to give you a brief sample of the 'stuff' Bill O' and Fox Noise have recently decided are more relevant to your life than the horrors -- and realities -- of war." Olbermann than delivered a montage which interspersed soundbites of O'Reilly claiming a week ago that covering violence in Iraq shows us nothing new and only helps the terrorists with clips of his actual stories over the past week. "Gold-medal Olympic swimmer ... undraped in Playboy ... The increasing problems with bears ... Who is blocking the Monkees from being in the Rock Hall of Fame? ... Having sex in your sleep. Is that a legitimate defense against rape charges? ... " On a more serious note, Olbermann pointed out that "Bill O' also got the Second World War wrong again" in his claim that President Roosevelt "set up the Office of War Information in 1942, which censored, among other things, the results of enemy action and American casualty lists." The OWI, Olbermann explains, was actually responsible not for censorship, but for warning the public that "loose lips sink ships." Roosevelt himself deliberately lifted the ban on publishing photographs of dead American soldiers after determined that concealing the facts would keep Americans from realizing the seriousness of the war effort and thus harm morale. Olbermann was joined by Arianna Huffington, who commented, "It's actually the height of irrationality and hypocrisy and it's a new low at the same time. ... He thinks that he's supporting the troops by ignoring their deaths." She believes O'Reilly's real problem is that if the American people know the war is not going well, they will be even more opposed to it. The following video is from MSNBC's Countdown, broadcast on July 20.





