Olbermann reveals 'Commander in Chief Threshold Test'

David Edwards and Nick Juliano

Published: Monday March 31, 2008



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Hillary Clinton's campaign likes to say -- ad nauseam, to anyone who will listen -- that her opponent Barack Obama has not passed the "commander in chief test," but what exactly does this endlessly repeated talking point mean?

MSNBC host Keith Olbermann tried to provide an answer Sunday night, presenting his tongue-in-cheek, 17-question "Commander in Chief Threshold Test," during a special anniversary edition of his Countdown aired on NBC.

The "test" poked fun at some of Olbermann's favorite targets, including former Virginia Sen. George Allen, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and John McCain, along with Democrats John Kerry, Michael Dukakis, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Some sample questions:

Question 10: "How often should the commander in chief joke about nuclear holocaust?" This was accompanied by Ronald Reagan joking during the Cold War that "the bombing starts in five minutes," and McCain singing "Bomb, Bomb Iran" to the tune of a famous Beach Boys song.

Question 13: "Are you now or have you ever been confused about who will be your right-hand man when you are commander in chief?" President Bush bungled this one in an address, saying "the left-hand knows what the right hand is doing," while emphasizing "left hand" with his right hand, and vice versa.

This video is from NBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, broadcast March 30, 2008.









