Followup comments on the Olbermann commentary

The Washington Note also has the transcript of Keith Olbermann's denunciation of Rumsfeld from last night plus a strong amen chorus in the the blog comments.

Earlier in the show, Keith interviewed Howard Dean. Keith's leading questions gave Dean a wide opening for an angry denunciation of the Rumsfeld speech. But Dean was wise enough to side-step a point-by-point refutation of Rumsfeld. Instead, he pointed out that Rumsfeld was denouncing, not just the Democrats, but a majority of the U.S. public--which sees that Iraq as separate from Al Qaeda. He also mocked the administration's political tactics as desperate.

While I loved the Keith tirade, and look forward to more from him--and others, I think Dean's approach is, in the longrun, more effective.

Here's the key: The Bush mystique burst with the levees in New Orleans a year ago. The Republicans are playing defense by getting more and more shrill and preposterous in their charges. I'm happy to see Keith continue to demolish their arguments. But I'm even more glad that Dean is simply pointing out that a majority of the public has already moved on.

As Bush famously stumble-mumbled... "Fool me once..."


(tags: Olbermann, Keith Olbermann, Rumsfeld, Terror, Howard Dean, Politics)