Keith Olbermann has issues. And they have driven a him from being a sensible upstart in 1989, whom Pat Sajak described as “wry and amusing,” to the 21st Century commentator better known as a “bitter-sounding, hate-mongering name-caller.” Thus the Olbermann who was once a funny sports analyst for ESPN is now better known for naming, then deriding, the “Worst Person in the World” on his show “Countdown” on MSNBC. (Although Olbermann has ended the “Worst Person” segment for now, it’s interesting to note that in the past, worst persons have always tended to be conservatives like Dick Cheney and Sean Hannity, rather than the terrorists who want to kill Cheney, Hannity, and any other infidel they can get their hands on.)
In short, it appears that the same bitterness that has overtaken and ruined Cher, and so many others in Hollywood, has overtaken and ruined Olbermann as well. And this seems to be something Sajak picked up on (and something Sajak bemoans).
I’ve always believed that this bitterness, now present as a quasi-rage in Olbermann, is itself an explanation of why he has had trouble remaining gainfully employed. He had to step away from his ESPN gig in 1997, was canned by FOX Sports in 2001, and most recently told to hit the trail by NBC’s Sunday Night Football (SNF). (Olbermann found it impossible to keep sports and politics separate during his stint at SNF: jumping, as he would, from comments about a play on 3rd and long to comments directed at Sarah Palin.)
He was, of course, suspended “indefinitely” from MSBNC on Friday, November 5, 2010, for violating MSNBC’s policy on political contributions during the recent midterm elections. And although the suspension only ended up lasting for two days, the fact that it had to take place to begin with is further proof of Olbermann’s instability. (It also makes Olbermann’s self-proclaimed “appearance of objectivity” laughable.)
When Sajak recently referenced some of Olbermann’s earliest appearances on “The Pat Sajak” show as a way of demonstrating the fact that Olbermann was once more sensible, Olbermann lashed out and mocked the fact that the “Pat Sajak Show” ever existed in the first place. Such a reaction is actually a fitting response from the Olbermann of today: A bitter, caustic commentator who not only can’t speak the truth about his lack of “objectivity” but also can’t handle the truth when someone else says it (even when that someone is as even-tempered and genteel as Sajak seems to be).
Olbermann may not know it, but through his behavior and outbursts he has awarded himself the title: “Worst Person in the World.”
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