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Keith Olbermann Calls on Bush to Resign

Crooks and Liars has the transcript and the video of Keith Olbermann's special comment tonight on Countdown in which he calls on Bush to resign from office.

Some highlights:

I accuse you of handing part of this republic over to a Vice President who is without conscience, and letting him run roughshod over it.

And I accuse you now, Mr. Bush, of giving, through that Vice President, carte blanche to Mr. Libby, to help defame Ambassador Joseph Wilson by any means necessary, to lie to Grand Juries and Special Counsel and before a court, in order to protect the mechanisms and particulars of that defamation, with your guarantee that Libby would never see prison, and, in so doing, as Ambassador Wilson himself phrased it here last night, of you becoming an accessory to the obstruction of justice.

More...

But when other citizens render a verdict against your man, Mr. Bush — and then you spit in the faces of those jurors and that judge and the judges who were yet to hear the appeal — the average citizen understands that, sir.

It’s the fixed ballgame and the rigged casino and the pre-arranged lottery all rolled into one — and it stinks. And they know it.

The best, in my opinion:

Even Richard Nixon knew it was time to resign.
Would that you could say that, Mr. Bush.
And that you could say it for Mr. Cheney.
You both crossed the Rubicon yesterday.
Which one of you chose the route, no longer matters.
Which is the ventriloquist, and which the dummy, is irrelevant.

< Hillary Rips Libby Commutation | Bush Screws Up Commutation >
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  • Display: Sort:
    Intense (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by squeaky on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 10:46:44 PM EST
    More like that, please. MSM especially, time to wake up.

    It would be nice if this starts (5.00 / 0) (#8)
    by Edger on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 10:58:04 PM EST
    moving the window far enough to make impeachment politically viable.

    Parent
    Fantastic (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by Al on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 12:26:43 AM EST
    I just saw the video. Olbermann clearly echoes Emile Zola's historic J'accuse, and I hope that Olbermann's accusation has the same success. (Though Zola did have to flee the country for a while).

    My hat's off to him. He's right. Bush and Cheney must resign.

    Emile Zola (none / 0) (#16)
    by BigMitch on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 03:20:56 AM EST
    And yet, the words J'Accuse gave rise to the modern Zionist movement. A young newsman covering the Affaire Dreyfus determined that Jews needed auto-emancipation and their own homeland. His name was Theodore Hertzl.

    Please visit the Schapira blog, "What we know so far ...

    ... and tell 'em Big Mitch sent ya!

    Parent

    Comment from British P.M. Gordon Brown (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by BigMitch on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 03:16:35 AM EST

    In Britain the Prime Minister is obliged to appear in Parliament periodically and to answer questions from M.P.s from all sides of the aisle. Here's my own transcript of an excerpt from Mr. Brown's opening statement at his first appearance in Parliament as P.M.

    All members of this house and all the people of this country have a shared interest in building trust in our democracy. And it is my hope that by working together for change in a spirit that takes us beyond parties and beyond partisanship, we can agree a new British constitutional settlement that entrusts more power to Parliament and to the British people.

    Change with a new settlement is in my view essential to our countries future for we will only meet the new challenges of security, of economic change, of communities under pressure, and forge a stronger shared national purpose by building a new relationship between citizens and government that insures that government is a better servant of the people.

    ...

    So I now propose that in twelve important areas of our national life the Prime Minister and the executive should surrender or limit their powers, the exclusive exercise of which by the government of the day should have no place in a modern democracy. These are:

  • The power to declare war.
  • ...
  • The power to make key public appointments without effective scrutiny
  • The power to restrict parliament oversight of our intelligence services
  • ...
  • Power in the appointment of judges
  • Power to direct prosecutors in individual criminal cases
  • ...
  • and the executive powers to determine the rules governing entitlement to passports and the granting of pardons.
  • I now propose to surrender or limit these powers to make for a more open 21st century British democracy which better serves the British people.

    It's quite a striking contrast to the current administration on this side of the pond, wouldn't you say?

    ... and tell 'em Big Mitch sent ya!

    He's an Alpha male (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by Repack Rider on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 04:31:00 PM EST
    Why should I give a rip about this crap?  If Keith Olbermann is saying the right stuff, and he obviously is, what difference does his job history make?

    Wait, I get it.  If you can discredit KO, somehow that affects what his words mean. They will mean something totally different from what I thought they meant if I can be made not to like Keith.

    Do I have that right?

    Who is better than them? (4.00 / 1) (#9)
    by chemoelectric on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 11:36:42 PM EST
    Something Olbermann's commentary stirred up in my head:

    It goes without question that Richard Nixon was a far better person than G W Bush and R B Cheney. The question, then, is whether Henry Kissinger is better than them, and I'm wagering on yes.

    Dog bites man (1.00 / 1) (#1)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 10:27:34 PM EST


    Really? (none / 0) (#2)
    by Edger on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 10:30:25 PM EST
    I always how you wingnuts described Bush's so-called presidency.

    Parent
    You fill in the blank (none / 0) (#3)
    by Edger on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 10:31:12 PM EST
    edger (1.00 / 0) (#4)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 10:39:48 PM EST
    Well, it couldn't be "thought."

    Parent
    Try 'wondered' (5.00 / 0) (#7)
    by Edger on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 10:53:25 PM EST
    edger (1.00 / 1) (#10)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 11:40:22 PM EST
    Nah, I know you wanted us to think "thought," but there is no way anyone could accept that.

    Parent
    I already told you that you are (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by Militarytracy on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 11:55:14 PM EST
    time out on that psychic network stuff!  It's supposed to be used for entertainment purposes only Jim.  You are abusing it.

    Parent
    Tracy - Edger (1.00 / 1) (#18)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 09:47:36 AM EST
    Well, there you go again..

    lol

    Parent

    I 'thought' (none / 0) (#12)
    by Edger on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 11:52:35 PM EST
    you were smarter than that, ppj. I even tried to convince everyone else that you were. But I was wrong.

    Parent
    gosh Edger ... (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by Sailor on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 11:36:26 PM EST
    ... you can't prove a negative;-)

    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#40)
    by Edger on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 11:44:05 PM EST
    I gave it my best shot, though.

    I was just test-driving wingnut logic.

    Even though it was destined to fail from the get go. ;-)

    Parent

    The Content? (1.00 / 1) (#20)
    by Slado on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 12:34:49 PM EST
    Mindless raving by someone desparate to be taken seriously.

    Like the president or anyone should take anything a 3rd tier cable talking head says seriously.

    That's what I think of the content

    Wow (5.00 / 2) (#31)
    by Al on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 06:16:44 PM EST
    That's really insightful, Slado. I thought Olbermann's piece was very good, but after reading your carefully thought out review, I can see my error. Thank you.

    Parent
    Try this content (none / 0) (#21)
    by Edger on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 12:47:05 PM EST
    You might like it better.

    Bush Consigns GOP To Political Oblivion

    George Bush may have alienated a lot of core conservatives and thereby consigned the Republican party to political oblivion for the next forty years.

    Brit Hume interviews Fred Barnes, Executive Editor of The Weekly Standard about the Libby commutation

    Then again, maybe you won't...

    Parent

    edfer (1.00 / 1) (#23)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 01:15:59 PM EST
    And to prove your point, edger quotes edger!!

    How uniquely intellectually dishonest.

    Parent

    Can't read either, huh? (none / 0) (#24)
    by Edger on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 01:19:19 PM EST
    Don't misunderstand me (none / 0) (#27)
    by Slado on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 02:58:13 PM EST
    I'm not defending Bush politically just legaly.

    He has the right to pardon and so did Clinton.

    I'm just pointing out the silliness of the overaction by the left in this country now that they've finally realized the 4 year saga that was supposedly about outing a CIA agent is going to end like all the scandals in the Clinton years ended.

    With nothign to show for it.

    Parent

    Slado (1.00 / 1) (#33)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 06:24:20 PM EST
    You gotta remember who you are dealing with.

    First of all, (none / 0) (#67)
    by Edger on Thu Jan 25, 2007 at 03:18:25 PM EST

    Do we offer them respect? Absolutely not. We do our best to marginalize and get rid of them.

    Posted by Squeaky at September 19, 2005 11:19 PM
    Rove never needed proof for his smear machine, why should I.

    Ve haf vays of makink you tawk... (none / 0) (#1)
    by Bill Arnett on Sat Nov 18, 2006 at 12:08:54 PM EST
    ...und zen you vill be found guilty and shot! Sign ze papers!
    I believe even the Nazis accorded fairer treatment to prisoners of war than America now does. Says a lot about what we have become and why the world considers America to be the greatest threat to world peace.
    Nice job, mr boosh

    How do we get rid of the rest of them? (1.00 / 2) (#7)
    by maheanuu on Fri Mar 30, 2007 at 08:54:27 AM EST
    Perhaps Rat Poison might work, but then even a rat wouldn't be as bad as the repigs in office today.

    There is nothing you can say that will satisfy them.

    Parent

    Re: nothing you can say that will satisfy them (none / 0) (#35)
    by Edger on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 06:37:36 PM EST
    Sure there is ppj:

    • I plead not guilty, your honor
    It won't help you, but it would be very satisfying to hear you try it:
    My counsel says we were not aware of the extermination of the millions. He would give you the excuse: We were only aware of the extermination of the hundreds. Does that make us any the less guilty? Maybe we didn't know the details. But if we didn't know, it was because we didn't want to know.
    Happy 4th...

    Parent
    edger (1.00 / 1) (#37)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 10:42:42 PM EST
    I love it when you whine.

    Parent
    I understand you very clearly. (none / 0) (#29)
    by Edger on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 03:06:55 PM EST
    I don't think you understand yourself.

    With nothign to show for it.


    Parent
    You are too kind. (none / 0) (#22)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 01:13:11 PM EST
    J, You are... (none / 0) (#26)
    by TomStewart on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 02:53:44 PM EST
    talking about O'Reilly, right?

    Parent
    By the way (1.00 / 1) (#28)
    by Slado on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 02:59:42 PM EST
    I think he's very entertaining and a smart guy but I can't stand the BS he's selling.

    Now Rush, that's my kind of BS.

    That's OK, Slado (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by Al on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 06:18:25 PM EST
    Nobody expects you to have a mind of your own.

    Parent
    a quibble (none / 0) (#6)
    by manys on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 10:47:54 PM EST
    Being that both Cheney and Bush need to be sedated for a visit to the proctologist, I doubt either of them let anybody stick their hand up their backside. In fact, since Cheney probably is sedated or anaesthetized more often than most people, that's probably why he's vice president, so we don't know his health sitch when the President has to hand over power in the interim..

    Out of the mainstream (none / 0) (#11)
    by dutchfox on Tue Jul 03, 2007 at 11:43:28 PM EST
    is Olbermann. But why doesn't he have any truly anti-war people on his program? Or has he? (I don't have cable.)

    Ratings... (none / 0) (#17)
    by Slado on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 07:26:58 AM EST
    Is the only motive for Olbermann.   when you listen to him on espn radio you realize that his contempt and outrage is only stagged for tv.

    also I doubt the public is going to get in a lather after his little speech considering more people were probably watching the replay of O'Reilly then Olbermann.

    DA (none / 0) (#34)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 06:29:26 PM EST
    On that program, Olbermann offered wry commentary about Monica Lewinsky and similar fodder, but again, his bombast seemed out of proportion to the issues at hand.

    lol

    DA (1.00 / 0) (#38)
    by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 10:44:07 PM EST
    His problem is, people CARE about Bonds.... They give a flip about his complains about politicans..

    Parent
    wrong as always (5.00 / 0) (#41)
    by Sailor on Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 11:55:37 PM EST
    Improbably enough, the former SportsCenter anchor has even been credited with helping to effect the Democratic takeover of Congress this past November.
    Perhaps the populace, all 73% of them, have shaken off their Bonds.

    Parent
    Sailor (none / 0) (#44)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jul 05, 2007 at 11:58:55 AM EST
    Yes, the Left wing bloggers are undoubtedly a legend in their own minds...

    And now that they have done their Masters bidding..

    Their Masters won't throw them a bone..

    LOL .... Sometimes people get what they deserve..

    Parent

    DA (1.00 / 0) (#45)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jul 05, 2007 at 12:00:21 PM EST
    I am thilled, yes thrilled that you are pleased...

    ;-)

    Parent

    Nothing comparable to past presidential pardons (none / 0) (#43)
    by Aaron on Thu Jul 05, 2007 at 08:03:32 AM EST
    None of the comparisons to past presidential pardons can for one moment be considered equivalent to a renegade president and administration fabricating evidence of a nuclear threat in order to deceive the American people into supporting them in this illegal, immoral, unconstitutional war.  Nothing else in American history even comes close.

    Bill Clinton didn't commute the sentence or grant a pardon to someone who had the ability to bring down his entire administration, and put him on a rock pile in Leavenworth making little ones on a big ones. So the pathetic Clinton bashing I so often see coming from the righties is not applicable.

    There's going to be a Democratic president come 2009, and then there's going to be some real investigations into the high crimes committed by George W. Bush and his band of flunkies, and I promise you none of them are going to get pardons from anybody.

    I'm sure some of you Bush loving treason excusing pseudo Americans will be scribbling away in your little blogs about how Dubya was one of the great misunderstood American heroes, and petitioning the government for his release from prison, and bringing him cookies and milk on visiting day, but the history books will record exactly what this president was, the first traitor to ever sit in the Oval Office.  I just pray he will be the last, and that our republic will survive this tragedy

    When you see Georgie in the slammer, tell him I said GOTCHA B--CH!!!