Olbermann Versus Hannity: Death Match

Policythought was largely founded as departure from the echo-chamber, and a way to stimulate debate and maybe hear something you don't agree with every so often. However, as a blogger on policy and politics I think it is my duty to things that my reading public doesn't want to. One of those things is filling my head with the ranting and raving of pundits and talk show hosts from around the country.

I listen to everything from PBS to CSPAN to ABC and FOX news and let me tell you two shows that I would like to see disappear from the public sphere.

The first-Sean Hannity's show. I can't stand Sean Hannity. Why? Not because he's conservative. Because "interviews" are nothing more than having people on his show that are like-minded so they can bash the other side. Take for example, Hannity's recent interview with Rudy Giuliani. They took their time to bash Senator Obama because of his personal relationships. Giuliani at one point expounded, "You know I've hired a lot of people....his resume looks thin." I find it ironic that Giuliani first of all found it smart to talk about his hiring practices and secondly to talk about personal relationships given that the Bernard Kerik incident kind of lampoons both in one fell swoop. But he knew he could on Sean Hannity's show because there is no such thing as a hard-hitting interview there, its just a place to rub elbows and bash the other side. But what's worse, is that there is "another side." Sean Hannity, a disciple of Rush Limbaugh has made a career out of polarizing people and not being able to see the other side of create compromise. His show never really discusses policy or brings up debate, in fact debate is almost totally shunned. He assumes his audience is stupid, then proceeds to prove his assumption.

Not to be out done-the well-dressed, well-worded, well-worn out Keith Olbermann, is newer to the pundit scene than Sean Hannity, but he is taking his place upon the throne that Air America could not build. His nightly news and opinion show Countdown With...(heavy on the opinion, light on the news), has become a liberal staple. Olbermann spouts his leftward opinions as forcefully as Hannity on the right, and with the same lame-o interviews. When Keith's laid down the law on some opinion, most recently tarring John McCain with the idea that we went into Iraq purely for oil, he has on "experts" to discuss. His experts tend to always be from Air America radio and in what is a shock to no one the "expert" and Olbermann tend to agree 100% of the time, thus he has expounded "the truth."

Hannity strokes conservative listeners by appealing to their sense of tradition and values. Olbermann strokes liberals by appealing to their intellect, and by stringing together long sentences with large words. Both are false idols not to worshipped. I leave you now with a clip that sums up these morons, in the hope that one day one network will be brave enough to get them to share a desk together and actually debate each other.