Outrage

Keith Olbermann had another of his “Special Comments” yesterday regarding seemingly contradictory statements issued by our president.

“I’m playing for October-November,” Mr. Bush said to one Robert Draper which was quoted on Draper’s new book, “to get us in a position where the presidential candidates, will become comfortable about sustaining a presence.”

And the president told reporters in Iraq yesterday, “They [General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker] tell me if the kind of success we are now seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces.”

Based on those two statements, Olbermann worked himself into a towering, indignant rage over Bush’s “lying” about possible troop reductions, because he was actually merely "playing." I’m certainly no Bush apologist, quite the opposite as you well know, and I’m a big fan of Keith Olbermann, but I turned Olbermann’s “Special Comment” off before its conclusion because I was tired of listening to him.

The conflict is manufactured, because if you look at the two statements by Bush they are by no means contradictory. The first merely says that he intends to maintain a presence and does not at all rule out a presence in reduced numbers. If you want to get all outraged at George Bush, it isn’t really necessary to be reaching for imaginary issues.

Olbermann’s first few “Special Comment” segments were quite impressive. They dealt with issues over which the entire country was quite properly outraged, and Olbermann spoke well and to the point. More and more, however, his “Special Comment” has become a vehicle for self-promotion and not only does his outrage come across as pompous and manufactured, but now he is even having to stretch the issue itself to the fracture point.

Finally, George Bush has been lying for years so I have trouble getting all that worked up about it at this late date. I’m also out of sorts with a news anchor who gets so worked up over the daily dishonesty from our chief executive and pays no attention to this. Judicially-sanctioned racially motivated prosecution and incarceration in this country in 2007.

I’m not naive enough to believe that racial prejudice has disappeared from my country. I devoutly hope that someday it will. I have been innocent enough to believe that the media would not ignore the misuse of the legal system to practice racial bigotry. I was wrong, and that shocks me and saddens me beyond my ability to express.

It’s happening now. In America. Ignored. God help us all.