by L.B. Woodgate

Created on: January 24, 2011

How has Keith Olbermann's legacy affected Progressive efforts and will his departure from MSNBC negatively impact future efforts of theirs?

I thought at first he was informing us that his “Countdown” program was going to transition into something new and different when Keith Olbermann announced last Thursday night that this was his last telecast.  I grew somewhat surprised when it became clear it was not and that he was indeed leaving MSNBC for good, with no prospects of his progressive views airing again; progressive views that helped many make it through their nightmare of George W. Bush's administration and his curmudgeon vice-president Dick Cheney.  It also served as a counterbalance for them for the  right wing message being aired on Roger Ailes’ FOX news, what Olbermann himself referred to as “FOX noise”.

Keith was a relative unknown to liberals as a group when he first filled in at MSNBC and later remained to air what was then seen as a humorous take on top stories of the day back in 2003.  But news of him spread like wildfire when he took a hard turn left on August 30, 2006 as he aired his first of many “special commentaries” that would become a mainstay for him for the next few years.  This one was a blistering attack on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his cavalier approach to the invasion and sustained war in Iraq.   Olbermann’s words struck at the heart of a man and an administration that had for too long got a pass from the press for sheer arrogance, thus lifting the spirit of liberals and non-liberals alike everywhere.

Within hours the blogosphere was abuzz about the man that gave new hope for sanity’s resurrection in an era when neoconservatives seem bent on pushing the limits of moral responsibility.  Many liberals hadn't been this charged since they heard Howard Dean attack what they viewed as the wrong-headed policies of Bush/Cheney on Meet the Press in 2002 as he also notified listeners about his candidacy for the 2004 Presidential nomination.   

Olbermann’s “Countdown” segment quickly became a broadcast staple for liberals and turned out not to be such a bad move for a faltering MSNBC.  A recent report by the AP noted that “‘Countdown’ became MSNBC's most popular show. Instantly, a network that had often floundered in seeking a direction molded itself after Olbermann.”  And as it

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