Olbermann Complains Media Focused on Beck Instead of His Astroturf Health Care Clinic

Envy is a form of flattery, but don’t tell MSNBC “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann.

Olbermann, on his Nov. 23 broadcast, didn’t stray from his usual shtick of character assaults and name-calling for his “Worst Person in the World” segment. But he did hint his feelings were hurt after he named Fox News host Glenn Beck the third place recipient in this “Worst Person” contest.

“The bronze, to ‘Lonesome Rhodes’ Beck who announced on Saturday he’s starting either a political movement to sell a book or he’s starting a book to sell a political movement. It’ll take 100 years and it’ll be based on Mao Tse-Tung’s for China, or … something. With incoherent mystical visions, it’s hard to tell,” Olbermann said.

Olbermann noted the amount of media coverage Beck’s announced intentions got, and it’s hard to miss considering Beck draws huge numbers. But the problem – they didn’t cover Olbermann’s Astroturf-ish free health care clinics that occurred in Little Rock, Ark. over the weekend. Though even former Democratic President Bill Clinton turned his nose up at for being overly politicized [1] (which Olbermann himself had admitted had a purpose to sway the vote [2] of certain U.S. senators, including Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.)

“To reporters from Time magazine, the Politico, The New York Times and everybody else in the mainstream treating this seriously: What are you doing?” Olbermann said. “We had another free health care clinic on Saturday. More than a thousand in Little Rock participated, paid for fully by this show.”

Olbermann expressed his frustration over the media attention given to Beck.

“Instead of worrying about the implications of that, you’re covering a guy from the University of ‘I don’t remember’ who has announced some sort of amorphous plan which he has creatively entitled ‘The Plan,’” Olbermann lamented.

The one problem with Olbermann’s complaint is Beck has proven he is much more of an important figure than Olbermann. Beck regularly draws more than two to three times as many viewers [3] than Olbermann, has had two recent best-selling books and is one to of the top radio hosts in the country – hence the media attention Beck draws compared to Olbermann.

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