The Washington Census

There is a certain comfort in complete obscurity. I am going regularly contribute to this website once again. The combination of the current political/economic atmosphere and my first stay in Washington, D.C. have prompted my return.

My fear is that this website will fall back into the abyss as other concerns take priority (school, work, friends, etc.). My hope is that I will build this into a respectable site with a considerate, thoughtful following--as opposed to the "readers" of HuffPo. One of my favorite political news sites is The New Republic, not only for the excellence in writers but also the readers, who voice well-constructed arguments in favor or against the piece. I hope that readers of this website will also appreciate this. Of course, I will not always be right, so correct me diligently and I will respond at-length. I appreciate debate (I am that guy on the train who talks politics with strangers, for 6 hours straight last week) and I would love to have informed discussion here. Hopefully, within a few months years this will be more than me talking to a wall.

As I've mentioned previously, I don't approve of the liberal bias that Keith Olbermann injects into his show and even supposedly nonpartisan election coverage. Apparently, his complaint over the use of a September 11th memorial video during the Republican National Convention prompted MSNBC to replace Olbermann as anchor during election coverage. This reflects a larger fued inside MSNBC over a shift toward more liberal bias.

I agree with the decision to replace Olbermann, because from a journalistic standpoint he is just too conflicted by his own personal views--albeit he has more factual basis for his rants than a lot of the other pundits. But also his replacement is a good idea in terms of ratings, the Olbermann-Matthews led to MSNBC receiving the lowest competitive ratings for the convention coverage. The network responded to the disastrous coverage--which included several squabbling among commentators and the aforementioned condemnation of a 9/11 tribute video--by removing both Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann from the election coverage, a pretty public spanking.

I like Matthews, and I think he maintains his political preferences better than Olbermann so I'm sorry he has suffered this humiliation. On the other hand, he had no place in straight news programming except as a commentator/analyst. Olbermann had it coming, his attacks were becoming more baseless and his on-air arguments with other MSNBC hosts attracted too much attention to his personality. MSNBC has got to be careful though, Olbermann's show Countdown is their most popular show and it's not too difficult to imagine another network offering him a contract if he feels disrespected by the peacock.

David Gregory will replace the two anchors, which I whole-heartedly oppose. Not only is Gregory about as charismatic as a fish, he grew to fame through awkward arguments with President Bush's press secretaries and many believe that he has a liberal bias. Why not Brokaw? Why not Brian Williams? I guess they're busy with other duties but that is the type of anchor that America will accept more than Gregory, Olbermann or Matthews.

I was checking out the Huffington Post when this story caught my eye. Keith Olbermann attacks AP reporter Charles Babington over his analysis of Obama's speech. Olbermann culminates his ridiculous overreaction with "Charles Babington, find new work." This is an awfully dangerous remark on a pretty minor error over the speech's length and a difference of opinion between Olbermann and Babington over Obama's speech.



I first started watching Olberman after he let loose with a harsh but deserving address to President Bush. The power of his words rested in the idea that he could no longer hold his tongue and I assumed this kind of verbal "smackdown" would be a seldom-used weapon. I was wrong, he has continued to use this closing speech on several occasions including a pretty rough response to Hillary Clinton's persistence through the primary.

Now, I often agree with most of what he says in these attacks, but the repetition of this intense language makes him come off like the other talking heads--like his nemesis O'Reilly. I stopped watching Countdown because like many of MSNBC's shows, it is far too slanted. The only difference between the reporting of MSNBC and Fox News is that the former generally gets the facts right, but both do have a tendency to report only what is agreeable to their political ideology.

There is still some good reporting done at MSNBC and I watch it often, but Countdown discredits MSNBC news by employing shock jocks. This unfair attack on the AP reporter is more powerful than Olbermann may realize. Generally, you don't see a lot of criticism like this from fellow reporters, but then again Olbermann is not really much of a reporter.

Sadly, Olbermann has forced me to employ some famous words to reference the deterioration of quality, respectful news: "Good night, and good luck."

Just in case you're one of the 900...


Tim Pawlenty adamantly denies that he would accept an offer to join McCain's ticket but I don't see it. I had a strong feeling Obama would select Biden for the last few months, his foreign policy gap was just so glaring. I have an equally strong feeling that McCain will choose the young governor. Youth is his missing link, and Pawlenty is much more likable than Romney. And then there's that abortion issue with Mitt, while McCain has publicly stated that he is looking for a pro-life veep. I can't believe people are even suggesting Lieberman as vice, McCain's advisers have to be smarter than that...

As tensions came to a head over the Georgia-Russia conflict the United States sent Democratic Senator Joe Biden, an established foreign policy expert and possible Obama running mate. Biden returned, in the words of Jonathan Wiesman, "talking trash" about Russia.

I have long contended that Biden would compliment Obama better than any other potential veeps. Obama's greatest weakness is his inexperience especially in foreign policy matters, Biden is a nice fit as he would be the strong arm while Obama covers the softer domestic policy front.

The media has all-but-declared Biden as Obama's pick but I wouldn't put it past the campaign to name a surprise veep. Obama could use a bit of excitement after a rather dull last few weeks, so we'll see tomorrow but my money is on Biden. I can't help but get excited thinking of Joe Biden debating against Mitt Romney--Time has loosely suggested Mitt is already picked.