Olbermann Slams Bush's 'Radio Yackers' Meeting, Confuses Boortz and Cleland Again

On Tuesday's Countdown show, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann fretted about an Oval Office meeting of President Bush and several conservative talk radio hosts -- verbally tagged by Olbermann as "right-wing radio yackers" and labelled on-screen as the "Legion of Doom" -- as the Countdown host contended that Bush was devoting "90 minutes worth of your taxpayer dollars" to the meeting. And in an amusing faux pas, Olbermann's staff, for the second time in less than a year, accidentally displayed a photograph of former liberal Democratic Senator Max Cleland instead of conservative talk radio host Neal Boortz.

During the show's opening teaser, Olbermann proclaimed: "The born again and the born talkers: The President takes 90 minutes worth of your taxpayer dollars to entertain right-wing radio yackers in the Oval Office, and will set up a radio row for them on the White House grounds next week." (Transcript follows)

During the teaser, a graphic including photos of four conservative radio hosts was shown, including Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Michael Medved, and Mike Gallagher. But also appearing in the group was former Democratic Senator Cleland. Viewers would later learn that Boortz was actually the fifth radio host at the meeting.

As documented by NewBusters, on the December 14, 2005 Countdown show, Olbermann's staff had similarly displayed a photograph of Cleland while Olbermann was attacking Boortz during his regular "Worst Person in the World" segment. On the subsequent night, while correcting the mixup, the Countdown host labeled the liberal Cleland as "one of the best."

Returning to the October 17 show, after devoting the first segment to the signing of the bill regarding the treatment of captured enemy combatants, Olbermann returned to the topic of the talk radio meeting as a screen behind him displayed a different set of photos of the five radio hosts, this time accurately including a photo of Boortz, while displaying the words "Legion of Doom" in the middle of them. Olbermann spoke disapprovingly of President Bush's "priorities" for devoting so much time to the meeting. Olbermann: "Back when the President was actually trying to sell that bill to the American people, he publicly answered questions for an hour on the morning of September 15 in the Rose Garden. But it's what he did that afternoon for an hour and a half that perhaps speaks volumes about this administration's priorities."

After bringing aboard Newsweek's Howard Fineman to discuss the day's news, Olbermann's began the interview with a question about the meeting. Olbermann: "In January, the President consulted with 13 former Secretaries of State and Defense about Iraq, spoke for 40 minutes, allowed discussion for 5 to 10 minutes. The figures for the 5 conservative radio show people is double that. Is there an explanation of that that does not include the President using the Oval Office for purely political purposes and even indirectly for political fund-raising?"

Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the October 17 Countdown show:

Keith Olbermann, in opening teaser: "The born again and the born talkers: The President takes 90 minutes worth of your taxpayer dollars to entertain right-wing radio yackers in the Oval Office, and will set up a radio row for them on the White House grounds next week."
...

Olbermann at 8:10 p.m.: "Back when the President was actually trying to sell that bill to the American people, he publicly answered questions for an hour on the morning of September 15 in the Rose Garden. But it's what he did that afternoon for an hour and a half that perhaps speaks volumes about this administration's priorities. He met off-the-record and in the Oval Office with only five people, conservative talk show radio hosts -- Mike Gallagher, Neal Boorz, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, and Michael Medved -- who, according to a New York Times summary, reach mainly Republican audiences of 30 million people per week. Joining me now, Newsweek magazine political columnist/MSNBC analyst Howard Fineman. Howard, good evening."

Howard Fineman: "Good evening, Keith."

Olbermann: "I've got a question for you about the Military Commissions Act, too, but let's finish off this episode first. In January, the President consulted with 13 former Secretaries of State and Defense about Iraq, spoke for 40 minutes, allowed discussion for 5 to 10 minutes. The figures for the 5 conservative radio show people is double that. is there an explanation of that that does not include the President using the Oval Office for purely political purposes and even indirectly for political fund-raising?"