Such was the case in 1997 when he abruptly left ESPN due to what he referred to in a Salon article five years later as having been unable to "handle the pressure of working in daily long-form television" while admitting that "deep down inside I've always believed that everybody around me was qualified and competent, and I wasn't, and that some day I'd be found out."
We believe it, too, Keith.
With this in mind, according to Monday's New York Post, history is about to repeat itself (h/t TVNewser):
His feuding with "Hardball" host Chris Matthews is nothing new. But now we're told notoriously odd Olbermann is lashing out at the rest of his network's talking heads. During West Virginia primary coverage the other night, Olbermann began pounding the table when lead White House reporter David Gregory didn't wrap his segment quickly enough to satisfy him. Olbermann recently encouraged management to oust the cable channel's lone conservative, Tucker Carlson, and it's also no secret among producers that Olbermann refuses to introduce Dan Abrams' show, which follows his own. Olbermann walked out of MSNBC years ago in a huff after also blowing up at ESPN, so TV insiders are curious if this recent behavior is a sign that history will repeat itself. MSNBC did not respond to our calls and e-mails seeking comment.
For those that have forgotten, Olbermann left his first position with MSNBC in 1998 because he felt his show spent too much time talking about Monica Lewinsky. As reported by USA Today (emphasis added):
The job, as Olbermann noted in a 1998 commencement address at his alma mater Cornell, wasn't fulfilling: It gave him "dry heaves," and it would "make me ashamed, make me depressed, make me cry."
How fitting, as that's how right-thinking Americans across the fruited plain feel every time they see this disgusting caricature of a journalist on their television screens.
