| | Olbermann: Joe the Plumber makes me 'honestly scared for America'
 MSNBC's Keith Olbermann had harsh words for Samuel Joseph "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher on Wednesday, describing him as the "official mascot for Team McCain" who keeps being "trotted out by the Republicans like a two-headed heifer at the county fair for everybody to gawk at." However, Olbermann did find one thing on which he and Wurzelbacher are sort of in agreement.
Wurzelbacher was catapulted to fame just two weeks ago, when presidential candidate John McCain invoked his name repeatedly at the final presidential debate. Since then, his ambitions have grown steadily, so that now, states Olbermann, he is "trying to land a book deal ... contemplating a run for Congress ... just hired a publicist and ... just formed a partnership in hopes of getting himself a country music album."
"I don't even have a publicist," Olbermann noted.
(Despite Olbermann's denial, he apparantly does have a publicist, or at least did in 2006, when one television critic referred to her as explaining why Olbermann was late for a party.)
However, what really aroused Olbermann to make Wurzelbacher the subject of Wednesday's Special Campaign Comment was that he now seems to consider himself an expert on public policy questions.
At a recent appearance, when one audience member suggested, "A vote for Obama is a vote for the death to Israel," Wurzelbacher replied, "I'll go ahead and agree with you on that one. ... I really think that would be a problem."
"Mr. Wurzelbacher, honest to God, what are you doing?" exclaimed Olbermann. "Reinforcing racism and prejudice? Spreading rumors and half-understood buzzwords?"
Even Shepard Smith of Fox News pointed out to Wurzelbacher that Obama "could not have been clearer" about his support for Israel and asked, "I just wonder what it is that makes you think that he's lying about that?" However, Wurzelbacher insisted that his conclusion was based on Obama's "actions."
"I hear words from politicians all the time, but actions, you know, actions kind of give you an idea," Wurzelbacher explained, saying that Obama has been "offering to meet with certain, you know, enemies of the United States on no uncertain terms."
"Saying you're going to meet with somebody isn't actions, Mr. Wurzelbacher," Olbermann expostulated, "it's words. You don't know what you're talking about!"
"We are being conned by this guy," concluded Olbermann. "He's this far away from being on Dancing with the Stars, And yet there's actually something he said with which I agree, quote, 'I'm honestly scared for America.' ... I'm honestly scared about America by him."
This video is from MSNBC's Countdown, broadcast October 29, 2008.
Download video via RawReplay.com
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