R.I.P. Countdown With Keith Olbermann

Literally without warning or even hint, Keith Olbermann announced tonight that this would be his last show on MSNBC. Whether this has been in the works since Olbermann's pretty silly suspension in November for donating to Democratic candidates, or has anything to do with the recent takeover of NBC Universal by Comcast (which many have claimed is sure to be horrendous for people who watch cable), no one knows, but I'm sure we'll see. As far as political commentators on cable go, Olbermann has been a very refreshing presence. He has been persistently attacked by Republicans as an extremist on the left, and has been someone that they point to when people criticize Glenn Beck. Of course, this is a false equivalency on a number of levels. What has been true is that Olbermann has been unafraid to stake out a claim further to the left than almost any Democrat on cable, and has refused to bind himself to the constraints of civility when his political opponents are constantly throwing nasty words whose meanings they do not know in his direction, which is more than you can say for almost any Democrat who is also a public figure these days. Personally, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are the only political commentators that I ever watch on TV, so MSNBC just cut my interest in their network in half (which will surely get them to rethink this entire situation, I'm sure). Olbermann will be replaced by the absolutely unbearable Lawrence O'Donnell. Here's hoping CNN picks up Olbermann real quick, and he isn't banished to the abyss of radio. I would miss his salt and pepper colored hair, cool glasses, physical similarity to Portland's mayor Sam Adams, and the things he does that I just mentioned. Here's his goodbye:

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