Obeying President Obama’s dictum that it’s always
educational to check in with what the other side is saying, I
checked in with MSNBC’s Countdown the other
night.
Sure enough, there was Keith Olbermann himself barking up I
will admit, interesting leftist views on issues A, B, or C. But
what got my attention was, well, a bit of outright, easily
verifiable factual untruth. If we were talking Joe Biden, the
word would be gaffe.
It seems Keith, who has never had an easy time with women
or blacks in authority if they have decided to take a stroll off
the liberal plantation, has taken his usual disdain for
conservative women and zeroed in on Nevada’s GOP Senate candidate
Sharron Angle.
Fair enough. Angle is a Senate candidate and criticism from
people like Olbermann comes with the turf.
But what came next was what amazed. If you will follow this
link, nicely provided by our friends at Real Clear Politics,
you will see the Big Guy launch into a side comment Angle made in
response to a questioner on a local radio show. The questioner,
clearly an Angle admirer, had believed her not capable of winning
the Senate nomination and was now confessing his sin. To which
Angle replies: “Well, you know, it’s just like Abraham Lincoln.
He lost quite a few but he won the big one….”
Olbermann, who delights in calling her Sharron “Obtuse”
Angle ” — pounced.
And promptly shot himself in the foot. Both feet,
actually.
Instantly picking up on the Lincoln reference, Olbermann
could barely contain his glee at the notion of Angle as
Lincoln.
“Just for the record do you how many elections Abraham
Lincoln lost in his lifetime?” he asked, leering into the camera.
With drama benefitting Gloria Swanson as the fading star in
Sunset Boulevard, Olbermann holds up a solitary finger.
Then goes on to say: “The Illinois state assembly in 1832. He
prevailed in four elections for state assembly, one for Congress,
two for president…. seven of eight he won.”
Ouch. As if this wasn’t embarrassing enough — the blithely
unknowing host ends by saying this, an allusion to the famous
Lloyd Bentsen “I-knew-Jack-Kennedy and Senator, you’re no Jack
Kennedy” line to Dan Quayle.
Said Keith:
“Sharron Angle, I knew Abraham Lincoln’s won-loss record
and you’re no Abraham Lincoln.”
Ouch. Ouch. And ouch again. You have to wonder — was there
a single MSNBC suit sliding under their desk at this point? Did
they even know enough basic American history to know they might
wish to consider the option? Was there anybody who had the guts
to say to this barking fountain of factual error:
“No, Keith, you don’t know Abraham Lincoln’s won-loss
record. Not even close.”
For the record — drum roll please — Sharron Angle was
100% correct in saying Lincoln lost a “few” elections.
Here’s Abraham Lincoln’s actual score with elections.
He did indeed win four state assembly elections, and lose
in 1832, just as Olbermann says. In fact, Abe ran 8th in a field
of 13 candidates back there in 1832.
Alas for Keith, who apparently relies on some crackpot if
unmentioned website as opposed to checking with, say, the works
of Pulitzer Prize winning Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg, Ms.
Angle has the goods:
Here’s Lincoln’s record with voters, per Sandburg:
1832 — Lost his first race
for the state assembly
1834 — Won a seat in the
state assembly
1836 — Won
re-election
1838 — Won
re-election
1840 — Won
re-election
1842 — Lost a race for
Congress to John Hardin (per biographer Sandburg. Lincoln
actually came in behind a friend, Edward D. Baker — losing his
own Sangamon County delegates to Baker. Later, he would name one
of his sons for Baker). Lincoln structures deal that Hardin,
Baker and finally himself would each serve back-to-back single
terms in Congress.
1846 — Wins congressional
seat, succeeding his friend Baker, who had succeeded Hardin. As
per the Lincoln deal.
1854 — Elected again to the
Illinois legislature, but loses a race for the United States
Senate to Lyman Trumbull. Writes to a friend: “I regret my defeat
moderately, but I am not nervous about it.” Mary Lincoln was so
enraged at this loss that she never again spoke to Trumbull’s
wife Julia — who had been a bridesmaid at Mary and Abe’s
wedding.
1856 — Loses the
vice-presidential nomination of the new Republican Party to
William L. Dayton, a former U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Dayton
received 259 votes to Lincoln’s 115, becoming the running mate of
John Charles Fremont. Hearing of his defeat, Lincoln laughs and
says, “It must be some other Lincoln.”
1858 — Lincoln loses a race
for the United States Senate to legendary rival Senator Stephen
A. Douglas. In the course of the campaign, the two travel
Illinois in what are known to history as the “Lincoln-Douglas”
debates. The debates help make Lincoln — and his pro-union,
anti-slavery argument — famous.
1860 and 1864 — Elected and
re-elected president.
In other words, Keith Olbermann was not only wrong but so
wide of the truth and the facts as to give Bill Clinton on Monica
a good reputation. Sharron Angle, on the other hand, was right.
Making her remark 100 percent factually correct.
Lincoln ran 13 times, according to biographer Sandburg, not
eight as Olbermann said with such assured smugness. Lincoln lost
not once, as Mr. Drama Queen asserted, but, again according to
the Pulitzer winning biographer, five times. Once for the state
assembly, once for Congress, once for vice-president and twice
for U.S. Senator. The latter Senate race famous to this
day.
None of this would matter a hill of beans for the red-faces
at MSNBC if they weren’t pinning so much of their stuff to, say,
mocking Glenn Beck for not knowing what he, Beck, is talking
about. One understands network rivalries. Fox is beating the
pants off MSNBC. Which is why Olbermann goes after Fox or Beck or
O’Reilly or, on radio, Rush. If you can’t get the ratings
yourself tag on to those who can is the apparent strategy. Be
that as it may — or maybe especially be this as it may — one
would think the suits at MSNBC would be smart enough to know that
such a flamboyantly obvious mistake about a basic fact of
American history adds to the network’s reputation for not simply
being biased but just shamelessly not telling the truth and
caring less about it.
Question: Is Keith Olbermann secretly on Sharron Angle and
Glenn Beck’s payroll? Come on. Really. How much does Roger Ailes
pay him to do this stuff?
Ya just can’t make it up.
