Insider favorite Keith Olbermann ’79 was at Bailey Hall tonight and, while he gave a talk that was, at times, ridiculous, funny, and (yes, I’ll admit it) pretty good, the real draw came in the question and answer section. The first questioner, an older gentleman who looked to be one of Ithaca’s crazy but lovable hippies, brought a copy of the February 16th edition of, you guessed it, the Cornell Review. He was looking to bring Keith’s attention to the article on page two by a guest writer, Eco House basement cannabis enthusiast and sixth year senior Ephram Smith. Olbermann, who must have been overcome with joy by Ephram’s praise for who he called the “Edward R. Murrow of Our Time,” threw the newspaper on the stage and stomped on it while pouring his bottle of designer water (look out, Keith, those are banned here now!) all over the hallowed pages.
[UPDATE]: The WSJ covers Olbermann’s speech / Review-stomping. ALSO: It’s a HotAirAlanche! Welcome, HA readers!
But after the Insider took to the microphone to question Keith on his contributions to New Tone 2.0 (full coverage of this issue and the rest of Olbermann’s visit can be found in the next edition of the Review), this not-so-intrepid journalist came out to Mr. Olbermann as someone who writes for “The Conservative Voice on Campus,” but is also a big fan of his. It’s not only the Cornell connection (we <3 all Cornell alumni, especially the ones that are smart enough to read the Insider), but also Keith’s commitment to undermining his more serious colleagues on the left by getting into childish feuds with his fellow cable news talking heads and spreading unfounded paranoia about anybody to the right of Howard Dean that endear him to the Insider.
What really got us, though, was K.O.’s baller whip. We snagged a video of the stretch limo waiting to greet Keith outside of Bailey, which, by the way, was running in all its carbon emitting, gas guzzling glory with the host nowhere near ready to leave, and quickly asked the chauffeur about the gas mileage. As you can see after the jump, he replied “14 MPG” and confirmed that the whip was indeed Keith’s ride for the evening. While the lavish limo may score Keith some points with Xzibit and the crew at West Coast Customs, we can only imagine what his new boss at Current TV, global warming crusader and Not-President Al Gore, would think.
Video of Keith’s baller whip after the jump . . .
If you were a baller like Keith, you would ride in a limo too
Not-President haha
I can’t for the life of me figure out what this post is trying to say. I know it’s a blog, but seriously, make a point.
to keep returning readers like yourself, rentick! glad to have you back!
Reading comprehension is an acquired skill, I guess?
Also, there is literally nothing in that video that proves its authenticity, or even its presence at Cornell University. All we saw is a limo’s headlights and heard an unidentified voice. I’m not saying you’re a liar, just that you’re an exceptionally crappy video journalist.
Also, “quickly asked the chafferer about the gas mileage,” was in the original version of this post. How on earth did chafferer slip through the spell check? Or would the Review writers prefer that spell check “doesn’t tread on them”?
@Rentick
I’m shocked that you can’t understand this post after having subjected it to such intensive spell check scrutiny. Why so angry, anyways?
Oh and by the way, if you actually watch the beginning of the video it’s quite apparent that it’s right outside Bailey Hall.
@Rentick: Give me your net ID or even just a random email (remember what Cody Gault said about anonymous online commenting, “Mr. Rentick”?) and I can send you footage of the limo with Bailey in the background and the chauffeur standing there waiting for Olbermann to come out that I cut for brevity’s sake. Plus, if you listen closely to the video with HD on, you can hear him go “uh-huh” when I ask him if it’s Olbermann’s limo.
BTW, thanks for reading the blog!
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhqqg2AGsR1qgzsew.gif
Huh. So he gets to ride in a limo one time (when he usually walks or rides the subway, and can’t drive) and you’re having a hissy fit about that? Really? I can’t drive either. I walk or take paratransit, but I’ve ridden in a limo TWICE in my life. What does that make me? What a pathetic piece of drivel this blog post is.
@11, Show me any shred of evidence that Keith Olbermann is a regular user of public transit and I will eat my hat.
haha check out Leesa’s track record (9 comments for one post) on Keith’s blog. what a little groupie…she must have it goin on
http://foknewschannel.com/the-cornell-speech/comment-page-1/#comment-18064
WSJ! LOLZ
11: This was the first time little Olby “got to ride” in a limo? No wonder you travel via paratransit. Remember, always wear your helmet.
Lovely bunch of people here. Don’t think I’ll be back after today – I don’t particularly enjoy spending time around bullies and thugs. Oh, and by the way – as to the term “groupie” I guess that fits when it’s someone you don’t like, right? You don’t respect or admire anyone? Judging by some of the comments here, that wouldn’t surprise me. Have a nice life.
@Michael Alan: I think you missed the point of my comment, which specifically was not asking for verification about the video, just pointing out your ineptitude. A goal for which my help is apparently un-needed.
But your lack of comprehension aside…
Can we agree that Olbermann pouring water on the Review is equally childish to the Review harassing his limousine driver about miles per gallon?
1. How many stretch limos are there in Ithaca?
2. Into what airport did he arrive? Syracuse? Binghamton? Did he come all the way from Manhattan in the limo?
3. Couldn’t one of the organizers pick him up at the airport in a standard automobile?
4. What are the odds that the stretch limo was in fact part of the “rider” that was attached to his speaking engagement contract?
People usually have a good reason to drive a terribly inefficient car. For instance, my family (of 5) owns a 2004 Toyota Sequoia; let me tell you, it ain’t a prius. Now we live in New Hampshire. So when we take ski trips we need a car that can hold the whole family and deal with any snow storms / deep snow that are so common when you are driving around the backroads of northern Maine. That’s one reason we drive a gus-guzzlin SUV around.
So let’s all just give Keith the benefit of the doubt and say there was some reason (one perfectly aligned with this liberal values) to drive a limo around. (We all know how crazy Ithaca weather can be. I’m not a limousine expert, and for all I know, there could be some enigmatic benefits to driving a limo in heavy snow.)
Patrick, the point wasn’t to attack the practice of riding in a stretch limo (like I said, it’s pretty baller), but rather to demonstrate the hypocrisy of “Lear Jet Liberals” like Gore and Olbermann that spread hyperbole and outrage about climate change, while doing the very same things (like driving around in 14 MPG vehicles) they’re trying to have the government force every other American to give up.
If told about Olbermann’s limo, I think Al Gore would probably say, “Mine’s bigger.”
“harassing his limousine driver about miles per gallon”
Did you even watch the video? I feel sorry for you if this is your idea of harassment.
A question was asked politely, and an answer was given the same way.
Little Olby, enjoying his first-ever ice cream cone after the show, exclaimed “Wow, Leesa, first I got to ride in a real limo and now this!”
As a 1984 grad, I laugh at the thought of Olbermann, Ann Coulter, and Vivian “NPR” Schiller all being together on the same campus. I was so clueless of the incredible company – just ask them – I was keeping. It was great going back to reunion and hearing all the libs tell me how sorry they were that I “had” to live in the South. High above Cayuga’s water, there is an awful smell….
Where else can you take skiing for your PE credit, have great lacrosse and hockey? Fantastic, well-rounded education, opened many doors, made lifelong friends. Cornell is still worth every student loan penny.
Was there a point..any point..to this post? The writer has a real talent to throw together a bunch of too-clever sentences into prose that is both dull and uninformative. We are all dumber for having read it.
Let me guess..Michael Alan is with the Ag-school part of Cornell, right?
Do not fear. Al Gore, Olbermann’s new boss has no compunction on carbon burning. It’s just the little people who have to buy his carbon credits.
Keefums – a legend in his own mind!
“but I’ve ridden in a limo TWICE in my life. What does that make me? What a pathetic piece of drivel this blog post is.”
Depends do you have a history of rants against oil, gas guzzlers and such?
If no then it wouldn’t apply to you your not a hypocrite.
Olberman has a history of rants against oil, gas guzzlers and such.
The real question is WWE-BAI (Pronounced We- bay)
(What Would Ed Begley Arrive In)
BTW, do you find it hypocritical that Olbermann had multiple state TAX warrants out for him failing to pay his TAXES rants about EVIL Repub not wanting to pay taxes?
Do you find it odd that GE (owners of MSNBC) made some 14 billion in profits and paid NO federal taxes on that?
Through all the tumult and happenstance of Keith’s visit, I learned one thing: most people don’t know who Keith Olbermann is
“Don’t think I’ll be back after today – I don’t particularly enjoy spending time around bullies and thugs.”
One guy asked you to prove that Olbermann, who can’t even bother to take 15 minutes to go to a voting booth, uses public transportation. If that’s what you call bullying and thuggery then you need to buy a dictionary.
“You don’t respect or admire anyone?”
If you respect and admire a man who’s taken misogyny and hypocrisy to a whole new level then that’s your problem. And yes, showing up in a limo after multiple rants on the evils of oil global warming makes you a hypocrite.
Though I guess that doesn’t fit when it’s someone you like, right?
“Can we agree that Olbermann pouring water on the Review is equally childish to the Review harassing his limousine driver about miles per gallon?”
No, we can’t. Olbermann pouring water on the Review is childish and if that’s what’s you consider harassment then maybe you and Leesa can split the cost of a dictionary.
Olbermann is rather tall. Do you expect him to squeeze into a Smart Car or some other tiny sardine can car on a trip that takes several hours?
On his Twitter page he mentions the long tedious trip back, so he’s not flying. Econoboxes are not comfy for a tall person on that long a trip.
Olby-Twitter-Houndfan: Olby is “rather tall?” LOL. So was the Hindenburg, if you stood it on end. Sounds like you’re implying that anyone over 6 foot needs to ride in stretch limo. But keep making excuses for your immature hero. At least he got an ice cream cone and a 4-hr limo ride out of it. And Olby: we KNOW you’re monitoring this blog closely… tweet us, K?
Not making excuses at all. Just noting that cars that are fuel efficient tend to be small and cramped for tall people.So if it’s
stretch limo or clown car then limo would be preferable in that case. And what have you got against ice cream cones?LOL
“Just noting that cars that are fuel efficient tend to be small and cramped for tall people.”
So I’m supposed to make sacrifices for the well being of Mother Earth and he’s not?
How come the Olbermann defenders here refuse to acknowledge the fact that this guy has championed for global warming awareness, works for Mr. Global Warming himself, and constantly rails against big oil then shows up in a 14 mpg limousine?
When he’s in NYC he can and does take the subway. One look at some of the pictures he’s posted on his Twitter account shows this.
Would I expect you, me or him to cram into a tiny car for a four hour trip? No and Al Gore can kiss the tailpipe on the car if he objects.
As for his working on Gore’s Current TV channel, that’s not news to anyone who has done some reading on the internet in the past month.
If he worked for Fox do you think he’d want to squeeze into a clown car any more than he does now?
Houndfan, seriously, what does your rant have to do with anything? First off walking around NYC taking pictures of himself doesn’t prove he takes the subway. And considering his track record as a pathological liar I’m gonna need a little more than a few Twitter pictures to believe that statement.
Secondly I didn’t think this was a difficult concept but apparently it is so let me spell it out for you: When you arrive in a gas guzzling vehicle after making repeated comments about the effects of global warming and demonizing oil companies you are a HYPOCRITE.
That’s it. This has nothing to do with Fox or fitting into a “clown car” for comfort’s sake. This is about Olbermann being a HYPOCRITE.
Do you understand what I’m saying to you or do you want to deflect some more?
My rant? I’m not mad about anything. Don’t see why you would call it that, except for the Al Gore kissing the tailpipe remark. There was a photo posted on Twitter today commenting on the ads on one of the subway cars. Call me naive, but I don’t see some sort of sneaky plot to convince everyone that he’s not rushing out of the train station and into a limo only to get caught in horrible NYC traffic anyway.I understand your point about hypocracy, but I don’t think you have to be consistent to the last degree or else get scratched off the list. There are times when it is okay to take the
bigger car. Times like when you’ve skipped a flight in favor of driving, but you’re too big to fit in a tiny car for a car trip taking several hours.
If the trip took 20 minutes you could opt for the small car without painful results. So I’m not a purist about it and neither are most people.
@Houndfan: It wouldn’t be funny to point out the hypocrisy if he was taking, say, an equally spacious town car (heck, I probably wouldn’t even had noticed it and grabbed a video) getting 20-something MPG rather than an ostentatious stretch limo that’s so big it takes 14 MPG. Plus, the fact that he’s taking this kind of transportation to Cornell, where everyone knows who he is and he doesn’t need to flaunt his celebrity status with a stretch limo, tells me this is probably the norm for him.
Never said it wasn’t funny. Just that there are valid reasons for using a big car. The old Chevy Blazer(the K series) would’ve been perfect
for the trip, but the gas mileage would be worse than the limo.
Olbermann will get ZERO criticism about this from the mainstream media (i.e. the left). They have much less interest in mocking socialists who live like royalty than in Republicans who cheat on their wives. Unlike men, not all hypocrisies are created equal.
Call a limo company for a trip (ie, to JFK) and they will NOT show up with a stretch unless you specifically request one and pay extra. Now hippo-crit Keith does have mighty fat ass and huge gut, but he would still fit in a standard Lincoln Towncar.