Hugonorton has it right, what in the hell are we doing constantly bashing each other?

We are not all seeking a job in politics are we?

Put abortion and guns aside and the rest is the same. Both parites and the media they follow are so darn full of BS that we don't even matter to them except for our consumption of what the sell.

Olberman lost me with his righteous tone, not what he said. I don't know what's wrong with water boarding when it can save American lives.

Isn't that what matters here? Don't give me that 'it goes against our values' crap. Or 'it could be you someday 1984' BS.

We need to think of something on our own for once instead of simply doing the exact opposite of what the person next to us does. Include others - we have a tough enough fight against radial islam.

When reading through these comments and those on other sites about the same topic, it occurs to me that the real problem is how far away we really are from each other...perhaps it is the bickering talking heads, the rancor between the parties, and perhaps part of the blame lies in the blogs themselves...we have all chosen sides...the Yankees vs the Dodgers, Capitalism vs Communism, Right vs. Left...and we have stopped listening..choosing instead to root for the home team right or wrong...I personally think Olbermann's comments are right on, but I can imagine that others may differ...and that is the point...if we are going to advance beyond this point in history, we better learn to debate things with respect and learn to listen to points of view other than our own...the folly of the Bush Administration is their self imposed insulation from any dissenting view...The metaphoric hole in the ground is not just the crater or even the unhealed wound resulting from the attack...it has become the very rift between the factions in our polarized nation...

Olbermann had another 'special comment' last night that's also a must see. When Bush said in his Rose Garden press conference last Friday that it was "unacceptable to even think" that the US would be involved in torture is the subject of this commment. No thinking allowed!

Ok.. everyone saying this is about the whole in the ground is a moron, and didnt watch the whole video.

he's telling the president to stop using 9/11 as a means to push his political agenda.. to mourn the people that we lost, and not USE them which he has done for the last 5 years..

AND olbermann CALLS IT that bush would use it again for pushing his agenda in the middle east the next day.. WHICH HE DID

olbermann was right.. watch the whole video, morons

Squandering other countries' goodwill is a totally childish sentiment. It really is. Throughout history, look up a few incidents where a country acts in the interest of "It really really likes me, or might!" Grow up, please. Some of us are adults. I have no problem with substantive differences of opinion, but the jr. high shit needs to be left at the door.

I am sickened to know that I live in a country where what he said is true. Regardless of Pataki, Bloomberg, Port Authority, etc., do we not think we deserve better as a country than to have a war-mongering monkey deciding to put September 11 and Iraq in the same sentence? Invading Iraq as a response to Sept. 11 is as absurd as if we'd invaded Mexico after Pearl Harbor--how did Americans get duped into this asshole? How much could have been done at the WTC site with even five percent of the cost of the invasion of a country that had nothing to do with those who attacked our city, leading to the death of as many Americans as Sept. 11, and magnitudes more Iraqi casualities? How much could have been done with a competent president instead of one who cuts anti-terrorism funding to NYC? No one can possibly believe that more could have been done in five years, and no one can say that more should not have been done for this country. I applaud Keith Olbermann's willingness to be honest and open, however disappointing the truth really is. More members of the media need to take the blinders off and see the disaster this country has become as a result of this administration. And don't tell me to move to another country--I've already researched it and it's nearly impossible to get citizenship elsewhere. But if it were feasible, I would have done it soon after Sept. 11 began getting spun as a reason to invade Iraq. This is worse than I ever imagined it being, and my expectations were amazingly low. And let us remember the response to Katrina...What the hell is wrong with this country?

It seems to me that Olbermann is not literally blaming Bush for the fact that nothing has yet been built at Ground Zero, as if Bush had vetoed the "Let's Get that Memorial Built Right Away" bill. What he seems to be saying is that the fact that there is still nothing built at that site is symbolic of the lack of progress we've made post 9/11. How opportunities of all kinds have been squandered. How the sympathy of the rest of the world has been wasted. How the bipartisanship and unity that sprouted in the aftermath of this disaster has dissipated, leaving a sour aftertaste of partisan acrimony. All those things can be laid at Bush's feet, certainly at the feet of his administration collectively.

The 16 acres in lower Manhattan are empty because Bush's head is empty of any ideas for progress, and perhaps because his heart is empty of any true compassion, except the cheap tawdry show he wheels out for photo ops.

Overall, I think the commentary was brilliant. I'm so sorry I missed seeing it live.

President Lincoln was assasinated in 1865. Two years later, Congress authorized and formed a commission to build him a memorial. 34 years later a site was authorized. Construction began 13 years after that. Eight years later in 1922 the site was completed and opened. That's 77 years. It is now one of the most beloved landmarks on The Mall and of our country. What was the delay? Probably bureaucracy, incompetence, footdragging, and politics, with all the wrangling among differing architects part of it. Welcome to America. It can be infuriating and frustrating, but everything generally works out in the end, if not our lifetimes. Expending too much outrage on what will ultimately be a static bunch of granite, marble, or whatever is probably not worth the mental toll it takes on our days.

Elderta: Right on. I am so glad to see intelligent people still exist.

Which commentator or newscaster on 9/11 didn't broadcast from the WTC yesterday? Though I will admit that when I turned on Countdown last night, I really hoping he wouldn't be in front of that pit. Alas, alack.

I don't know who Olbermann is, but he is using the hole as a background for a photo op

And if you think his words were strong last night, check these out:

Have you no decency, sir?

Rummy Reloaded

I think a lot of people intentionally latch onto one part of what Olbermann said (Bush hasnot done anything with the rebuilding), which is clearly an allusion to something else... the hole is a gaping wound that is used as a political backdrop to get what this administration wants, as is the specter of 9/11. Instead of trying to heal that wound and build consensus, Bush and the admin use political hackery and lies to strong arm one part of the populace while giving lip service to listening. It's my way or the highway, and you know how much you hated hearing that crap from your parents, yes?

Olbermann is saying that Bush's obvious partisan leadership doesn't bring us together to rebuild (warning: metaphor... repair our wounds/heal/move forward, etc), but continues to divide and tear us apart.

And for that, Olbermann hopes the country will one day find it in their hearts to forgive the man.

Now, commence to misinterpret at will....

tired of stupid people-- i admit that i am sneaking online right now, but do you admit to actually believing the federal government should have built a national memorial at the site within five years?

vanessa-- i hope your initial post was also satirical. otherwise, there is no hope

and anonymous-- yes, keith olbermann's amazing metaphor has been lost on so many. what a poet

KO is the only decent journalist on television

Sandy,

Thanks for pointing that out.

;)

Beth,

I think that I understand what you are saying. You believe that Olbermann was using the gaping hole (the "wound") left by the WTC destruction as a metaphor for the sorry state of this country 5 years after the attacks of 9/11?

I agree with you; Olbermann was using figurative language. However, his speech didn't tie together so nicely (imho) because it is easy to assume that he was accusing Bush of not properly dealing with the re-building of the WTC site. So many people have misundertood Olbermann, correct? This is the problem that I have with his speech, it just doesn't tie up nicely. Don't get me wrong -- I think Bush is doing a terrible job and I am greatly appreciative of Olbermann for presenting an actual honest opinion on the evening news.

I didn't even know Olbermann existed until yesterday (I don't have a tv).

Olbermann is a complete hack...And like Jon Stewart, wouldn't be as well known if Bush wasn't in Office to bash and ridcule constantly.

Um, Vanessa, are you serious? Keith Olbermann was NOT arrested--that piece was something called SATIRE. Sounds like you need a lesson in Internet authenticity...

I agree with the man 100% and clapped and hooted with my husband after his commentary, but we don't need anyone spreading rumor around, either.

I am so tired of people whining about "freedom of speech". There is plenty of freedom of speech today. There is plenty of dissent. It almost seems like you guys are just hung up that nobody is listening to you. Only in New York could a half million people marching up Broadway consider themselves stifled.

Maybe you need to alter your message from "Bush is stupid" and "Red states are dumb" to something of substance.