Keith Olbermann Critiques Democrats for Fox News Rebuff

Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC’s Countdown, will moderate a forum of the Democratic presidential candidates scheduled for Aug. 7 in Chicago. The 90-minute event is being sponsored by the AFL-CIO and will air live on MSNBC. Olbermann, a critic of the Bush administration whose ratings have spiked as the president’s popularity ratings have dropped, is by far the most partisan TV news anchor selected to moderate such an event in the current campaign season. His selection comes after the Democrats have very publicly rebuffed offers by Fox News Channel to sponsor a debate because they believe the channel has a pro-Republican bias. Olbermann, never known to come to the defense of Fox News, believes that was a mistake. “I don’t know if I would advise anyone to pass up free television time,” he told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour. “Whether it’s Fox News or Al Jazeera.” — Reporting by Stephen Battaglio

TV GuideNews July 17, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. PT