credit where credit is due

[Donna Halper]

>it was written--
>
>Two liberals that appear to know how to be entertaining is Stephanie Miller
>and Keith Olberman (now that his show is openly courting anti-O'reilly
>factor viewers.)
>
>Donna, I'd be interested in knowing your opinion of Randi Rhodes show...

Keith Olbermann is my cultural hero these days-- not because he is a 
liberal but because he is INTERESTING -- an articulate and passionate 
critic of this president's policies who knows how to state his case 
without devolving into pointless ranting.  And yes, I find his Jon 
Stewart-like sarcasm can be very amusing at times, because some 
politicians really are ridiculous and deserve a little ribbing from 
media critics.  Keith may have liberal politics, but he will 
criticise Democrats who act stooopidly just as quickly as he will 
criticise Republicans.  But overall, I hear waaaay too much ranting 
coming from both sides, and I am not fond of it.  Whether it's 
Michael Savage or Hugh Hewitt from the right or, sad to say, Randi 
Rhodes from the left, the one-note samba rapidly becomes tedious for 
me.  I understand-- Michael and Hugh hate liberals with a passion, 
and Randi hates Bush and Cheney just as much.  Okay fine, now that 
you guys have all made your point-- how do we fill the rest of the 
show?  I used to find Randi a lot more interesting, but as time has 
passed, she seems to be really stuck in her intense dislike of the 
Bush White House-- which is her privilege but doesn't make her show 
very interesting.  She's very bright and very determined, but a good 
show has to have some variety.  I have the same problem with Savage-- 
oh my gawd, can we do one show without calling liberals "communists" 
or saying they all hate America?  At least Stephanie and Keith (and 
to some degree Ed Schultz and Thom Hartmann) know how to express 
their views without becoming boring and monochromatic. I like a host 
who avoids being totally predictable, and I like a host who can do 
more than spew endless insults.  As I have said many times, I am 
politically a moderate-- conservative on a few issues, liberal on 
others.  But when I listen to radio, I want to be informed and 
entertained, no matter whose show I tune in.  Not all the right 
wingers know how to do that kind of show, nor do many of the left 
wingers.  And as anyone who has tried it will tell you, doing an 
interesting talk show is harder than it might seem.