Greg Gutfeld and Andy Levy were filling in for John Gibson on the radio today. They got in some good shots at the infamous, deplorable one, then kicked it up a notch by bringing in Ann Coulter. It's perfect Friday fun listening, so listen up, listen-uppers.

It was an odd moment when the time rolled around for MSNBC's "special live edition" of Countdown on election night at 10:00 pm. Because show host Keith Olbermann wasn't there. A hasty pre-recorded Olby tossed it to Lawrence O'Donnell, who proceeded to update viewers on the elections for about 20 minutes, then a rerun of the 8:00 pm showing of Countdown was joined in progress. The first apparently official explanation from MSNBC or from Olbermann came from mediaite:

We hear Olbermann was visiting his dad in the hospital...

But why did MSNBC promise a live Countdown, if they knew they weren't going to air one? For that matter, why did Olbermann himself claim that he would be back at 10:00 pm?

Lawrence O'Donnell and I will be back with the latest on the votes in New York 23rd, Virginia and New Jersey at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific. Until then, I'm Keith Olbermann...

There was one thing that changed between 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm: the Corzine loss in New Jersey. Keith already had to endure the victory of Bob McDonnell in Virginia, whose electoral chances he had previously dismissed with a sneering: "Good-bye, Mr McDonnell". He would then have to report another Republican victory at 10:00 pm. If he stuck around.

Was his father's condition so serious that he had to bail on his responsibilities at MSNBC and skip the 10:00 pm show? If so, there was a miraculous recovery because less than 24 hours later KO was merrily blogging at Yankee Stadium, snapping pics and cracking wise. Remember, Olbermann has a pattern of ducking his job when there's news he doesn't want to report. After all there's a reason he's called "bathtub boy". Just ask John Gibson.

Most telling of all is how flimsy and ephemeral the hospital excuse turns out to be when you look at it more closely. Mediaite's only reference is "we heard"...exactly what you would expect when someone is tossing out a BS excuse but doesn't want to get caught having done so. Why wouldn't Olbermann, or someone from MSNBC, say this on the record? To Mediaite's credit, they did try a second time. And MSNBC's non-response speaks volumes:

Mediaite's Steve Krakauer reported that he "heard that Olbermann was visiting his dad in the hospital, which accounted for his absence." When asked for confirmation of this an MSNBC spokesperson provided no comment.

Isn't it time for MSNBC and/or Olbermann to address this , and do it on the record?

Discuss, resolve, and recap. Comments are open!

MSNBC boasted that on election night they would present a "special live edition of Countdown" at 10:00 pm. But with bad news for the Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a funny thing happened on the way to the bonus Hour of Spin. Keith wasn't there! After a live update (not from Olby but from Lawrence O'Donnell) A-Mess-NBC ("the place for politics") proceeded to rerun the 8:00 pm showing.

Keith had obviously left the building. But why? Where in the world was Keith Olbermann? We don't know yet, but we think we have a pretty good idea:

Update: Steve Krakauer hears one possible explanation of Olby's whereabouts:

Around 10:15pmET, there was a commercial break, and the repeat 8pmET Countdown kicked in. It aired the rest of the hour. We hear Olbermann was visiting his dad in the hospital, which accounted for his absence. But that doesn't answer why O'Donnell or Matthews didn't fill in during the prime results hour. In the MSNBC release Monday, it was listed as a live edition of Countdown.

Update update: Does anyone really believe what is almost certainly an MSNBC leak, that he was visiting his sick Dad? Especially when nobody is willing to go on the record to say it's true? Keith announced at 8:59 pm that he and Larry O'Donnell would be back at 10:00. So what happened between 9:00 and 10:00 pm that might have sent Olby to the bathtub? Could it have been Corzine losing? Ya think? Will Oralmann show up tonight? Or will he end up at Yankee Stadium? That would be peculiar, if his dad's illness prevented Olby from staying at work past ten o'clock, but allows him to spend all night at a ball game. We'll know a few short minutes from now, and we're counting on you to recap tonight's festivities in this thread.

Update Update Update: Well Keith is just where we thought he'd be: Yankee Stadium, merrily posting one blog entry after another at tonight's game. So either his Dad made a miraculous recovery from just 24 hours ago, or MSNBC's PR line explaining away Keith's sudden disappearance on election night is even shadier than we suspected. Discuss and resolve. Comments are still open!

Great thanks to all the websites that linked to this post, including:

• Hot Air
• Chickaboomer
• Weekly Standard
• Riehl World View
• National Review
• Colossus of Rhodey
• Right Angles
• Jammie Wearing Fool
• Ace of Spades
• Newsvine
• Political Derby
• Lonely Conservative

The Olbermann Watch Research Division chuckles every time it hears someone on A-Mess-NBC attacking Fox for being a partisan operation, since we know there are more opposing views aired on any given hour of Hannity or The O'Reilly Factor than you will hear in a month of Edward R Olbermann. Having just finished one such month, here's the proof. We poured through the MSNBC online transcripts and tallied up the Hour of Spin guest list. Take a gander at the results:

Behind the numbers
Democratic and Republican politicians: these are office-holders invited on Countdown for tough, aggressive grillings. Actually, that was a joke. Since they are all Democrats, they are trademark Olbermann blue-dress interviews. These included Ron Wyden (4 times), Anthony Weiner (3), James Clyburn (3), Alan Grayson (2), and one each for Maria Cantwell, Sheldon Whitehouse, Charles Schumer, and Sherrod Brown. Strangely, not one Republican.

Democratic and Republican strategists: These are partisan "experts" who have toiled in the partisan vineyards to get candidates of their persuasion elected. The big winner here is Democratic strategist "Crazy" Larry O'Donnell: ten appearances, either as a guest or guest-host. Plus we find Chris Kofinis (4), Howard Dean (2), Joe Trippi (1), and Markos "Screw 'em" Moulitsas (1). And then there were the Republicans: zero.

Liberal / Progressive vs Conservative / Traditional: These guests are not officially identified with party activisim but they appeared on OlbyPlanet to promote a political viewpoint. People like Wendel Potter (from the Center for Media and Democracy--two appearances), Shannyn Moore of Huffpo (1), Eric Burns of Media Matters (1), and so forth. We included three appearances from the National Association of Free Clinics, since they were present not to promote a philanthropic effort, but rather to hold free clinic events "in five key cities, in five key states represented by Democratic senators who have not yet said they will oppose a Republican filibuster of the public option." Yes, A-Mess-NBC organizing, promoting, and sponsoring political events to oppose Republicans and promote Democratic legislation. Gee, that sounds a little bit like, what would you call it, acting as the propaganda arm of the Democratic Party? In the interest of fairness, we didn't include the washed-up "comedians" and vulgar "entertainers" who also used their Countdown appearances to further Olby's partisan agenda. We have our limits, even if the infamous, deplorable Keith Olbermann does not.

Discuss, resolve, and then recap tonight's Hour of Spin. Comments are open!

Once again the Olbermann Watch Research Division poured through the MSNBC online transcripts to see how much attention was paid to important and not so important stories over the past week. Here is what our keyword searches found:

Notes: Olbermann only worked two days during this week. References to Iraq do not include Olbermann's ritual closing mantra.

It's a new week for the infamous, deplorable Keith Olbermann and the start of yet another chart. Will Krazy Keith actually show up on a Monday? Does anyone really care? Do your part by recapping the longest 60 minutes in television--right here. Comments are open!

Comments are open!

From his radio show today. Enjoy the mockery, and the inside references that true Olby scholars will understand--like the allusion to KarmaBites. Then use this space to recap tonight's Hour of Spin. Comments are open!

Gibson lays out the facts in one of his best dissections of the infamous, deplorable one. Maybe he'll be named WPitW tonight, an honor we're still hoping for here at OlbyWatch. Recap tonight's Hour of Spin right here. Comments are open!

Comments are open!

Listen and enjoy as Gibby again analyzes The War on Fox, and wonders if people who call Fox 'talk radio' have ever hard of some guy called Olbermann. And we haven't forgotten this week's Olbermann Week That Was: By the Numbers. We poured through the MSNBC online transcripts to see how much attention was paid to various stories over the past week and here are the results of our keyword searches:

Notes: References to Iraq do not include Olbermann's ritual closing mantra.

Who will Keith Olbermann attack tonight? Post your predictions here, and then recap use this space to recap The Hour of Spin. Comments are open!

Comments are open!

Comments are open!

Listen as John Gibson paints the picture we know so well: Keith Olbermann as an extension of the White House PR office, dutifully avoiding the stories Obama doesn't want covered. Be amazed as Olby's parrot-like guests completely go along with him! Then use this space to recap tonight's Hour of Spin. Comments are open!

Yeah, you know Fox is "twisted" because of all those "personal attacks" they do. You'll never catch anyone on MSNBC doing personal attacks.

Listen, discuss, then recap tonight's Hour of Spin. Comments are open!

Listen and enjoy as Gibby analyzes The War on Fox, and wonders about MSNBC and its status as a news organization. And we haven't forgotten this week's Olbermann Week That Was: By the Numbers. We poured through the MSNBC online transcripts to see how much attention was paid to various stories over the past week:

Notes: Friday's Countdown not included as it was a rerun. References to Iraq do not include Olbermann's ritual closing mantra.

Who will Keith Olbermann attack tonight? Will we get another "mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick", or something not quite so intellectual? The possibilities are endless: Fox News, Glenn Beck...Juan Williams would seem to be a likely target. Post your predictions here, and then recap use this space to recap the longest 60 minutes in television. Comments are open!

Great thanks to Newsbusters for posting this clip:

We think Juan Williams raises an excellent point. Consider some of Oralmann's Greatest Hits:

• "Mr Bush, shut the hell up!"
• "You're a fascist! Get them to print a T-shirt with the word 'facist' on it!"
• Likened the Bush administration to the Third Reich
• Michelle Malkin is a "mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick"
• Jewish reporter Chris Wallace is a "monkey"
• Roscoe "Chicken and Waffles" Parrish
• Said Fox News is worse than the KKK, worse than Al Qaeda
• Compared Fox News to Nazis
• George W Bush is "psychotic" with "blood on his hands"
• Olbermann censured by the ADL for Nazi imagery, including the Nazi salute
• Called the GOP the greatest terrorist threat in America
• Derided Hispanic Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez as a "houseboy"

What say you, NFL?