O'Reilly named Olbermann's “Worst Person” for attacks on man with TB


On the June 4 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, host Keith Olbermann named Fox News' Bill O'Reilly the winner of his nightly “Worst Person in the World” segment for claiming, as Media Matters for America documented, that Andrew Speaker acted on “secular progressive” values when he traveled by airline despite his tuberculosis and adding, “Traditional-values people put others on a par with themselves. That's a Judeo-Christian tenet. Love your neighbor as yourself. Secular progressives put themselves above all others. That philosophy says, 'Me first, then I'll worry about you.' ”

Olbermann observed that Speaker is a Naval Academy graduate who has volunteered at a spinal injury clinic, then added: “Billy, 'Me first, then I'll worry about you.' During the Andrea Mackris stuff, wasn't that in your heart relative to Mrs. Bill-O? Let he who is without sin cast the first loofah, you secular progressive you."

Olbermann also awarded O'Reilly the “silver” in his “Worst Person” segment for his comments about immigration during the May 29 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, as Media Matters also noted. Olbermann observed: “He explained to the radio sheep that those who oppose immigration reform, quote, 'hate America and they hate it because it's run by white, Christian men. Let me repeat that, America is run primarily by white, Christian men.' Well, Bill, thanks for finally indentifying yourself as an advocate of gender and religious domination.” O'Reilly's comments came in response to negotiations on a proposed bipartisan immigration bill.

As Media Matters has documented (here, here, here, and here), O'Reilly is a frequent “Worst Person” honoree. He was recently crowned “Worst Person” for falsely suggesting that philanthropist George Soros funded an Indiana University study that found O'Reilly engaged in name-calling once every 6.8 seconds during the “Talking Points Memo” segment of his show.

From the June 4 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:

OLBERMANN: The silver: hot and cold running Bill-O tonight. He has explained to the radio sheep that those who oppose immigration reform, quote, “hate America and they hate it because it's run by white, Christian men. Let me repeat that, America is run primarily by white, Christian men.” Well, Bill, thanks for finally identifying yourself as an advocate of gender and religious domination.

And our winner: Bill-O on TV, slamming the idiot who traveled anyway despite drug-resistant tuberculosis, Andrew Speaker, calling him one of his, quote, “secular progressives” and adding, “Traditional values people put others on a par with themselves. That's the Judeo-Christian tenet. Love your neighbor as yourself. Secular progressives put themselves above all others. That philosophy says, 'Me first, then I'll worry about you.' ”

First, Billy, the guy went to the Naval Academy. He's a volunteer at a spinal injury clinic. His dad was president of their church. You're wrong again, Bill.

Second, “secular progressive”; the phrase is not catching on. Bill, it's just not working. You need a new slogan.

And third, Billy, “Me first, then I'll worry about you.” During the Andrea Mackris stuff, wasn't that in your heart relative to Mrs. Bill-O? Let he who is without sin cast the first loofah, you secular progressive you. Bill Orally, today's Worst Person in the World.