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Keith Olbermann returned to the air after what turned out to be a brief “indeterminate” suspension from MSNBC for violating its policy by making unapproved donations to three political candidates. He had three apologies to his viewers, but not for the donations. Olbermann was sorry, he said, for (1) all the drama; (2) being unaware of NBC News’s policy; and (3) putting (unwittingly, he says) the opponent of one of the politicians he donated to on his now-suspended “Worst Person” list.
If you’ve read me on the subject, you know that though I disagree with Olbermann on other matters—like his thin-skinned critique of Jon Stewart’s rally for not saying that his Fox News rivals are worse than he is—I didn’t think he needed to apologize either for violating what is a deeply boneheaded rule. But, to echo a point Stewart makes within the clip above, you have to wonder why MSNBC bothered to publicly punish Olbermann at all with what amounted to a long weekend.
Did the punishment fit the crime? Did the apology?