Olbermann named Dennis Miller "Worst Person in the World" for rant against Pelosi
On the October 27 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, host Keith Olbermann named "ex-comedian" and Fox News contributor Dennis Miller the recipient of his nightly "Worst Person in the World" award for asserting, as Media Matters for America documented, that House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) is "intellectually ... not up to the task" of assuming the position of speaker in the event that Democrats gain enough seats in the midterm elections to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives. As Media Matters has previously noted, other conservative media figures have also attacked Pelosi in recent weeks on the assumption that she will be elected speaker if the Democrats take control of the House.
From the October 27 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:
OLBERMANN: And our winner: ex-comedian Dennis Miller -- on Fox News, talking about, in his latest TV gig he won't be able to keep for very long, the likely speaker of the House in the event of a Democratic victory in the midterms, that, quote, "intellectually, Nancy Pelosi is not up to the task." This from a man who is not intellectually up to the task of keeping a syndicated talk show alive for six months, when he was still funny.
Dennis Miller: today's "Worst Person in the World."
LOL... Olbermann cracks me up.
"Ex-comedian." Right on.
The moment that Miller announced that he would "take a pass" on doing Bush jokes during the 2004 election, that was the moment he resigned from comedy; no good comedian can ever say that and still say they have a career.
It's safe to say that Dennis Miller ceased to be funny when he started kissing the ass of the Bush administration, which sadly coincided with his Monday Night Football gig. To paraphrase Miller's first MNF appearance, if there's anyone in the political media more pumped up than him, they wouldn't pass the NFL's standardized drug test. Dennis, please, for the love of God, eschew obfuscation.
i felt like he wrote material and then just plugged it in wherever he thought it might fit. he was describing a play and made a reference to the "plantagenets", with no further comment. i'll bet not one person in a thousand knew that the plantagenets were one of the royal houses of england in the middle ages. i knew the reference because i like english history, but the joke was still lame. all i see in miller is a smug arrogance, just like so many of his neocon buddies. how's that war working out, dennis?
he hasn't been funny since doing (laughing at himself doing...?) the news on SNL. I don't know if he was funny before that, because I didn't see anything of him before that, but he was woefully inadequate to fill the shoes of Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtin. The original SNL news was funny because they played it serious. Some comedians just don't get it. Miller never got it.
He's got all the sense of humor of a Wilhelm Hoettl, standing at the podium during the Gehlen Organization meetings and doing his impression of Luigi Facta...
Miller was funny. Didn't he do some lame insulting cell phone or theatre commerical a few years back? I cannot remember now. He seems to overbearing. Like he would suffer Angry White Man Syndrome, in the Amish just girls school sort of way. Actually I could be real sexist if I wanted to be and say what I really thing Miller needs, but I shall refrain. LOL!
Definition of a Nimrod
Webster's Dictionary
1.) a descendant of Ham represented in the Old Testament book of Genesis as a mighty hunter and a king of Shinar 2.) hunter
Indeed, taking Webster's into account, it well may be that in the future calling someone a "Nancy-boy" will be seen as a complement.
>>Miller: "intellectually, Nancy Pelosi is not up to the task."<<
Not up to the task of, say, reporting a sexual predator in the House, for example?
Back when Miller was on the air the ratings looked like this:
CABLE NEWS RACE WED, JAN 05, 2005
FOXNEWS O'REILLY 2.3 [RATING] FOXNEWS HANNITY/COLMES 1.7 FOXNEWS SHEP SMITH 1.6 FOXNEWS GRETA 1.4 CNN LARRY KING 1.1 COMEDY DAILY SHOW 1.1 CNN WAVE SPECIAL 0.8 MSNBC HARDBALL 0.5 MSNBC AMBER FREY 0.6 MSNBC SCARBOROUGH 0.4 MSNBC OLBERMANN 0.3 CNBC MILLER 0.1
I guess since Miller was the only guy KO could beat he has the right to criticize his program. It's funny in a sad, pathetic sort of way.
Miller is still liberal in a lot of ways, he just happens to agree with Bush on a few things too.
Bruce,
What issues is Miller still liberal on? I don't doubt that is true, but he has certainly de-emphasized his liberal views since he had his show.
I watched his show a few times and didn't see anything he agreed with from liberals nor anything that was close to funny. He had to know his show was in trouble when he was trying to get laughs from pathetically parading around a chimp.
From Wikipedia:
One commentator describes Miller as having changed from a "left-leaning, Dada-ist wisenheimer" to a "tell-it-like-it-is, right-wing blowhard". [23] The perceived change did not surprise former Saturday Night Live colleague Al Franken, however: "People have said to me, 'What happened to Dennis?' Nothing happened to Dennis. He's the same Dennis. He's always had a conservative streak on certain issues." [24]
While not at all shy about expressing his conservative opinions on topics such as taxes and foreign policy, Miller is quick to point out that he is still quite liberal on many social issues, including abortion and gay marriage. [25]. During a recent interview Miller has said "I'm basically a libertarian. I'm pro-gay marriage and pro-choice, but nobody wants to hear all that...They determine who you are based on the war." [26].
I will applaud Miller if he tells Sean Hannity he's full of it on these issues.
But the problem with Miller is that he's made a career being "hip". He's not "hip" anymore...and worse, he's not funny. When Bob Hope got old he wasn't "hip" anymore... he was corny. I used to like Miller but he strikes me as an aging hipster who's trying to hang on to relevancy. He's probably lost his young audience and the demographics of the avergae FOX viewer is much older than what he's probably accustomed to. I'd bet the avergae FOX viewer doesn't get his "humor". To borrow your phrase, I think Mileer has become "sad and pathetic".
I've always been a DM fan, but the fact is that he's branched out quite a bit throughout the course of his career. He's been willing to take chances where others might play it safe. He's been a comedian, an actor, a talk show host, a writer, a sports commentator and a political analyst over a 30 year career. Some things are going to work out better than others.
Two of my favorite DM jokes:
As a liberal: I took a flight one time with a bunch of happy-go-lucky Christians going on a retreat. Do you know how disconcerting it is to realize that you are the only one on the plane who cares if it crashes or not?
As a conservative: What bothers me about the ACLU is that they will take a stand against nativity scenes on public property, but will turn around and defend the drunk that wanders into that nativity scene and (blanks) the sheep in the a**!
Those are funny.
Strangely enough that is entirely why I support the ACLU!
Just kidding. Thanks for the info, Bruce.
I am not sure that I can go with DM's explanation that no one wants to hear his liberal views.
DM can shape his own image. The reason he believes no one wants to hear him on liberal subjects is that he is now consistently catering to a largely conservative audience. If he really wanted to he could talk about anything he wants.
Acting like he is powerless (by saying people don't want to hear it) is falsely playing some sort of victim role or passing the buck.
"He's been a comedian, an actor, a talk show host, a writer, a sports commentator and a political analyst over a 30 year career."
Sounds to me like he just can't hold down a real job.
Miller has stated that it's wrong to criticize Bush because we are at war. We are at war because Bush unilaterally invaded Iraq (OK, a coalition of the willing invaded Iraq).
Miller is supposed to be a pretty cerebral kind of guy. This proves that he is not. He may have the vocabulary but he doesn't have the intellect to match.
"He may have the vocabulary but he doesn't have the intellect to match."
He's sort of gone the Michael Medved route, substituting $5 words and obscure facts for reason.It fools enough people that they're considered intellectuals in their little universe.
And for everyone who tells me I don't think Miller's funny only because he's a Con, I point out that P.J. O'Rourke is still pretty funny sometimes.He at least admits he likes his tax dollars going to things that blow up and make loud noises.
Miller just quit being funny at all and decided to do Republican humor.
Olbermann has an itelligent, funny show... which rules out the majority of Republican sheep as viewers.
...er, 'correct'. D Miller has not place to call anyone, let alone a US Representative, any disparaging name. His pseudo-intellectual psycho-babbel became tired long ago. His once nat'l audience (80's) has boiled down to the FOX base. They prob don't even like him... then again, if you insult so-called 'liberals' on a regular basis, I guess he'll continue to have a job.
I still remember John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, calling Miller a "wanker" on Miller's old talk show...to his face. The insulted look on Miller's face that night was priceless. Miller's always been a sell-out.
...that miller's using this "Intellectually inferior" line when the current occupant of the post is HASTERT.
He's my congressman. I've met him twice. Even his biggest supporters don't use the word 'smart' when referring to Denny.
And Miller is saying she's not up to the intellectual rigor that DENNY brings to the position?
C'mon Dennis, go all the way. Why don't you do a follow up and tell is that Nancy is too FAT to be Speaker of the House?
Your post made me laugh harder than anything Dennis Miller has said in years.
But, you have to give Dennis Miller credit - at least its not just his books that sell out!
Mr Miller appoining himself as the definer ?
I expected DM's attack to be witty and substantive. All this was just silly ad hominem attacks with nothing to back it up at all.
I kept waiting for some sort of substance, but it never happened. Just doctored photographs of a diminutive Pelosi sinking in the Speaker's chair and some over-hyped comments about handing over a gavel.
This whole thing was just empty. Miller just isn't very compelling anymore. Maybe I have just grown up or Miller has regressed. I expected more.
At a debate a week ago in Windsor, CO with her opponent, Angie Paccione, anti-gay marriage, keep someone alive at all costs Musgrave tried to have Michael Schiavo removed from the hall by police. This video points to this idiotic behavior on her part.
Dennis was so scared after 9/11 that he walked, no ran, to George Bush and the Neo-Cons and promptly got on his knees and proceeded to dirty his nose while asking them to "protect" him.
He is so pathetic and sad now.
What were we talkin about again?
Oh yeah that's right, Dennis Miller. Dennis Miller was a tenth rate performer at the height of his feeble powers in about 1988. Remember those crap routines he did about how so and so is like some character on some drug (oh that Dukakis is like Daffy Duck on speed) or some such crap. He's been plenty political throughout his career, making points against both sides - problem is - he's not very clever! He's just a collection of one liners spat out the side of his mouth - listen to his crap on FOX it is unbearable - he writes like a 5 year old, sounding stunted and rehearsed while desperate to make his comments sound off-the cuff, clever and articulate - then there's the standard obscure literary or political reference designed to appeal to couch-bound pseudo intellectuals (the kind of thing that Dr Hibbert would find "deliciously satirical"). I really don't think this guy knows much about politics. The reason he appeals on FOx is because (c'mon let's face it) FOX viewers just aren't that bright. I mean, what are they gonna do next Foxworthy and Colmes? Listening to him do his "comic" version of GOP talking points is a bit like watching people laugh at the school bully's jokes for fear that if they don't, they'll be next. "Nancy Pelosi is a nimrod" - well, that's about as insightful, witty and clever as "I know you are but what am i?" - no wonder Hannity loves the guy. To the Dennis Millers of the world, i have one piece of advice : Take that fat check from Mr Murdoch, go down to your local music store and fork out a few bucks for the Best of Bill Hicks on CD - then you might get an idea of what a real comedian is about - it is a f#cking CRIME that garbage like Miller continues to rake in the dollars while Bill Hicks was taken from us at the tender age of 36. Miller is a lazy halfwit, who simply dusted off his lame Ayatollah Khomeini jokes and substituted Bin Laden or Kerry. Dennis Miller is not fit to breathe the air that should belong to Bill Hicks - and deep down he knows it! p.s - i think we could all benefit from a copy of the best of Bill Hicks - if nothing else, he demonstrated that passion is stronger, tougher and damn it cooler than blind, pig-ignorant hatred.
One more thing - why do these guys argue over who has the biggest ratings - I mean some of you guys here too- if you think that ratings numbers decide who's doin the best job, then surely polling numbers on issues like Iraq, stem cell research and a thousand other issues should determine the policies of government - ie: get the hell outta Iraq and stop sending poor kids to their graves, you animals! FACT is that anyone who takes Fox news at it's word on anything is a fool - we all have a right to an opinion, but no-one has a right to disguise it (however poorly) as news.
Miller's "humor" consists of nothing more than bad puns, the kind of jokes 5 year old kids tell. A frogs favorite soft drink is croak-acola. It's neither funny nor clever. They tried to spice up his routine with animations and pictures but even Hannity couldn't wait for it to end. When you become a shill for a political party you lose all credibility as a comedian.
I guess what I never liked about Dennis Miller was that he didn't seem to be able seperate being smarmy from playing smarmy. When he did the Weekend update bit his attitude was "I'm better than you." with no sense of self deprecation or irony. Chevy Chase could act superior and then he 'd he do a prattfall. Dan Akroyd could be a slimey salesman and it was funny. Bill Murray could do the pathetically hip lounge singer. You knew that he knew that he was playing someone that thought he was cool, but really wasn't. DM just couldn't seem to wipe the smirk off his face long enough to actually be funny. I read the DM jokes posted above and they are mildly amusing but when I imagine Miller delivering them, I can't imagine laughing. When I think back on the brilliant comedians that were on SNL, Dennis Miller wasn't worthy of picking up the used tissues in Rosanne Rosannadana's dressing room .