On the June 26 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, host Keith Olbermann named right-wing pundit Ann Coulter the “winner” of his nightly “Worst Person in the World” segment for stating on the June 25 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes: “I do think anyone named B. Hussein Obama should avoid using 'hijack' and 'religion' in the same sentence.” As Media Matters for America noted, Coulter was apparently referring to Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) remark in a June 23 speech that “somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and started being used to drive us apart. It got hijacked.” After quoting Coulter, Olbermann noted that she had appeared on MSNBC's Hardball earlier that evening and added: “We put her on a seven-second delay, which is just a drop in the bucket, actually, because politically she is already on this seven-century delay.”
Additionally, Olbermann gave Pat Robertson the “Silver” in his “Worst Person” segment for his remarks regarding Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on the June 25 edition of the Christian Broadcasting Network's 700 Club. As Media Matters noted, Robertson said, "[N]ow we've begun to see the kind of person he is, and more and more people are saying to me, 'I think you were right' " -- an apparent reference to comments he made in 2005 calling for Chavez's assassination. On August 22, 2005, Robertson stated, “You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if [Chavez] thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war.” Robertson subsequently issued a press release in which he stated, “Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologize for that statement.” Robertson reiterated his call for Chavez's assassination on the February 2, 2006, edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, as Media Matters has also documented. During his June 26 show, Olbermann said: “Remember when [Robertson] said it might not be a bad idea to assassinate Venezuela's Hugo Chavez? Then he apologized and said it wasn't right to call for an assassination of a political figure? Well yeah, that lasted.”
As Media Matters has documented (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), Coulter is a frequent finalist on Olbermann's “Worst Person” segment.
From the June 26 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:
OLBERMANN: Our silver tonight, Pat Robertson. Remember when he said it might not be a bad idea to assassinate Venezuela's Hugo Chavez? Then he apologized and he said it wasn't right to call for an assassination of a political figure? Well yeah, that lasted. “We have begun to see the kind of person he is,” Robertson said on air yesterday: “And more and more people are saying to me, 'I think you were right.' ”
But our winner, Coultergeist. Did it again. Tried to link Senator Barack Obama to terrorism or Iraq or something. “I do think anyone named B. Hussein Obama should avoid using 'hijack' and 'religion' in the same sentence.” You know, she was on Hardball tonight. We put her on a seven-second delay, which is just a drop in the bucket, actually, because politically she is already on this seven-century delay. Coultergeist, today's “Worst Person in the World.”