On the October 20 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, host Keith Olbermann named frequent Fox News guest and former CIA agent Wayne Simmons the recipient of his nightly “Worst Person in the World” award for asserting, as Media Matters for America documented, that “the football stadium bomb hoax was, quote, 'the perfect example of how vital the president's domestic eavesdropping program and the passage of the Military Commissions Act are.' ” Olbermann replied: “Of course they're vital, Wayne. They enable government to spread false rumors about plots that aren't by non-terrorists that anybody over the age of 7 1/2 should have been able to see were crap.”

Additionally, Olbermann named nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh “Worst Person” runner-up for declaring, as Media Matters noted, that the recent surge in insurgent violence in Iraq indicates that “terrorists around the world, particularly those in Iraq, are voting Democrat today.” He awarded Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) the “bronze” because “DeWine and the Republicans will not pull” a campaign advertisement that accuses DeWine's opponent, Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), of failing to pay unemployment taxes for the last 13 years, even though “the state of Ohio has now issued a statement saying that is not true.” As Media Matters noted, a front-page Columbus Dispatch article that mentioned the ad did not note that the state said the accusation against Brown was false (though a separate “ad-watch” article on page 15 did).

From the October 20 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:

OLBERMANN: Finally, so, a string quartet pulls into a drive-through at McDonald's, and -- that's ahead but, first, time for Countdown's latest list of nominees for “Worst Person in the World.” For the first time, I feel impelled to say that there is a chance that tonight's gasbags might actually be nuts. Please stand well back from your TV as I read this to you.

The bronze: Senator -- Republican Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio. Republican National Committee TV ads for him there claim his Democratic opponent, Sherrod Brown, has not paid his unemployment taxes for 13 years, but the state of Ohio has now issued a statement saying that is not true, that Mr. Brown paid the unemployment tax bill years ago. But DeWine and the Republicans will not pull the commercial. So, you guys would be liars?

Runner-up: Comedian Rush Limbaugh told his radio sheep that the increase in violence in Iraq shows, quote, “terrorists around the world, particularly these [sic] in Iraq, are voting Democrat today.” Well, yeah, except for that internal Al Qaeda memo that says it's in their best interest to keep us in Iraq as long as possible, so Al Qaeda would be voting Republican -- right, Rush?

But the winner: former CIA agent Wayne Simmons on Fox News, saying the football stadium bomb hoax was, quote, “the perfect example of how vital the president's domestic eavesdropping program and the passage of the Military Commissions Act are.” Of course they're vital, Wayne. They enable the government to spread false rumors about plots that aren't by non-terrorists that anybody over the age of 7 1/2 should have been able to see were crap, so they can try to scare people into voting Republican.

But thanks for admitting that, Wayne. Former CIA agent Wayne Simmons: today's “Worst Person in the World.”