dan abrams

Joe Scarborough’s tweet last week slamming Keith Olbermann has gained some attention, including from their boss:

Griffin sent a memo, obtained by the Huffington Post, to network talent and executive producers clamping down on infighting within the network.

"We have many strong personalities with differing, passionate opinions, but it is important to remember that we are all on the same team," Griffin said in the memo. "I want to reiterate my long-standing policy: We do not publicly criticize our colleagues. This kind of behavior is unprofessional and will not be tolerated."

Earlier this week, "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough blasted Keith Olbermann on Twitter for his comments that Scott Brown is "an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea-bagging supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees."

The Huffington Post has the full memo here. Mediaite, a site founded by MSNBC legal analyst Dan Abrams, adds:

We hear Scarborough apologized to Griffin for his comments. Griffin also talked to Olbermann, and Olbermann didn’t think it merited punishment. So the letter to staff (but really to Scarborough) went out instead.

Wesley Clark was on Dan Abrams last night standing behind his statement that John McCain being shot down and held prisoner is not a qualification for being President. Good for him. The right is in a frenzy over Clark's statement of truth regarding McCain.

John McCain bases everything in his run on his experience in the military. As MissLaura reminds us at DKos, McCain even tried to link his time as a POW to healthcare. In other words - McCain exploits what happened to him.

What I find most ironic is some of the people complaining the loudest about Clark's statement are some of the same people who jumped on the swift boating bandwagon against John Kerry, and a few who questioned Clark's service to our nation. Let's stop acting like Clark is a nobody. He was shot up pretty badly in Vietnam. Does he use that as a resume builder? No. He uses the fact that he stayed in the military and moved on to become one of the top leaders as a resume builder. Funny how being a general and the commander of NATO doesn't qualify someone to be President, but being shot down and captured does.

If McCain wants to set the record straight and use his military experience as his main qualification for being President then it's time for him to release his military service record. Include in it how many planes he actually lost. Let the people judge on facts, not on assumption or rumors. If McCain doesn't want to do that then we have every right to question his military service and we should. We also should question the mental health of someone who was held prisoner for five years. I'm sure McCain has some hidden issues from his time as a POW and the American people need to be certain those won't interfere with his job as Commander in Chief.

Pat Buchanan flipped out on Dan Abrams last night. He was trying to say that Obama only won states with heavy black populations. When another guest tried to correct him, Pat responds by telling the guest to shut-up. That was followed by Pat getting scolded by Rachel Maddow.

Jack Kingston appeared on Dan Abrams last night to continue his meme about Obama being unpatriotic. Just like on Real Time, Kingston once again appeared with out his lapel pin to blast Obama for (dramatic pause) not wearing a lapel pin.

Freakin' awesome! Can we make Kingston the spokesman of the RNC, that way Americans see what a bunch of retards they really are?

(h/t Mike for the video tip)

Last week there was a buzz on the blogosphere, mainly from the right, that Olbermann could be losing his job. We now find out that is no where near the case, and him along with Chris Matthews are the only two protected from changes right now:

If NBC's selection of Dan Abrams, an on-air anchor, as the new day-to-day boss of MSNBC left employees of that all-news cable channel gasping in shock — and it did — the next steps in the reshaping of the long-struggling network are likely to generate at least a few low whistles of surprise.

Mr. Abrams, in an interview at the MSNBC headquarters in Secaucus, N.J., acknowledged that he was still in the learning stages of his new job. At the age of 40, he's taking his first management post in television, where he has worked as a legal analyst and news anchor. While steering away from suggestions that a widespread overhaul of MSNBC is imminent, he did suggest that he would push right away for more breaking news coverage during the channel's daytime hours.

But there are bigger changes coming to MSNBC, especially in prime time, where the network will apparently be dropping some of its talk-show lineup in favor of more taped reports. That change is likely to take place as soon as the next couple of months. "I think we're going to have some program changes this summer," Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, said in a telephone interview. "Prime time is the focus. That's where the money is."

[SNIP]

Two of the channel's hosts, Chris Matthews of "Hardball" and Keith Olbermann of "Countdown," clearly will not be affected, because MSNBC's managers consistently cite those programs as long-sought breakthroughs.

And the reason for keeping Olbermann?