Keith Olbermann Gone

Permanently?

Olbermann, who signed a four-year, $30 million contract extension in Nov. 2008, has left MSNBC once before.

In the late 1990′s, Olbermann had a program on MSNBC called “The Big Show.” In 1998, he left the network after protesting the incessant coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He ended up joining , of all places, Fox Sports. Olbermann was wooed back to MSNBC during the run-up to the Iraq War when MSNBC had a show called “Countdown: Iraq” hosted by Lester Holt. That show morphed into “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.”

Insiders we’ve talked to say Olbermann won’t be back. The question is whether he’ll leave or MSNBC keeps him off the air.

I'm surprised at what liberal news executives consider a firing offense. As a news anchor, Rick Sanchez was frequently wrong and always idiotic. But his job was secure until he complained that he was being held back professionally by a Jewish conspiracy that didn't like Cubans. It didn't matter that he had used his show to promote equally ridiculous and offensive conspiracy theories.

And now Keith Olbermann gets canned for donated to three Democratic campaign. What is MSNBC other than a 24 hours left wing Democrat campaign advertisement? Olbermann was okay when he called Michelle Malkin a "bag of meat." MSNBC had no problem with Olbermann's claim that Pat Tillman had been assassinated for opposing the Iraq War. MSNBC was perfectly comfortable with Olbermann's claim that former Vice President Dick Cheney directed a death squad out of his office.

None of these things are firing offenses. But donating to Democrats is. Who the hell does MSNBC think they're fooling? Are we supposed to believe that Keith Olbermann was unbiased until news of these donations came to light?