Which Olbermann sub did you like best and why?
I prefered Richard Wolfe, but the others were good too.

This was supposed to be a poll, but I guess I screwed it up.


Mac

I liked richard Wolfe,too,and Howard Dean,but he seemed a little unsure of himself.He seemed to lack someof his usual fire.

I liked them both and I agree with your assessment of Gov. Dean. I only met the man one time but have paid very close attention to him ever since then. I am not surprised that he sacrificed fire for choosing his words carefully. He values truth and substance over flash, however, if he were given time to get acclimated to the TV environment his vibrant personality would most likely come to the fore.

I don't know why Gov. Dean is not playing a significant role in the Obama administration but I certainly wish he was. I have the utmost respect for him.

I met Governor Dean durng last years campaign.
He came to Oregon to help campaign for Jeff Merkley for the U.S. Senate.
(Merkley beat Republican Gordon Smith.)
I had an interesting discussion with him about how Oregon conducts our elections.
(Vote-by-mail)
We put a ballot into the hands of every registered voter.
Resulting in increased voter participation.
(Which always seems to help Democratic candidates.)
And reduced costs.
He seemed very interested in the idea of going National with a vote-by-mail system.

I think he will get better as he becomes more familiar with sitting behind that desk.
His passion comes through "just enough".


Mac

I have enormous respect for Howard Dean, but he was just awful subbing for Keith. He acted like a block of wood. Richard Wolfe was alot better, I like him more than Schuster.

Frankly, I like Lawrence O'Donnell best. I think he nailed the police invasion of privacy (re: Gates v. Cambridge Police) fairly well. The other thing about O'Donnell is I know he can breathe fire for progressives when needed.

Howard Dean could use more practice but IMHO he was trying to be impartial.

Richard Wolfe was a little better than Howard Dean he comes off a bit upper lip to me.

I can't say that I can choose which one was best. In fact, there's just no other Keith Olbermann to take his place. His subs are excellent guests on his program though. I think that they contribute much more by giving us information when interviewed by Olbermann than by reading a script as the host. I look forward to Olbermann's return.

All in all, I really wasn't nuts about any of them. If I had to choose, however, I'd pick Lawrence O'Donnell over Howard Dean, over David Schuster, over Richard Wolfe. Maybe it's a culture thing, but Wolfe comes across as too British for the smart-ass Yankee style of Olbermann.
But nobody does it like Olbermann....
Sallie

I liked Lawrence O'Donnell.
Of course he had the advantage of covering the perfect story for his background.
And I liked his disclaimer at the beginning of it.


Mac

too bad rachel has her own show; she was the best sub for keith ever!

I liked Laurence O'Donnell's analysis of the Gates arrest

Honestly in an odd way I kind of enjoyed Howard Dean. I wouldn't mind seeing him back again.