1 00:00:04,795 --> 00:00:22,355 Speaker 1: Countdown with Keith Olderman is a production of iHeartRadio. My 2 00:00:22,475 --> 00:00:26,155 Speaker 1: friend and colleague of twenty six years, Howard Feinneman has died, 3 00:00:26,195 --> 00:00:27,955 Speaker 1: and I have much to tell you about him, and 4 00:00:27,995 --> 00:00:31,515 Speaker 1: I will do so. But the journalist in Howard Feyneman 5 00:00:31,595 --> 00:00:35,195 Speaker 1: would kick me in the shins if I led with 6 00:00:35,315 --> 00:00:39,155 Speaker 1: his passing instead of with the alice through the looking glass. 7 00:00:39,195 --> 00:00:42,235 Speaker 1: News that the head of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, 8 00:00:42,715 --> 00:00:45,635 Speaker 1: has managed to get the Attorney General of the United States, 9 00:00:45,715 --> 00:00:49,795 Speaker 1: Merrick Garland, held in contempt of Congress for ignoring a 10 00:00:49,835 --> 00:00:53,235 Speaker 1: House subpoena, even though it is now exactly seven hundred 11 00:00:53,275 --> 00:00:58,115 Speaker 1: and sixty four days, two years and a month that 12 00:00:58,235 --> 00:01:04,115 Speaker 1: Jim Jordan himself has been ignoring a House subpoena. I 13 00:01:04,155 --> 00:01:06,515 Speaker 1: have no use for Merrick Garland, and in part that 14 00:01:06,635 --> 00:01:10,795 Speaker 1: is because Merrick Garland would never think of doing what 15 00:01:10,995 --> 00:01:14,355 Speaker 1: he should do today, what he should do right now, 16 00:01:14,835 --> 00:01:19,875 Speaker 1: which is to seek today and gain today and announce 17 00:01:19,995 --> 00:01:25,915 Speaker 1: today the indictment of Jim Jordan for contempt of Congress. 18 00:01:26,955 --> 00:01:31,115 Speaker 1: We are metaphorically at war with these fascists who live 19 00:01:31,315 --> 00:01:36,715 Speaker 1: among us, and who have decades ago jennisoned any standards 20 00:01:37,115 --> 00:01:42,355 Speaker 1: or morality, have embraced only cheating, have used the legal 21 00:01:42,395 --> 00:01:45,795 Speaker 1: system for purely political purposes as long ago as the 22 00:01:45,915 --> 00:01:50,155 Speaker 1: Ken Star investigation of Bill Clinton and the illegal publication 23 00:01:50,235 --> 00:01:54,475 Speaker 1: of Clinton's videotape grand jury testimony a quarter century ago. 24 00:01:55,195 --> 00:02:00,115 Speaker 1: They created what they have now named law fair. They 25 00:02:00,235 --> 00:02:05,515 Speaker 1: created it in a preceding century, and they are pretending 26 00:02:05,875 --> 00:02:09,155 Speaker 1: that they are its victims when they are its inventors 27 00:02:09,475 --> 00:02:13,195 Speaker 1: and manipulators, when they are the criminals and the corrupted, 28 00:02:13,235 --> 00:02:17,475 Speaker 1: remorseless authoritarians. When any time they lie that they are 29 00:02:17,475 --> 00:02:21,395 Speaker 1: not behaving that way, they are pretending solely because their 30 00:02:21,475 --> 00:02:26,275 Speaker 1: base now expects them to pretend and lie, and only 31 00:02:26,435 --> 00:02:31,235 Speaker 1: expects of them a well crafted lie they can hold 32 00:02:31,315 --> 00:02:37,195 Speaker 1: on to. And there is no easier to digest proof 33 00:02:37,355 --> 00:02:42,395 Speaker 1: of this than just the last two morally bankrupt years 34 00:02:42,675 --> 00:02:47,115 Speaker 1: out of the morally bankrupt life of Jim Jordan and Merrick. 35 00:02:47,155 --> 00:02:54,355 Speaker 1: Garland should announce charges against him today now, and if 36 00:02:54,395 --> 00:02:59,395 Speaker 1: he doesn't think so, and he doesn't, Garland should just 37 00:02:59,875 --> 00:03:03,635 Speaker 1: change the names in this equation around and make the 38 00:03:03,675 --> 00:03:08,755 Speaker 1: Attorney General Mike Davis the Trump lunatic, and make the 39 00:03:09,075 --> 00:03:13,635 Speaker 1: chairman Jamie Raskin and ask what the Trumpsts would do 40 00:03:14,515 --> 00:03:17,675 Speaker 1: in the hypothetical future, and the answer is Davis would 41 00:03:17,715 --> 00:03:22,035 Speaker 1: have had Raskin indicted and arrested or just arrested, screw 42 00:03:22,235 --> 00:03:26,755 Speaker 1: bothering with an indictment or a trial just arrested seven 43 00:03:26,835 --> 00:03:31,555 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty four days ago. The House Republicans did 44 00:03:31,555 --> 00:03:37,955 Speaker 1: this yesterday because they and Trump's Republican Senate slaves are 45 00:03:37,995 --> 00:03:42,515 Speaker 1: set to promise fealty to Trump at meetings today in Washington. 46 00:03:42,835 --> 00:03:45,755 Speaker 1: It is a relief they do not have to offer 47 00:03:45,835 --> 00:03:51,195 Speaker 1: him his weight in gold, as if there were that 48 00:03:51,515 --> 00:03:56,195 Speaker 1: much gold. Fox reports that for his first trip to 49 00:03:56,235 --> 00:04:00,315 Speaker 1: Capitol Hill since his attempted coup on January sixth, Trump 50 00:04:00,355 --> 00:04:02,915 Speaker 1: will be at the Capitol Hill Club, and boy, they 51 00:04:03,155 --> 00:04:07,075 Speaker 1: sure amp the symbol up to eleven. This time. It 52 00:04:07,275 --> 00:04:12,635 Speaker 1: was right between the Republican National Committee headquarters and the 53 00:04:12,755 --> 00:04:16,195 Speaker 1: very same Capitol Hill Club that one of the pipe 54 00:04:16,195 --> 00:04:20,155 Speaker 1: bombs was left the night before January sixth by a 55 00:04:20,315 --> 00:04:51,235 Speaker 1: still unidentified mass murderer wannabe March. Of course, by the 56 00:04:51,275 --> 00:04:54,155 Speaker 1: time of those kiss the ass meetings between Trump and 57 00:04:54,235 --> 00:04:58,075 Speaker 1: the Republicans on Capitol Hill, America may have figuratively already 58 00:04:58,115 --> 00:05:01,915 Speaker 1: been blown up. The Supreme Court will issue rulings on 59 00:05:02,035 --> 00:05:08,675 Speaker 1: pending cases like oh, maybe the Trump's fabricated monarchical concept 60 00:05:08,715 --> 00:05:13,595 Speaker 1: of quote presidential immunity. We don't know which cases the 61 00:05:13,595 --> 00:05:16,715 Speaker 1: Court will rule on today, We don't know when. We 62 00:05:16,875 --> 00:05:20,755 Speaker 1: do know they scheduled two days for publishing decisions, which 63 00:05:20,795 --> 00:05:22,995 Speaker 1: is an unusual step for them. And yes, you're right, 64 00:05:23,115 --> 00:05:29,555 Speaker 1: Sam Alito, tomorrow is Flag Day. Why do you ask 65 00:05:32,915 --> 00:05:35,435 Speaker 1: if you were hoping that somehow Democrats would get a 66 00:05:35,475 --> 00:05:40,395 Speaker 1: first step towards mandatory Supreme Court ethics codes through on 67 00:05:40,515 --> 00:05:45,435 Speaker 1: unanimous consent. Oh well, why did you think that? Secondly, 68 00:05:45,635 --> 00:05:49,795 Speaker 1: guess which Trump whore stepped up to proudly stop that, 69 00:05:51,475 --> 00:05:56,875 Speaker 1: Lindsey Graham. Still more ripples in the pool of the 70 00:05:56,875 --> 00:06:01,235 Speaker 1: conviction of elderly first offender j. Trump. New Jersey's Attorney 71 00:06:01,315 --> 00:06:06,315 Speaker 1: General and the Division of Alcoholic Beverage ConTroll There are 72 00:06:06,355 --> 00:06:11,915 Speaker 1: now reviewing the liquor licenses at the three Trump owned 73 00:06:11,955 --> 00:06:16,115 Speaker 1: golf courses. Quote. No license of any class shall be 74 00:06:16,155 --> 00:06:18,435 Speaker 1: issued to any person under the age of eighteen years, 75 00:06:18,755 --> 00:06:21,515 Speaker 1: or to any person who has been convicted of a 76 00:06:21,595 --> 00:06:28,755 Speaker 1: crime involving moral turpitude, reads Jersey state law. The alcoholic 77 00:06:28,795 --> 00:06:33,515 Speaker 1: Beverage Control Division guidebook offers a definition quote a serious 78 00:06:33,555 --> 00:06:36,955 Speaker 1: crime from the viewpoint of society in general, and usually 79 00:06:37,035 --> 00:06:46,075 Speaker 1: contains elements of dishonesty, fraud, or depravity. Dishonesty, fraud, or depravity. 80 00:06:47,075 --> 00:06:53,115 Speaker 1: They got you there, don And just one other note. 81 00:06:53,235 --> 00:06:57,555 Speaker 1: June thirteenth, This is so two weeks from tonight is 82 00:06:58,915 --> 00:07:03,635 Speaker 1: the first Biden Trump debate, the one at CNN in Atlanta, 83 00:07:04,395 --> 00:07:08,475 Speaker 1: which means Trump now has less than fourteen days to 84 00:07:08,595 --> 00:07:13,835 Speaker 1: choose the excuse for backing out that he thinks we'll 85 00:07:13,915 --> 00:07:17,435 Speaker 1: make it look most like Biden was actually the one 86 00:07:17,475 --> 00:07:32,795 Speaker 1: backing out. This is countdown with Keith Oberman. That was 87 00:07:32,835 --> 00:07:37,555 Speaker 1: my friend Howard Fineman, who died yesterday after And it 88 00:07:37,635 --> 00:07:42,595 Speaker 1: is a cliche a long struggle with pancreatic cancer. This 89 00:07:42,755 --> 00:07:46,075 Speaker 1: is one of the worst of the diseases. And I 90 00:07:46,115 --> 00:07:49,275 Speaker 1: will tell you the extraordinary story of Howard versus pancreatic 91 00:07:49,355 --> 00:07:53,875 Speaker 1: cancer and how despite the outcome, Howard won at length. 92 00:07:53,875 --> 00:07:57,635 Speaker 1: In a moment, Howard Fineman told me in the middle 93 00:07:57,675 --> 00:08:01,435 Speaker 1: of January last year, twenty twenty three, that he had 94 00:08:01,475 --> 00:08:05,195 Speaker 1: been diagnosed that they had found pancreatic cancer during another surgery. 95 00:08:06,315 --> 00:08:08,315 Speaker 1: And that they had given him four to six months 96 00:08:08,355 --> 00:08:11,435 Speaker 1: to live, and he was writing and then talking to 97 00:08:11,475 --> 00:08:16,475 Speaker 1: me to say goodbye. And he died yesterday, having survived 98 00:08:16,475 --> 00:08:20,955 Speaker 1: the disease and survived it extraordinarily well for eighteen months. 99 00:08:21,595 --> 00:08:24,995 Speaker 1: But let me tell that story in the correct chronological order. 100 00:08:26,035 --> 00:08:28,835 Speaker 1: About a week before my thirty ninth birthday in nineteen 101 00:08:28,915 --> 00:08:31,315 Speaker 1: ninety eight, when I was the unhappy new host of 102 00:08:31,355 --> 00:08:34,155 Speaker 1: a show on MSNBC called The Big Show, and we 103 00:08:34,195 --> 00:08:39,195 Speaker 1: did things like this. I was in Hollywood, in Burbank, 104 00:08:39,315 --> 00:08:41,835 Speaker 1: I think, on the set of Third Rock from the Sun, 105 00:08:41,875 --> 00:08:45,395 Speaker 1: about to interview its lead actor, the great actor John Lithgow, 106 00:08:46,635 --> 00:08:48,635 Speaker 1: when the producer of the show came to me and said, oh, 107 00:08:48,635 --> 00:08:50,595 Speaker 1: by the way, slight change of plans. And I know 108 00:08:50,635 --> 00:08:53,275 Speaker 1: I've told this story before, slight change of plans. We 109 00:08:53,315 --> 00:08:56,755 Speaker 1: are going to instead be doing a talkback with Tim 110 00:08:56,795 --> 00:09:01,515 Speaker 1: Russert because the president may resign, and then we'll do 111 00:09:01,595 --> 00:09:03,875 Speaker 1: lithgo and we'll we'll tape lithgo now and we'll get 112 00:09:03,875 --> 00:09:05,195 Speaker 1: that out of the way, but we're going to do 113 00:09:05,235 --> 00:09:07,275 Speaker 1: this first. And I went say that again. He went, 114 00:09:07,315 --> 00:09:10,035 Speaker 1: what will tape lifth go now? He later became the 115 00:09:10,075 --> 00:09:12,955 Speaker 1: president of MSNBC. I actually had to say to him, no, no, no, no, 116 00:09:12,995 --> 00:09:15,715 Speaker 1: not the part about taping the actor. What was that 117 00:09:15,755 --> 00:09:20,675 Speaker 1: about the president resigning? Suffice to say, shortly thereafter, I 118 00:09:20,755 --> 00:09:23,515 Speaker 1: was on the air with the top ranked person from 119 00:09:23,555 --> 00:09:26,715 Speaker 1: Newsweek who would go on our air because our show 120 00:09:26,795 --> 00:09:29,115 Speaker 1: was nothing. We had perhaps one hundred thousand viewers a night. 121 00:09:29,755 --> 00:09:33,275 Speaker 1: Within a week we would have a million. The man 122 00:09:33,315 --> 00:09:35,915 Speaker 1: from Newsweek who consented to come on with the Big 123 00:09:35,955 --> 00:09:39,715 Speaker 1: Show with Keith Olberman then in its I guess third 124 00:09:39,795 --> 00:09:42,755 Speaker 1: month on the air, not drawing any viewers, was named 125 00:09:42,755 --> 00:09:46,075 Speaker 1: Howard Feinneman. He was one of the political writers, and 126 00:09:46,235 --> 00:09:49,635 Speaker 1: he was, if I remember correctly, if not the first guest, 127 00:09:49,675 --> 00:09:51,875 Speaker 1: because the first guest was Tim Russert, but the first 128 00:09:51,875 --> 00:09:56,195 Speaker 1: one to analyze what we were dealing with was Howard Feineman. 129 00:09:57,915 --> 00:10:00,275 Speaker 1: I don't know that he knew me, other than perhaps 130 00:10:00,275 --> 00:10:03,955 Speaker 1: from ESPN. I did not know him. We immediately hit 131 00:10:03,995 --> 00:10:06,635 Speaker 1: it off. At some point during the interview he laughed 132 00:10:06,675 --> 00:10:09,435 Speaker 1: at something I said, and soon we were bringing on 133 00:10:09,515 --> 00:10:12,595 Speaker 1: Howard Feinman as often as we could, because Howard had 134 00:10:12,595 --> 00:10:15,955 Speaker 1: a unique capacity to not only tell you the facts 135 00:10:16,035 --> 00:10:19,315 Speaker 1: of a story, what was actually out there to that minute, 136 00:10:19,755 --> 00:10:23,915 Speaker 1: but he could then assess what that probably meant in 137 00:10:23,995 --> 00:10:29,475 Speaker 1: the next week, month, year to these key people involved 138 00:10:29,475 --> 00:10:32,235 Speaker 1: in it. And then if you wanted him to to 139 00:10:32,395 --> 00:10:37,075 Speaker 1: express some sort of historical perspective or analysis of the 140 00:10:37,115 --> 00:10:40,075 Speaker 1: pasts of the people involved in this case, Bill Clinton, 141 00:10:40,235 --> 00:10:43,435 Speaker 1: Knut Gingrich, ken Starr, whoever you needed to know about. 142 00:10:44,035 --> 00:10:46,715 Speaker 1: If he didn't already know, give him twenty minutes and 143 00:10:46,795 --> 00:10:49,555 Speaker 1: he would have found it out from people that he trusted, 144 00:10:49,595 --> 00:10:52,795 Speaker 1: who knew the individuals. He was an all purpose all 145 00:10:52,835 --> 00:10:57,835 Speaker 1: star for us. And as I began to become disenchanted 146 00:10:57,875 --> 00:11:01,355 Speaker 1: with the journalism surrounding that story, the person who told 147 00:11:01,395 --> 00:11:06,155 Speaker 1: me I was right when everybody else covered the goddamned 148 00:11:06,195 --> 00:11:09,355 Speaker 1: Clinton Lewinsky story insisted this was the worst thing that 149 00:11:09,395 --> 00:11:12,555 Speaker 1: had happened in human history and we needed to cover 150 00:11:12,595 --> 00:11:15,835 Speaker 1: it twenty four hours a day. And I said, sounds 151 00:11:15,915 --> 00:11:19,515 Speaker 1: like they're trying to shoot the proverbial fly with an 152 00:11:19,915 --> 00:11:23,355 Speaker 1: atomic bomb. The one person who agreed with me from 153 00:11:23,395 --> 00:11:29,195 Speaker 1: the beginning was Howard Feyneman, who said, I can't go 154 00:11:29,555 --> 00:11:32,355 Speaker 1: full bore into this the way you are saying it, 155 00:11:32,915 --> 00:11:36,115 Speaker 1: but I will backstop you anywhere I can say what 156 00:11:36,195 --> 00:11:39,155 Speaker 1: you feel, and I will support what you say because 157 00:11:39,195 --> 00:11:43,795 Speaker 1: you are right. Do not think I am somehow criticizing 158 00:11:43,835 --> 00:11:46,315 Speaker 1: you by not going yes, You're absolutely right. This is 159 00:11:46,355 --> 00:11:49,195 Speaker 1: insane and illegal, and it is Newt Gingrich trying to 160 00:11:49,235 --> 00:11:51,515 Speaker 1: become president of the United States because he really thinks 161 00:11:51,555 --> 00:11:56,155 Speaker 1: it can happen. But that's what he's doing, needless to say. 162 00:11:56,195 --> 00:11:59,555 Speaker 1: As I became more and more disenchanted with the story, 163 00:11:59,595 --> 00:12:02,475 Speaker 1: Howard Feinneman became more and more valuable to me as 164 00:12:02,515 --> 00:12:05,195 Speaker 1: a friend, and I talked to him more. Were often 165 00:12:05,515 --> 00:12:09,515 Speaker 1: off the air, and he was one of the few 166 00:12:09,675 --> 00:12:12,115 Speaker 1: bright spots of a long year in which I had 167 00:12:12,155 --> 00:12:14,475 Speaker 1: to cover that story while I was trying to extricate 168 00:12:14,515 --> 00:12:17,115 Speaker 1: myself from a company that could not understand why I 169 00:12:17,115 --> 00:12:19,115 Speaker 1: would want to leave a show that now had an 170 00:12:19,115 --> 00:12:21,795 Speaker 1: audience of fifty or sixty times what it had when 171 00:12:21,835 --> 00:12:24,955 Speaker 1: it began. When all this at NBC News was available 172 00:12:24,955 --> 00:12:26,595 Speaker 1: to me, if I just stuck with the story and 173 00:12:26,675 --> 00:12:30,995 Speaker 1: kept telling it, Howard Feineman got it. Howard Feieman was 174 00:12:30,995 --> 00:12:34,515 Speaker 1: an old school newsman from Newsweek, and he'd been a 175 00:12:34,555 --> 00:12:37,875 Speaker 1: great local reporter in Louisville and was a master of 176 00:12:37,955 --> 00:12:40,915 Speaker 1: Kentucky politics. If you wanted to know about the Mitch 177 00:12:40,995 --> 00:12:44,955 Speaker 1: McConnell of eighteen eighty seven, he would know, and he 178 00:12:45,035 --> 00:12:49,995 Speaker 1: knew everything about Pittsburgh from where he was. At the end, 179 00:12:50,035 --> 00:12:52,315 Speaker 1: I finally extricated myself from this, and again one of 180 00:12:52,355 --> 00:12:55,835 Speaker 1: the few people who called on the last day, because 181 00:12:55,875 --> 00:12:57,955 Speaker 1: the NBC people were all mad at me, one of 182 00:12:57,955 --> 00:13:00,275 Speaker 1: the few people who called me the last day to 183 00:13:00,395 --> 00:13:05,435 Speaker 1: say goodbye was Howard Feineman. Not long after I left 184 00:13:05,555 --> 00:13:07,995 Speaker 1: NBC in nineteen ninety eight and went to Fox Sports, 185 00:13:08,275 --> 00:13:10,675 Speaker 1: a box showed up on my desk on the Fox 186 00:13:10,715 --> 00:13:15,435 Speaker 1: office in Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. It was the 187 00:13:15,475 --> 00:13:17,835 Speaker 1: size of a baseball, and I opened it up in 188 00:13:17,915 --> 00:13:20,235 Speaker 1: much to my surprise, it was a baseball. It was 189 00:13:20,275 --> 00:13:24,355 Speaker 1: an autographed baseball, signed by all of the regulars on 190 00:13:24,675 --> 00:13:29,955 Speaker 1: the MSNBC show The Big Show, including Howard. A souvenir 191 00:13:30,035 --> 00:13:33,635 Speaker 1: he said, or if you really don't want to remember 192 00:13:33,675 --> 00:13:37,915 Speaker 1: any of it, just throw it through the window. For 193 00:13:37,915 --> 00:13:39,875 Speaker 1: a couple of years, as I went back into sports, 194 00:13:39,915 --> 00:13:42,435 Speaker 1: I heard about Howard and heard from Howard. Occasionally. I 195 00:13:42,475 --> 00:13:44,755 Speaker 1: get a letter, saw you on the World Series, saw 196 00:13:44,875 --> 00:13:47,155 Speaker 1: at the All Star Game, saw at the Super Bowl whatever. 197 00:13:48,035 --> 00:13:50,635 Speaker 1: Always stayed in touch, and not stayed in touch because 198 00:13:50,635 --> 00:13:52,315 Speaker 1: he thought, well, he's going to go back into politics 199 00:13:52,395 --> 00:13:54,515 Speaker 1: someday and this will be my access to television. No, 200 00:13:54,595 --> 00:13:57,875 Speaker 1: he stayed in touch. Howard stayed in touch with everybody. 201 00:13:58,515 --> 00:14:02,835 Speaker 1: Howard was one of the original networkers in the best 202 00:14:02,875 --> 00:14:07,875 Speaker 1: possible sense of that word. If you were in news 203 00:14:07,875 --> 00:14:09,955 Speaker 1: and you did not know Howard Feineman and you did 204 00:14:09,955 --> 00:14:11,755 Speaker 1: not know he was a good guy, guess what, I 205 00:14:11,795 --> 00:14:17,635 Speaker 1: don't think you were in news the first or second time. 206 00:14:17,875 --> 00:14:20,715 Speaker 1: I appeared as a fill in host on MSNBC in 207 00:14:20,715 --> 00:14:23,955 Speaker 1: two thousand and three as a little gratuitous mend some 208 00:14:24,075 --> 00:14:26,675 Speaker 1: fences throwaway when I went back to what was supposed 209 00:14:26,715 --> 00:14:30,115 Speaker 1: to be an NBC Sports Olympic hosting job at the 210 00:14:30,155 --> 00:14:33,435 Speaker 1: two thousand and four Summer Olympics in Greece. I went 211 00:14:33,515 --> 00:14:35,155 Speaker 1: over and did a couple of shows as a fill 212 00:14:35,155 --> 00:14:37,355 Speaker 1: in for Jerry Nackman, who was very sick, in fact, 213 00:14:37,355 --> 00:14:41,315 Speaker 1: fatally sick. Got a call from Howard Fyeman in the office, 214 00:14:41,395 --> 00:14:44,995 Speaker 1: My god, you're back. What happened? He wanted to hear 215 00:14:45,035 --> 00:14:46,755 Speaker 1: the whole story, and he wanted to come on. Although 216 00:14:46,795 --> 00:14:49,635 Speaker 1: we didn't cover much politics on that show, but soon 217 00:14:49,675 --> 00:14:52,115 Speaker 1: we would cover politics again because then I came back 218 00:14:52,155 --> 00:14:55,195 Speaker 1: to MSNBC with the Countdown program, and Howard was the 219 00:14:55,235 --> 00:14:58,075 Speaker 1: first person I asked them to make an arrangement with 220 00:14:58,275 --> 00:15:01,035 Speaker 1: to be a regular contributor to the show. And as 221 00:15:01,075 --> 00:15:05,635 Speaker 1: Howard would say, he was not a television great. He 222 00:15:05,715 --> 00:15:08,235 Speaker 1: did not have the sexiest stories, he did not have 223 00:15:08,315 --> 00:15:12,515 Speaker 1: the hottest takes. But as I'm referenced earlier, whatever you 224 00:15:12,595 --> 00:15:17,155 Speaker 1: needed him to talk about, he knew it, and what 225 00:15:17,275 --> 00:15:19,555 Speaker 1: he did not know, and sometimes what he already thought 226 00:15:19,555 --> 00:15:22,555 Speaker 1: he knew. He would go and research fresh just to 227 00:15:22,635 --> 00:15:28,835 Speaker 1: make sure that he was giving you his best. Howard Feineman, 228 00:15:31,595 --> 00:15:34,155 Speaker 1: I in fact did approach him when I left MSNBC 229 00:15:34,315 --> 00:15:36,835 Speaker 1: in twenty eleven after they breached my contract and I 230 00:15:36,875 --> 00:15:38,795 Speaker 1: went over to Current TV for a lot of money. 231 00:15:39,075 --> 00:15:41,555 Speaker 1: I approached him about joining me there, about becoming a 232 00:15:41,595 --> 00:15:44,355 Speaker 1: contributor or perhaps full time, and he said, no, I 233 00:15:44,395 --> 00:15:47,835 Speaker 1: have something else I'm working on. I'll be probably leaving 234 00:15:47,875 --> 00:15:51,955 Speaker 1: in a year or two, And sure enough he had, 235 00:15:51,995 --> 00:15:54,395 Speaker 1: and he was one of the first people to recognize this. 236 00:15:55,195 --> 00:15:59,675 Speaker 1: He was a by this point star at Newsweek, and 237 00:15:59,715 --> 00:16:03,835 Speaker 1: he realized that Newsweek's shelf life was not very long. 238 00:16:03,915 --> 00:16:08,675 Speaker 1: In fact, Time Magazine, the Washington Post, all the great 239 00:16:08,675 --> 00:16:11,835 Speaker 1: news organizations of the early twenty tens, they were not 240 00:16:11,955 --> 00:16:14,995 Speaker 1: going to make it. Howard took a job basically running 241 00:16:15,035 --> 00:16:18,955 Speaker 1: Huffington Post, and everybody went, he's going to go do 242 00:16:18,995 --> 00:16:25,875 Speaker 1: something on the computer. Guess who was right there. There's 243 00:16:25,915 --> 00:16:28,835 Speaker 1: not only no longer copies of Newsweek on newsstands in 244 00:16:28,875 --> 00:16:31,915 Speaker 1: this country, there are no longer any newsstands on this country. 245 00:16:32,795 --> 00:16:37,595 Speaker 1: Howard Fineman saw it coming old school, and yet one 246 00:16:37,595 --> 00:16:42,675 Speaker 1: of those few who saw the future coming. All this time, 247 00:16:42,715 --> 00:16:45,635 Speaker 1: I stayed in touch with Howard Feinneman off and on irregularly, 248 00:16:45,675 --> 00:16:49,635 Speaker 1: sometimes bursts of conversation, phone calls, running into him somewhere, 249 00:16:51,515 --> 00:16:55,715 Speaker 1: sometimes a text, sometimes nothing for a year and then, 250 00:16:55,875 --> 00:16:58,715 Speaker 1: and I mentioned that my first contact with him was 251 00:16:58,835 --> 00:17:04,035 Speaker 1: just before my thirty ninth birthday, just before my sixty 252 00:17:04,075 --> 00:17:10,275 Speaker 1: fourth birthday. So in January of last year, twenty twenty three, 253 00:17:10,395 --> 00:17:12,715 Speaker 1: I got an email from Howard and it was short, 254 00:17:12,835 --> 00:17:15,995 Speaker 1: and it was sweet, and it ended with the word love. 255 00:17:17,995 --> 00:17:20,795 Speaker 1: He'd had an operation. Then. I don't think I'm telling 256 00:17:20,795 --> 00:17:23,595 Speaker 1: too much out of school, especially since Howard said when 257 00:17:23,595 --> 00:17:25,395 Speaker 1: I'm gone, you can say anything you want about me, 258 00:17:25,475 --> 00:17:28,875 Speaker 1: You can tell any details you want, because he won. 259 00:17:30,595 --> 00:17:36,035 Speaker 1: And I'm getting to that. They had brought him in 260 00:17:36,075 --> 00:17:38,315 Speaker 1: for surgery of some kind, and when he awoke, he 261 00:17:38,395 --> 00:17:42,595 Speaker 1: was told he had pancreatic cancer. He had four to 262 00:17:42,635 --> 00:17:46,675 Speaker 1: six months to live. He said, he cherished our friendship. 263 00:17:49,755 --> 00:17:59,435 Speaker 1: He was sorry to shock me goodbye. Well not quite. Uh, 264 00:17:59,595 --> 00:18:04,315 Speaker 1: sometime in the middle of early spring, if that makes 265 00:18:04,315 --> 00:18:07,795 Speaker 1: any sense. So sometime in late March or early April 266 00:18:07,835 --> 00:18:12,635 Speaker 1: of last year, I called him or he called me, 267 00:18:12,675 --> 00:18:15,315 Speaker 1: I don't remember which, and I said, well, how how 268 00:18:15,395 --> 00:18:20,315 Speaker 1: are you? He goes, I'm I'm surprisingly well, he said. 269 00:18:20,355 --> 00:18:23,435 Speaker 1: I never really knew what that meant until now. I've 270 00:18:23,435 --> 00:18:26,275 Speaker 1: been sitting here waiting for it to start, and it 271 00:18:26,275 --> 00:18:28,835 Speaker 1: it hasn't started yet. And I just got back from 272 00:18:28,835 --> 00:18:32,475 Speaker 1: my doctor and they haven't. They haven't found any more 273 00:18:32,635 --> 00:18:36,475 Speaker 1: any more cancer. It's it's still there, but it hasn't 274 00:18:36,955 --> 00:18:43,035 Speaker 1: moved or gotten worse. Or In May, another conversation about 275 00:18:43,035 --> 00:18:45,795 Speaker 1: the same thing. July fourth, he was planning a trip 276 00:18:45,835 --> 00:18:47,795 Speaker 1: to New York. Did I have any time? Yes, I 277 00:18:47,835 --> 00:18:56,515 Speaker 1: think I do. August September, mind you, he was supposed 278 00:18:56,515 --> 00:18:59,435 Speaker 1: to be dead at the latest by June, or maybe July. 279 00:19:00,915 --> 00:19:03,315 Speaker 1: I think it was August of last year when he 280 00:19:03,355 --> 00:19:05,235 Speaker 1: said his kids had gotten him at T shirt that 281 00:19:05,275 --> 00:19:08,795 Speaker 1: read outlier, and they went through the whole logic of 282 00:19:08,835 --> 00:19:13,115 Speaker 1: the thing. If the average survival time for a diagnosis 283 00:19:13,155 --> 00:19:17,795 Speaker 1: of advanced pancreatic cancer is four to six months, well 284 00:19:17,835 --> 00:19:23,115 Speaker 1: to get that number. There's some people who heartbreakingly don't 285 00:19:23,115 --> 00:19:25,315 Speaker 1: make it a month, and then there are the other 286 00:19:25,315 --> 00:19:29,115 Speaker 1: ones who go on for a long time. And as 287 00:19:29,155 --> 00:19:34,115 Speaker 1: Howard said, I guess I'm one of those. He traveled. 288 00:19:35,435 --> 00:19:37,515 Speaker 1: He went to see things, He went to see people, 289 00:19:37,555 --> 00:19:39,835 Speaker 1: He went to visits. He went to Pittsburgh, he went 290 00:19:39,875 --> 00:19:41,915 Speaker 1: to Kentucky. He went to New York to see his 291 00:19:41,955 --> 00:19:47,475 Speaker 1: son who was a producer at MSNBC. He went everywhere. 292 00:19:50,475 --> 00:19:52,395 Speaker 1: The holidays came and went last year and he was 293 00:19:52,395 --> 00:19:57,835 Speaker 1: feeling fine February doing great, and he has now survived 294 00:19:59,515 --> 00:20:04,635 Speaker 1: twice as long as they said he might. In March 295 00:20:04,915 --> 00:20:10,475 Speaker 1: came the first bad sign. Quick texts say hello. I said, 296 00:20:10,515 --> 00:20:13,435 Speaker 1: how are you feeling? And he said fine, there's no 297 00:20:13,475 --> 00:20:16,715 Speaker 1: pain or anything, but I'm beginning to fade. Well that 298 00:20:16,875 --> 00:20:24,795 Speaker 1: was the sign. Howard Feinneman died after a long battle 299 00:20:24,835 --> 00:20:29,795 Speaker 1: with pancreatic cancer. He died a year after what they 300 00:20:29,835 --> 00:20:31,875 Speaker 1: had told him would be the longest he would survive. 301 00:20:31,955 --> 00:20:34,035 Speaker 1: He played all that time with house money, and I 302 00:20:34,075 --> 00:20:36,195 Speaker 1: can tell you without fear of contradiction, that he knew 303 00:20:36,235 --> 00:20:39,395 Speaker 1: it and was rapturous about it, as were all of 304 00:20:39,435 --> 00:20:44,475 Speaker 1: us who considered ourselves having the privilege to be his friend. 305 00:20:46,235 --> 00:20:50,155 Speaker 1: He beat the system, he beat the pancreatic cancer. If 306 00:20:50,155 --> 00:20:53,235 Speaker 1: you accept the premise of the memento mora, we're all 307 00:20:53,235 --> 00:20:57,715 Speaker 1: going to die. If you accept that premise, longevity is 308 00:20:57,875 --> 00:21:01,955 Speaker 1: in fact victory. And when you are told you have 309 00:21:02,155 --> 00:21:04,675 Speaker 1: maybe six months, mind you that was the high end, 310 00:21:04,675 --> 00:21:08,675 Speaker 1: and you last for eighteen. When you treble the score, 311 00:21:09,195 --> 00:21:14,955 Speaker 1: you have won. None of us. And my heartfelt condolences 312 00:21:14,995 --> 00:21:18,395 Speaker 1: go out to his son Nick, and his wife Amy 313 00:21:18,475 --> 00:21:23,035 Speaker 1: and everybody in the Fineman family. But all of us 314 00:21:23,675 --> 00:21:31,315 Speaker 1: had some sense of goddamn it, Howard, you pulled this off. Congratulations. 315 00:21:32,835 --> 00:21:36,755 Speaker 1: So this is an awful time, and yes, it is 316 00:21:36,795 --> 00:21:39,675 Speaker 1: an awful shock to those of us who were his friends. 317 00:21:41,475 --> 00:21:45,155 Speaker 1: On the other hand, there is still that little corner 318 00:21:45,155 --> 00:21:49,235 Speaker 1: of it in which we're kind of kind of laughing 319 00:21:49,315 --> 00:21:58,155 Speaker 1: with him. I still have that autograph Baseball. It's still 320 00:21:58,155 --> 00:22:03,195 Speaker 1: on my desk, along with all of my memories of 321 00:22:03,315 --> 00:22:16,035 Speaker 1: Howard Feyneman, Pittsburgh Pirates fan. Thank you, Howard, from the 322 00:22:16,115 --> 00:22:18,715 Speaker 1: sublime to the ridiculous. I guess I'm going to have 323 00:22:18,795 --> 00:22:21,075 Speaker 1: to talk about Katie Turr again. I'll do that next. 324 00:22:28,195 --> 00:22:31,115 Speaker 1: I guess this counts as another episode of things I 325 00:22:31,235 --> 00:22:36,155 Speaker 1: promised not to tell, honest to goodness, and I know 326 00:22:36,235 --> 00:22:38,795 Speaker 1: this will not sound like me, but I am getting 327 00:22:39,235 --> 00:22:44,635 Speaker 1: tired of talking about my ex living girlfriend Katie Terr, 328 00:22:46,755 --> 00:22:51,075 Speaker 1: as you probably know. On the air, at the announcement 329 00:22:51,195 --> 00:22:56,355 Speaker 1: of the guilty verdict in the Hunter Biden case on Tuesday, 330 00:22:56,755 --> 00:23:01,955 Speaker 1: Katie Urr on MSNBC emphasized that Jill Biden, who flew 331 00:23:02,035 --> 00:23:06,595 Speaker 1: to Delaware to be at the trial, was not, as 332 00:23:06,595 --> 00:23:13,595 Speaker 1: she put it, Hunter Biden's birth mother. The wrath of 333 00:23:13,795 --> 00:23:17,715 Speaker 1: anger from people who have mothers who may not be 334 00:23:18,275 --> 00:23:22,835 Speaker 1: biologically their mother, their birth mother. There might be some 335 00:23:22,875 --> 00:23:25,955 Speaker 1: other consideration involved in this. The wrath of people for 336 00:23:26,035 --> 00:23:29,315 Speaker 1: whom that is true has actually, I think, been exceeded 337 00:23:29,635 --> 00:23:31,795 Speaker 1: by the wrath of people for whom that is not true, 338 00:23:31,835 --> 00:23:34,395 Speaker 1: and who are just offended by that remark, the latest 339 00:23:34,395 --> 00:23:38,715 Speaker 1: in a series of indefensible remarks from a woman who 340 00:23:39,315 --> 00:23:45,835 Speaker 1: I once loved, who proposed herself as the mother of 341 00:23:45,875 --> 00:23:49,395 Speaker 1: my children. So this issue of motherhood, as much as 342 00:23:50,035 --> 00:23:52,915 Speaker 1: I really am tired of talking about her and the 343 00:23:52,955 --> 00:23:55,395 Speaker 1: things that have happened to her and have changed her 344 00:23:55,395 --> 00:23:58,515 Speaker 1: in the last decade, I don't feel like I have 345 00:23:58,595 --> 00:24:01,795 Speaker 1: any option but to talk to you about them, because 346 00:24:01,835 --> 00:24:06,875 Speaker 1: this issue of motherhood is essential to the history of 347 00:24:06,875 --> 00:24:08,795 Speaker 1: my relationship with her, and I would argue it is 348 00:24:08,875 --> 00:24:14,715 Speaker 1: essential to her history. And I think things have escalated 349 00:24:15,635 --> 00:24:19,955 Speaker 1: or decomposed to the point where there is no rationale 350 00:24:19,995 --> 00:24:24,755 Speaker 1: for continuing her career as an anchor, if it has 351 00:24:24,795 --> 00:24:28,235 Speaker 1: anything to do with politics in this country. Something has 352 00:24:28,395 --> 00:24:32,075 Speaker 1: warped her perception of reality and the reality we are in, 353 00:24:32,355 --> 00:24:34,835 Speaker 1: and the frankly reality of the network she is on. 354 00:24:36,475 --> 00:24:39,675 Speaker 1: MSNBC is not supposed to be a liberal network. It 355 00:24:39,715 --> 00:24:42,515 Speaker 1: is supposed to be a true network. That these things 356 00:24:42,555 --> 00:24:48,435 Speaker 1: tend to overlap a lot is actually coincidental. But she 357 00:24:48,555 --> 00:24:52,515 Speaker 1: seems to be rebelling against reality, and it is come 358 00:24:52,555 --> 00:24:56,155 Speaker 1: to the fore now. It was also described what she 359 00:24:56,235 --> 00:24:58,795 Speaker 1: said on the air on Tuesday, and I did not 360 00:24:58,955 --> 00:25:01,155 Speaker 1: hear these things, and I have not seen clips of them, 361 00:25:01,275 --> 00:25:03,955 Speaker 1: so I cannot verify this. But it was described as 362 00:25:04,475 --> 00:25:09,155 Speaker 1: an emphasis on her part about who's the biological mother 363 00:25:09,235 --> 00:25:12,875 Speaker 1: of Hunter Biden, as someone phrased it on Twitter. Ex 364 00:25:12,955 --> 00:25:15,355 Speaker 1: Katie Terre wants you to believe that President Biden is 365 00:25:15,395 --> 00:25:19,595 Speaker 1: showing signs of dementia because he referred to Hunter as 366 00:25:19,755 --> 00:25:26,955 Speaker 1: our son, meaning the hour being him and Jill. I 367 00:25:26,995 --> 00:25:30,035 Speaker 1: cannot verify that that was said. I don't doubt for 368 00:25:30,075 --> 00:25:32,795 Speaker 1: a moment that it could have been, and she would 369 00:25:32,835 --> 00:25:37,555 Speaker 1: have meant that. The one component to this that I 370 00:25:37,555 --> 00:25:40,875 Speaker 1: think I can actually add in terms of people's understanding 371 00:25:41,075 --> 00:25:44,995 Speaker 1: or decreasing their understanding of what is actually going on here, 372 00:25:45,075 --> 00:25:50,595 Speaker 1: is that Katie Urr is herself a stepmother. Her husband 373 00:25:50,635 --> 00:25:53,635 Speaker 1: was previously married, He has two children. There's nothing wrong 374 00:25:53,675 --> 00:25:56,195 Speaker 1: with that. They live in Israel, there's nothing wrong with that. 375 00:25:57,075 --> 00:26:00,555 Speaker 1: I do not know to what degree her relationship with 376 00:26:00,595 --> 00:26:03,915 Speaker 1: them is good, bad, or indifferent or infrequent. I do 377 00:26:04,035 --> 00:26:07,915 Speaker 1: know when she took and we had remained friends, solid friends, 378 00:26:08,235 --> 00:26:10,715 Speaker 1: better friends as friends than when she lived with me 379 00:26:11,235 --> 00:26:14,035 Speaker 1: for eight years after I asked her to leave my apartment. 380 00:26:15,435 --> 00:26:18,555 Speaker 1: She was excited and a little confused by the fact 381 00:26:18,555 --> 00:26:20,515 Speaker 1: that she was going to be a stepmother. This was 382 00:26:20,555 --> 00:26:22,995 Speaker 1: going to be something she was looking forward to. And 383 00:26:23,115 --> 00:26:25,315 Speaker 1: since then she and Tony have had two children of 384 00:26:25,355 --> 00:26:33,315 Speaker 1: their own. So she is a stepmother. And to emphasize that, technically, 385 00:26:34,555 --> 00:26:38,835 Speaker 1: Jill Biden is a stepmother and a stepmother because of course, 386 00:26:38,915 --> 00:26:42,515 Speaker 1: Hunter Biden's mother and his sister were killed in an 387 00:26:42,515 --> 00:26:46,355 Speaker 1: automobile accident in nineteen seventy two. To emphasize this is 388 00:26:46,395 --> 00:26:49,195 Speaker 1: not just the wrong thing to do on television, But 389 00:26:49,235 --> 00:26:51,755 Speaker 1: I don't understand where it is coming from from inside her. 390 00:26:52,155 --> 00:26:54,915 Speaker 1: And this is the part that transcends the fact that 391 00:26:54,955 --> 00:26:57,435 Speaker 1: I used to live with this woman. I wouldn't understand 392 00:26:57,435 --> 00:27:00,275 Speaker 1: it if it was said by a man referring to stepfathers. 393 00:27:00,835 --> 00:27:02,755 Speaker 1: If it was said by somebody I didn't know, If 394 00:27:02,835 --> 00:27:06,035 Speaker 1: was said by somebody I was related to, it makes 395 00:27:06,075 --> 00:27:09,555 Speaker 1: it all the stranger. Why would you emphasize and seemingly 396 00:27:09,595 --> 00:27:13,795 Speaker 1: criticize the fact that Jill Biden is the stepmother when 397 00:27:13,795 --> 00:27:18,035 Speaker 1: you yourself are a stepmother more amazingly, And I don't 398 00:27:18,075 --> 00:27:20,515 Speaker 1: think I'm telling stories out of school here, And I 399 00:27:20,595 --> 00:27:22,835 Speaker 1: don't think that she meant it. I never since that 400 00:27:22,915 --> 00:27:26,835 Speaker 1: she meant this fact as a kind of detriment or 401 00:27:26,915 --> 00:27:31,235 Speaker 1: criticism of her own mother. But Katie made no bones 402 00:27:31,275 --> 00:27:33,395 Speaker 1: for years about the fact that the person in her 403 00:27:33,435 --> 00:27:38,555 Speaker 1: family she was closest to, the one she relied on, 404 00:27:38,875 --> 00:27:41,675 Speaker 1: the one whose memory she relied on, the one whose 405 00:27:41,795 --> 00:27:45,755 Speaker 1: advice that she had been given a decade earlier when 406 00:27:45,755 --> 00:27:49,675 Speaker 1: I knew her before this person passed away, the person 407 00:27:49,755 --> 00:27:52,555 Speaker 1: she was closest to in her family was not her mother, 408 00:27:52,715 --> 00:27:56,675 Speaker 1: or a father or a brother, but her grandmother. So 409 00:27:56,755 --> 00:28:00,635 Speaker 1: the idea that the sense of strength of who has 410 00:28:00,835 --> 00:28:05,755 Speaker 1: raised you comes from outside the traditional well, biologically, that's 411 00:28:05,795 --> 00:28:08,155 Speaker 1: my dad and that's my mom, and that can be 412 00:28:08,195 --> 00:28:10,115 Speaker 1: fine too, but it doesn't have to be and it 413 00:28:10,155 --> 00:28:13,795 Speaker 1: doesn't have to be the only solution for a family 414 00:28:14,115 --> 00:28:19,955 Speaker 1: or configuration of a family. I don't understand this. I 415 00:28:20,035 --> 00:28:23,675 Speaker 1: know relationships have always been fraught things for her. This 416 00:28:23,835 --> 00:28:28,355 Speaker 1: I can talk about for several months without interruption. I 417 00:28:28,435 --> 00:28:31,195 Speaker 1: will spare you that. I will tell you that, in 418 00:28:31,235 --> 00:28:34,155 Speaker 1: an attempt to keep our relationship going, we went to 419 00:28:34,195 --> 00:28:41,675 Speaker 1: see a relationship counselor at whom she screamed, who told 420 00:28:41,715 --> 00:28:45,035 Speaker 1: her at one point that she was being childish, who said, no, 421 00:28:45,435 --> 00:28:48,835 Speaker 1: you're wrong about that, And even though I was not 422 00:28:48,955 --> 00:28:52,315 Speaker 1: there to get validated, he said, this guy is right 423 00:28:52,355 --> 00:28:55,435 Speaker 1: and you are wrong. It's normally not this black and white, 424 00:28:55,435 --> 00:28:57,835 Speaker 1: but you're really wrong here, and she stormed out of 425 00:28:57,835 --> 00:29:00,715 Speaker 1: the place, swearing at the man. We got into a 426 00:29:00,795 --> 00:29:04,355 Speaker 1: car on our way to see my friend Norman Lloyd, 427 00:29:04,395 --> 00:29:06,955 Speaker 1: who was about ninety six years old at the time, 428 00:29:07,275 --> 00:29:10,915 Speaker 1: for lunch, and she would not stop swearing in the car. 429 00:29:11,035 --> 00:29:12,995 Speaker 1: It got so bad I got out of the car 430 00:29:13,035 --> 00:29:16,275 Speaker 1: in the middle of traffic in New York and I said, 431 00:29:16,315 --> 00:29:18,315 Speaker 1: you go wherever you need to go. I'm going to 432 00:29:18,355 --> 00:29:20,835 Speaker 1: go have lunch with Norman. Do not show up. I'm 433 00:29:20,835 --> 00:29:26,355 Speaker 1: not telling you where we're going. I may come off 434 00:29:26,395 --> 00:29:29,435 Speaker 1: as a little mean in this except she then apologized 435 00:29:29,475 --> 00:29:33,435 Speaker 1: and said, let's go to see another counselor. Whether I 436 00:29:33,595 --> 00:29:35,755 Speaker 1: screwed that up or he did, maybe we could try 437 00:29:35,795 --> 00:29:39,955 Speaker 1: a different counselor. I said, yes, she did exactly the 438 00:29:39,955 --> 00:29:46,035 Speaker 1: same thing. So this subject of family is fraught, and 439 00:29:46,115 --> 00:29:48,115 Speaker 1: I'm not trying to come up with excuses for her. 440 00:29:49,155 --> 00:29:52,435 Speaker 1: I was baked a little bit on Twitter by people 441 00:29:52,475 --> 00:29:55,235 Speaker 1: who misunderstood a pronoun I used when I said she 442 00:29:55,875 --> 00:29:58,395 Speaker 1: is a stepmother. They thought I was referring to Jill Biden. No, 443 00:29:58,475 --> 00:30:01,635 Speaker 1: I was referring to Katie. I wasn't trying to defend 444 00:30:01,635 --> 00:30:03,275 Speaker 1: her then, and I'm not trying to defend her now. 445 00:30:04,915 --> 00:30:07,435 Speaker 1: I'm not going to rehash every story I've told you 446 00:30:07,515 --> 00:30:10,675 Speaker 1: previously about the vagaries of the relationship that I had. 447 00:30:11,635 --> 00:30:14,915 Speaker 1: I'll leave a couple of details out and tell a 448 00:30:14,915 --> 00:30:19,595 Speaker 1: couple of other details I have not told before. There 449 00:30:19,715 --> 00:30:22,435 Speaker 1: was physical violence in the relationship, not a lot of it, 450 00:30:22,475 --> 00:30:25,075 Speaker 1: but periodically when she would get frustrated, she hit me. 451 00:30:25,515 --> 00:30:27,435 Speaker 1: She hit me once the day after I came back 452 00:30:27,475 --> 00:30:30,955 Speaker 1: from an emergency appendectomy and could barely stand up and 453 00:30:31,035 --> 00:30:33,595 Speaker 1: could not wear a shirt because my temperature was like 454 00:30:33,595 --> 00:30:36,915 Speaker 1: one hundred and three degrees and I was profusely sweating. 455 00:30:37,155 --> 00:30:40,715 Speaker 1: I'll stop that imagery for you right now. She came 456 00:30:40,755 --> 00:30:43,155 Speaker 1: over and hit me. I'm a foot taller than she is. 457 00:30:43,195 --> 00:30:45,635 Speaker 1: What was I supposed to do? Apart from the fact 458 00:30:45,675 --> 00:30:47,995 Speaker 1: that I was a little worried about toppling over because 459 00:30:47,995 --> 00:30:55,075 Speaker 1: I was weak from the appendectomy and three days of hospitalization, Like, 460 00:30:55,155 --> 00:30:57,555 Speaker 1: what do you do? I couldn't even push her away. 461 00:30:57,555 --> 00:30:59,635 Speaker 1: I could have knocked her over, or in the condition 462 00:30:59,715 --> 00:31:02,075 Speaker 1: I was in, I could have fallen over. So there 463 00:31:02,115 --> 00:31:07,555 Speaker 1: has been physical violence in a relationship situation instigated by her, 464 00:31:08,355 --> 00:31:10,995 Speaker 1: And I'll balance this out by saying that she did 465 00:31:11,035 --> 00:31:14,435 Speaker 1: many wonderful things in the relationship. I have no doubt 466 00:31:14,475 --> 00:31:17,355 Speaker 1: she is an excellent mother. I have no doubt she's 467 00:31:17,395 --> 00:31:22,995 Speaker 1: an excellent wife. I saw the good things too. The 468 00:31:23,035 --> 00:31:25,995 Speaker 1: good things are good. She was a good friend for 469 00:31:26,035 --> 00:31:29,875 Speaker 1: a long time. These bad things are really bad, and 470 00:31:29,875 --> 00:31:32,595 Speaker 1: they're especially bad if you happen to do an hour 471 00:31:32,715 --> 00:31:35,875 Speaker 1: or two of news on a national network, the only 472 00:31:35,915 --> 00:31:39,835 Speaker 1: one that is not in some way pandering to the fascists, 473 00:31:40,475 --> 00:31:45,275 Speaker 1: either Lively Today because you are the fascist news channel, 474 00:31:45,715 --> 00:31:49,435 Speaker 1: or like CNN preparing for the possibility that the fascists 475 00:31:49,435 --> 00:31:51,715 Speaker 1: will take over in January of next year and you 476 00:31:51,795 --> 00:31:54,235 Speaker 1: want to get in good with them, even though none 477 00:31:54,275 --> 00:31:55,795 Speaker 1: of this will help you get in good with them. 478 00:31:56,755 --> 00:31:59,595 Speaker 1: She's on the only network that is not ostensibly doing that, 479 00:31:59,675 --> 00:32:04,195 Speaker 1: and she is to some degree doing it and criticizing 480 00:32:04,275 --> 00:32:09,915 Speaker 1: Jill for being stepmother to Hunter Biden and perhaps using 481 00:32:09,955 --> 00:32:15,115 Speaker 1: it as a step back towards arguing that Joe Biden 482 00:32:15,115 --> 00:32:17,595 Speaker 1: should not be president, should not be a candidate. You 483 00:32:17,715 --> 00:32:20,115 Speaker 1: know what Nancy Pelosi said about her. It's been a 484 00:32:20,195 --> 00:32:23,395 Speaker 1: rough year or so. And I don't want to make 485 00:32:23,435 --> 00:32:25,715 Speaker 1: this just about me, even though it is things I 486 00:32:25,795 --> 00:32:33,115 Speaker 1: promised not to tell. But have you ever trended on Twitter? Okay? 487 00:32:33,635 --> 00:32:37,915 Speaker 1: It's sometimes a pleasant experience. Sometimes it's a disturbing experience. 488 00:32:38,555 --> 00:32:41,875 Speaker 1: Have you ever had a woman you used to live 489 00:32:41,915 --> 00:32:45,395 Speaker 1: with trend on Twitter? How about twice? Three times in 490 00:32:45,435 --> 00:32:49,875 Speaker 1: a week. Katie started trending on Tuesday afternoon and was 491 00:32:49,915 --> 00:32:53,795 Speaker 1: still trending as I sat down to record this. And 492 00:32:53,835 --> 00:32:57,755 Speaker 1: it's not just that. I'll tell you one comical story now, 493 00:32:57,755 --> 00:32:59,395 Speaker 1: I'll save that for the end. I wanted to make 494 00:32:59,435 --> 00:33:02,675 Speaker 1: the one point about the professional element here. Things were, 495 00:33:02,715 --> 00:33:07,755 Speaker 1: as I said, really good professionally. They probably were aided 496 00:33:08,035 --> 00:33:10,435 Speaker 1: when Katie moved to London to work out of the 497 00:33:10,515 --> 00:33:14,115 Speaker 1: NBC London Bureau in twenty fourteen or twenty fifteen, and 498 00:33:14,155 --> 00:33:17,515 Speaker 1: her visits to New York were very, very sporadic, and 499 00:33:17,555 --> 00:33:20,355 Speaker 1: I only saw her briefly, but we always visited, always 500 00:33:20,395 --> 00:33:23,475 Speaker 1: talked about careers, always talked about advice. I always helped 501 00:33:23,475 --> 00:33:26,075 Speaker 1: her with her scripts from the time she was working 502 00:33:26,115 --> 00:33:29,635 Speaker 1: for News twelve of the Bronx until she was on 503 00:33:30,075 --> 00:33:34,715 Speaker 1: NBC Nightly News. Helped her write the scripts, rewrite the scripts, 504 00:33:34,755 --> 00:33:38,035 Speaker 1: suggest things she could look into, try to steer her 505 00:33:38,035 --> 00:33:40,795 Speaker 1: away from problems. When she was assigned to cover Donald 506 00:33:40,795 --> 00:33:44,115 Speaker 1: Trump's campaign, she knew next to nothing about Donald Trump, 507 00:33:44,235 --> 00:33:46,235 Speaker 1: even though we had lived together in a building that 508 00:33:46,355 --> 00:33:49,195 Speaker 1: was called Trump Palace at the time, and she knew 509 00:33:49,275 --> 00:33:55,995 Speaker 1: next to nothing about Hitler. In any event, things changed 510 00:33:56,435 --> 00:34:00,875 Speaker 1: late in the campaign of twenty sixteen, and I have 511 00:34:00,995 --> 00:34:07,475 Speaker 1: always wondered if something between stuff home syndrome, and the 512 00:34:07,515 --> 00:34:10,915 Speaker 1: impact of having your life threatened for doing your job 513 00:34:11,155 --> 00:34:16,235 Speaker 1: on television combined to change her in some way. But 514 00:34:16,435 --> 00:34:19,235 Speaker 1: one day late in the campaign, I got a call 515 00:34:19,395 --> 00:34:21,915 Speaker 1: from Katie. And mostly I heard from her by email 516 00:34:21,995 --> 00:34:25,075 Speaker 1: or text, especially when she was on the campaign, and 517 00:34:25,155 --> 00:34:28,755 Speaker 1: one day I got a call from her criticizing me 518 00:34:28,875 --> 00:34:34,235 Speaker 1: for saying something mean about Kelly and Conway. If anything 519 00:34:34,355 --> 00:34:37,555 Speaker 1: on the left is universally agreed upon, if anything in 520 00:34:37,595 --> 00:34:41,475 Speaker 1: the middle is universally agreed upon, if anything of all 521 00:34:41,675 --> 00:34:44,635 Speaker 1: the people, the entire subset of human beings who know 522 00:34:44,755 --> 00:34:47,195 Speaker 1: Kelly and Conway is agreed upon, it's that Kelly and 523 00:34:47,395 --> 00:34:51,395 Speaker 1: Conway is not only one of the worst persons in 524 00:34:51,435 --> 00:34:54,955 Speaker 1: the world, but also has and I mean this metaphorically, 525 00:34:55,915 --> 00:35:00,675 Speaker 1: the skin of a crocodile and three elephants wearing armor 526 00:35:00,715 --> 00:35:03,875 Speaker 1: on top of all of that. And Katie ter called 527 00:35:03,915 --> 00:35:07,155 Speaker 1: me and said, you really shouldn't say such terrible things 528 00:35:07,355 --> 00:35:10,755 Speaker 1: about Kelly Ann Conway. And I said, why not? Am 529 00:35:10,795 --> 00:35:14,355 Speaker 1: I repeating myself? And she said, there are bad people 530 00:35:14,395 --> 00:35:17,235 Speaker 1: on both sides. There are threats on both sides. And 531 00:35:17,315 --> 00:35:21,075 Speaker 1: I said, I didn't know that I was supposed to 532 00:35:21,155 --> 00:35:25,035 Speaker 1: prevent threats being made against someone who is trying to 533 00:35:25,035 --> 00:35:28,595 Speaker 1: get a fascist dictator. And this is twenty sixteen, a 534 00:35:28,595 --> 00:35:31,875 Speaker 1: fascist dictator who's out of his mind and kept a 535 00:35:31,915 --> 00:35:37,755 Speaker 1: book of Hitler's speeches on a bedstand, trying to get 536 00:35:37,835 --> 00:35:40,795 Speaker 1: him elected president of the United States, where he probably 537 00:35:41,075 --> 00:35:44,035 Speaker 1: when he is ever supposed to leave office, will probably 538 00:35:44,075 --> 00:35:47,035 Speaker 1: not go voluntarily. As I said to her in twenty sixteen, 539 00:35:48,835 --> 00:35:50,835 Speaker 1: I did not know I had to defend her or 540 00:35:50,875 --> 00:35:54,675 Speaker 1: to somehow mute my comments, because what she's your source. 541 00:35:55,595 --> 00:35:58,195 Speaker 1: There's a long silence. Katie would not confirm she was 542 00:35:59,315 --> 00:36:04,995 Speaker 1: one of her sources. She later did confirm that, but 543 00:36:05,115 --> 00:36:08,115 Speaker 1: there was genuine anger in her voice. No, you should 544 00:36:08,115 --> 00:36:13,835 Speaker 1: take that back, and she was totally confused about why 545 00:36:13,875 --> 00:36:16,235 Speaker 1: I refused to delete the tweets in which I had 546 00:36:16,395 --> 00:36:19,755 Speaker 1: called Kelly Ane Conway a liar and far worse than that. 547 00:36:21,275 --> 00:36:23,435 Speaker 1: And the name Kelly Ane Conway would come up again 548 00:36:23,475 --> 00:36:25,915 Speaker 1: when she wrote her first book. I've told before the 549 00:36:25,915 --> 00:36:30,035 Speaker 1: story of Katie coming to me late in twenty sixteen 550 00:36:30,115 --> 00:36:33,355 Speaker 1: or early in twenty seventeen and asking me to write 551 00:36:33,395 --> 00:36:36,515 Speaker 1: her book about the Trump campaign and her experiences on 552 00:36:36,555 --> 00:36:40,635 Speaker 1: it for her, and I said, I think they'd catch us. 553 00:36:42,275 --> 00:36:43,595 Speaker 1: And then she said, well, I'm going to have to 554 00:36:43,595 --> 00:36:45,315 Speaker 1: give the money back because I can't write a book. 555 00:36:45,515 --> 00:36:47,075 Speaker 1: And the next thing I knew the book was out. 556 00:36:47,395 --> 00:36:49,195 Speaker 1: In the interim, I had given her all of my 557 00:36:49,355 --> 00:36:53,235 Speaker 1: files on the Trump campaign and on Trump, probably amounting 558 00:36:53,275 --> 00:36:56,555 Speaker 1: to in a computer four hundred pages worth of links. 559 00:36:57,155 --> 00:36:59,115 Speaker 1: And she said, what's the price for this? And I said, 560 00:36:59,155 --> 00:37:01,955 Speaker 1: of course it's free. Just use it in good health. 561 00:37:02,995 --> 00:37:05,835 Speaker 1: I said, just you know, don't leave me out of 562 00:37:05,875 --> 00:37:07,875 Speaker 1: the acknowledgments the book comes out. I'm not in the 563 00:37:07,915 --> 00:37:10,795 Speaker 1: acknowledgments the book comes out. I'm not in the book 564 00:37:11,035 --> 00:37:15,435 Speaker 1: except for one story, the story the Kelly an Conway story, 565 00:37:15,475 --> 00:37:17,915 Speaker 1: her defense of Kelly an Conway, and there were some 566 00:37:18,475 --> 00:37:21,435 Speaker 1: platitudes about how I was always a wonderful person and 567 00:37:21,475 --> 00:37:24,915 Speaker 1: I've been a great friend to her. But I was 568 00:37:24,955 --> 00:37:28,195 Speaker 1: only in the book mentioned once as somebody she had 569 00:37:28,235 --> 00:37:32,315 Speaker 1: briefly dated in her twenties, because she wanted to tell 570 00:37:32,355 --> 00:37:37,395 Speaker 1: the Kelly ane Conway anecdote. I've mentioned before that she 571 00:37:37,555 --> 00:37:40,995 Speaker 1: was promoting the book. The Washington Post wanted my comments 572 00:37:41,035 --> 00:37:43,035 Speaker 1: on her and on the book. She asked me not 573 00:37:43,155 --> 00:37:46,875 Speaker 1: to talk to the Post. I said, fine, whatever you want. 574 00:37:46,995 --> 00:37:49,115 Speaker 1: She said, I'm not talking to the Post. A week later, 575 00:37:49,155 --> 00:37:51,275 Speaker 1: the article came out in the Post. She had talked 576 00:37:51,275 --> 00:37:53,475 Speaker 1: to the Post. She had lied to me to get 577 00:37:53,475 --> 00:37:57,075 Speaker 1: me to not talk to the Washington Post. Several months later, 578 00:37:57,075 --> 00:37:58,875 Speaker 1: The New York Times came out with a whole story, 579 00:37:58,915 --> 00:38:02,115 Speaker 1: and in the middle of it, her former boyfriend Keith 580 00:38:02,155 --> 00:38:05,835 Speaker 1: Olberman refused to meant to The New York Times for 581 00:38:05,875 --> 00:38:08,715 Speaker 1: this article. I'd never even heard of the name of 582 00:38:08,755 --> 00:38:13,315 Speaker 1: the writer. She had, in fact told the writer who 583 00:38:13,395 --> 00:38:17,035 Speaker 1: I spoke to that she would ask me on the 584 00:38:17,035 --> 00:38:20,475 Speaker 1: writer's behalf to talk to the New York Times about her. 585 00:38:20,715 --> 00:38:26,635 Speaker 1: She never did. She lied again. So this is the 586 00:38:26,755 --> 00:38:32,915 Speaker 1: roots of this week, and that singular feeling of going 587 00:38:32,955 --> 00:38:36,875 Speaker 1: to see what's trending on Twitter and finding it's always 588 00:38:36,995 --> 00:38:40,515 Speaker 1: your ex girlfriend. The roots of this are very deep, 589 00:38:40,515 --> 00:38:43,115 Speaker 1: and I wish I could wade through them, but this 590 00:38:43,275 --> 00:38:47,155 Speaker 1: is as far as I want to go. My knowledge 591 00:38:47,195 --> 00:38:51,595 Speaker 1: of her directly ended with those lies about the Times 592 00:38:51,675 --> 00:38:54,275 Speaker 1: and the Post, less so the book, although I thought 593 00:38:54,315 --> 00:38:56,955 Speaker 1: that was a pretty schmuck move on her part, but 594 00:38:57,315 --> 00:39:00,475 Speaker 1: it really ended when she was actively lying to keep 595 00:39:00,515 --> 00:39:03,955 Speaker 1: my name out of articles about her. And yes, I 596 00:39:04,035 --> 00:39:06,555 Speaker 1: told her, I agreed with her it was sexist and 597 00:39:06,755 --> 00:39:09,995 Speaker 1: unfair for every article about her to contain some kind 598 00:39:09,995 --> 00:39:12,915 Speaker 1: of reference to me. And I helped her, in fact, 599 00:39:13,195 --> 00:39:15,915 Speaker 1: to try to scrub my own name out of articles 600 00:39:15,915 --> 00:39:20,555 Speaker 1: and references to her online. But I thought lying to 601 00:39:20,635 --> 00:39:23,515 Speaker 1: the New York Times and to me and to the 602 00:39:23,595 --> 00:39:26,235 Speaker 1: Washington Post to keep me out of those articles was 603 00:39:26,435 --> 00:39:30,035 Speaker 1: just a little bit beyond the pale. And now we 604 00:39:30,115 --> 00:39:34,795 Speaker 1: have this whole episode with Jill Biden is not Hunter 605 00:39:35,075 --> 00:39:43,195 Speaker 1: Biden's birth mother. Shame on you, Katie, and no apology. 606 00:39:44,235 --> 00:39:50,115 Speaker 1: And now the lighter side of the story as you know, 607 00:39:50,355 --> 00:39:56,235 Speaker 1: twice in the last ten years, I have escaped this 608 00:39:56,555 --> 00:40:00,675 Speaker 1: golden prison of mine in the world of politics that 609 00:40:00,755 --> 00:40:04,275 Speaker 1: I have occupied off and on since nineteen ninety seven. 610 00:40:06,195 --> 00:40:08,035 Speaker 1: Twice I have escaped to go back and work for 611 00:40:08,235 --> 00:40:12,035 Speaker 1: ESPN for a time, largely simply because I wanted to 612 00:40:12,275 --> 00:40:15,315 Speaker 1: enjoy what I do. This is why I do these 613 00:40:15,395 --> 00:40:20,155 Speaker 1: terrible songs in this podcast, because it's just a little stupid, 614 00:40:20,235 --> 00:40:23,795 Speaker 1: silly thing that makes me laugh and maybe it makes 615 00:40:23,835 --> 00:40:27,835 Speaker 1: you laugh. And here I thought, Okay, here's an opportunity 616 00:40:27,875 --> 00:40:30,275 Speaker 1: to go work for ESPN and just do fun things 617 00:40:30,355 --> 00:40:35,075 Speaker 1: and reminiscent things of my childhood in the media. I mean, 618 00:40:35,115 --> 00:40:37,675 Speaker 1: I was thirty three years old today I showed up 619 00:40:37,675 --> 00:40:41,475 Speaker 1: at ESPN. In fact, I was still thirty two years old. 620 00:40:41,475 --> 00:40:44,515 Speaker 1: It was just before my birthday. It was nice to 621 00:40:44,555 --> 00:40:47,195 Speaker 1: be nostalgic. It was nice to be giving scores. And then, 622 00:40:47,235 --> 00:40:50,995 Speaker 1: of course, as the elections approached in twenty sixteen, in 623 00:40:50,995 --> 00:40:53,715 Speaker 1: twenty twenty, I said I'd better get back to work now, 624 00:40:53,795 --> 00:40:57,235 Speaker 1: and I did, and here we are. But while I 625 00:40:57,355 --> 00:41:01,035 Speaker 1: was at ESPN the second time, one of the joys 626 00:41:01,915 --> 00:41:03,955 Speaker 1: of that assignment, in addition to getting to do a 627 00:41:03,955 --> 00:41:06,755 Speaker 1: few baseball games with mixed results as a play by 628 00:41:06,755 --> 00:41:10,595 Speaker 1: play man with mixed results and SportsCenter and go back 629 00:41:10,635 --> 00:41:13,115 Speaker 1: to ESPN for the first time since nineteen ninety seven 630 00:41:13,235 --> 00:41:16,075 Speaker 1: and be Rip van Winkle, Where did these eighty seven 631 00:41:16,235 --> 00:41:19,555 Speaker 1: extra buildings come from? In addition to that, one of 632 00:41:19,595 --> 00:41:22,275 Speaker 1: the joys was that several times they sent me to 633 00:41:22,435 --> 00:41:26,435 Speaker 1: Washington to fill in for Michael Wilbon and co host 634 00:41:26,475 --> 00:41:30,555 Speaker 1: with Tony Kornheiser. Pardon the interruption. I loved working with 635 00:41:30,595 --> 00:41:33,795 Speaker 1: Tony and he could not have been nicer nor more 636 00:41:33,835 --> 00:41:38,395 Speaker 1: supportive to me, and we had a great time, and 637 00:41:38,475 --> 00:41:42,035 Speaker 1: I'd do it again in a heartbeat. But one day, 638 00:41:42,155 --> 00:41:46,275 Speaker 1: in the very well equipped newsroom that they occupied at 639 00:41:46,355 --> 00:41:51,275 Speaker 1: ABC News in Washington, in their building, I was seated 640 00:41:51,315 --> 00:41:53,035 Speaker 1: out in the middle of the newsroom and talking to 641 00:41:53,115 --> 00:41:55,635 Speaker 1: the executive producer of the show, and over his shoulder 642 00:41:55,835 --> 00:41:59,675 Speaker 1: I could see into his office where he had three TVs. 643 00:42:00,715 --> 00:42:03,595 Speaker 1: One of them was on Fox News, one of them 644 00:42:03,715 --> 00:42:06,915 Speaker 1: was on CNN, and one of them was on MSNBC. 645 00:42:07,115 --> 00:42:08,595 Speaker 1: And it was the middle of the day. We were 646 00:42:08,635 --> 00:42:10,155 Speaker 1: going to tape in an hour or two when we 647 00:42:10,155 --> 00:42:13,835 Speaker 1: were preparing the show, and I was looking at the 648 00:42:13,875 --> 00:42:16,595 Speaker 1: producer and we were talking. I don't know about what, 649 00:42:16,915 --> 00:42:19,515 Speaker 1: but it was an interesting conversation. And yet my few 650 00:42:19,635 --> 00:42:23,035 Speaker 1: kept drifting over to those three TVs that were framed 651 00:42:23,115 --> 00:42:28,435 Speaker 1: right over his left shoulder, because they were the three 652 00:42:28,475 --> 00:42:33,715 Speaker 1: news channels. Fox News was in a commercial. On CNN, 653 00:42:34,555 --> 00:42:38,435 Speaker 1: there was a pundit, a young woman that I also 654 00:42:38,515 --> 00:42:40,795 Speaker 1: used to go out with, who I lived with in 655 00:42:40,835 --> 00:42:43,755 Speaker 1: fact more or less for three and a half years. 656 00:42:44,435 --> 00:42:47,355 Speaker 1: And then on the right channel, the one with MSNBC, 657 00:42:47,635 --> 00:42:52,915 Speaker 1: Katie was anchoring. So we have two television networks, two 658 00:42:52,915 --> 00:42:57,155 Speaker 1: of the three major news operations hebex live in Girlfriends 659 00:42:57,155 --> 00:43:00,275 Speaker 1: of Mine, and the third one, Fox is in commercial. 660 00:43:00,955 --> 00:43:03,915 Speaker 1: And I finally said to the executive producer of the 661 00:43:03,995 --> 00:43:07,395 Speaker 1: pardon the interim show, turn around, look at this. See 662 00:43:07,435 --> 00:43:09,635 Speaker 1: Fox is in commercial. I used to live with her. 663 00:43:10,075 --> 00:43:12,635 Speaker 1: I used to live with her on MSNBC. If when 664 00:43:12,715 --> 00:43:17,515 Speaker 1: Fox comes back, Laura Ingram is on the air, run 665 00:43:17,555 --> 00:43:19,435 Speaker 1: over to your TVs because I think a bunch of 666 00:43:19,435 --> 00:43:22,635 Speaker 1: gold coins will come out of that bank of TVs. 667 00:43:22,635 --> 00:43:25,795 Speaker 1: Because you have just hit the Keith Olderman girlfriend Jack Pott. 668 00:43:41,435 --> 00:43:43,315 Speaker 1: I've done all the damage I can do here. Thank 669 00:43:43,355 --> 00:43:46,555 Speaker 1: you for listening. Count on. Musical directors Brian Ray and 670 00:43:46,635 --> 00:43:50,275 Speaker 1: John Phillip Schaneale arranged, produced, and performed most of our music. 671 00:43:50,675 --> 00:43:53,195 Speaker 1: Mister Ray was on guitars, bass, and drums, and mister 672 00:43:53,235 --> 00:43:57,755 Speaker 1: Shaneale handled orchestration and keyboards. It was produced by Tko Brothers. 673 00:43:58,195 --> 00:44:01,595 Speaker 1: Other music, including some of the Beethoven compositions, were arranged 674 00:44:01,635 --> 00:44:05,235 Speaker 1: and performed by the group No Horns Allowed. Its music 675 00:44:05,355 --> 00:44:08,595 Speaker 1: is the Olberman theme from ESPN two. It was written 676 00:44:08,595 --> 00:44:12,435 Speaker 1: by Mitch Warren Davis courtesy of ESPN Inc. Our satirical 677 00:44:12,435 --> 00:44:15,275 Speaker 1: and pithy musical comments are by Nancy Faust, the best 678 00:44:15,275 --> 00:44:18,435 Speaker 1: baseball stadium organist ever, and everything else was pretty much 679 00:44:18,435 --> 00:44:21,115 Speaker 1: my fault. So that's countdown for this. The one hundred 680 00:44:21,115 --> 00:44:25,115 Speaker 1: and forty sixth day until the twenty twenty four presidential election, 681 00:44:25,555 --> 00:44:29,595 Speaker 1: the two hundred and fifty fifth day since convicted felon 682 00:44:29,995 --> 00:44:34,075 Speaker 1: Donald J. Trump's first attempted coup against the democratically elected 683 00:44:34,115 --> 00:44:38,115 Speaker 1: government of the United States. Use the July eleventh sentencing hearing, 684 00:44:38,595 --> 00:44:42,235 Speaker 1: use the mental health system, use presidential immunity if it happens, 685 00:44:42,875 --> 00:44:47,795 Speaker 1: use the not regularly given elector objection option to stop 686 00:44:47,875 --> 00:44:52,595 Speaker 1: him from doing it again. While we still can. The 687 00:44:52,635 --> 00:44:55,955 Speaker 1: next scheduled countdown is tomorrow bulletins as the news warrants 688 00:44:56,075 --> 00:44:59,755 Speaker 1: till then, I'm Keith Oulderman. Good morning, good afternoon, good night, 689 00:44:59,955 --> 00:45:03,155 Speaker 1: and good luck, and this episode has been dedicated to 690 00:45:03,195 --> 00:45:17,755 Speaker 1: the memory of my friend our refinement. Countdown with Keith 691 00:45:17,795 --> 00:45:22,835 Speaker 1: Oldreman is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 692 00:45:22,995 --> 00:45:27,035 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get 693 00:45:27,075 --> 00:45:27,955 Speaker 1: your podcasts.