I'm sure the headline will generate plenty of frothing at the mount, but please bear with me for just a minute. I think this is a big moment for politics, for journalism, and for the increasingly blurry area between the two that we call "commentary."
First, let me dispense with the obvious arguments: yes, Fox is way worse. If you want to compare Olbermann's infraction with the gleefully corrupt practices of Fox and its personalities, you'll get no argument from me when you conclude that Fox and company are far, far worse.
But that doesn't mean we should give Olbermann or MSNBC a pass, unless our position is that we want MSNBC to be the left's Fox, and to engage in a race to the bottom of ethical standards. And that's a race that I think we'd lose.
So, Olbermann and his supporters basically have three options:
- Play the four year old shouting "but he hit me first!" and deflect blame. "Everyone does it" is another variation on this. Basically, acknowledge that maybe it wasn't the best behavior, but dispute culpability by finding worse examples.
- Deny that any wrongdoing was done. He's a commentator, not a journalist. Of course he gives money to candidates he supports. The only shame is that he gave so little to so few.
- Raise the debate and put Fox on the defensive. Acknowledge the mistake, say that while he had the right to make the donations, as a journalist he should have disclosed.
I haven't heard a lot of arguments for option 3, but I think it's the best move all the way around. It lets Olbermann, MSNBC, and the left in general distance themselves from the kind of incestuous, dishonest entertainment that Fox News runs.
If we say that yes, Olbermann should be held to a higher standard than Glenn Beck, the obvious corollary is that it's because he's meant to be taken more seriously than Beck is. It lets us say that we recognize the value of disclosure, and that even while the right revels in shadow money and provides a 24-hour propaganda channel, of course they should get a pass on disclosure because they're a joke.
I know people will disagree. But I think the best possible thing Olbermann could do on Tuesday would be to open with an apology. "Look, I hold myself to higher standards than Palin's followers hold her, and you should hold me to higher standards as well. I may not be a fancy 'journalist', whatever that means these days, but I take even the appearance of conflicts of interest more seriously than those clowns at Fox." Ok, the wording may need some work, but you get the idea.
It would make waves. And it would turn the argument to the utter lack of standards on the right, rather than tacitly accepting that worldview.