• Associated Press, Monday, October 9, 2006 12:30 PM

Keith Olbermann's blistering tirades against the Bush administration have made him a ratings hit--and "the latest media point-person in the nation's political divide." The tipping point came after the host of MSNBC's "Countdown" read an account of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's speech equating Iraq War opponents to pre-World War II appeasers. The very next night, Olbermann delivered a scathing attack on Rumsfeld's interpretation of history and understanding of what it means to be American. That was just the first in a series of harsh broadsides on the administration and its policies.

"As a critic of the administration, I will be damned if you can get away with calling me the equivalent of a Nazi appeaser," said Olbermann. "No one has the right to say that about any free-speaking American in this country."

Since the first commentary, his nightly audience has soared 69 percent, and on last Monday, he attracted 834,000 viewers--virtually double his season average and more than CNN competitors Paula Zahn and Nancy Grace. Only nemesis Bill O'Reilly on Fox, with 2 million viewers that night, is in his way. As dangerous as the rating system "can sometimes be for news, it is also our great protector," says Olbermann. "Because as long as you make them money, they don't care."

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