KEITH OLBERMANN: First, because insight has nothing to do with this crowd, here are "Countdown's" top three nominees for today's "Worst Persons in the World."
The bronze? To the rapidly self-destructing Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona. Accused by the Justice Department of ignoring more than 400 cases of sexual abuse, mostly become — because the victims were minorities, he held a news conference to address the real victim here — him.
Called it "a sad day for America," a "witch hunt," said "President Obama and a band of his merry men might just as well erect their own pink neon sign at the border saying 'Welcome all illegals' . . . This was a sneak attack, a Western ambush." And he compared the Department of Justice news conference to Pearl Harbor.
Just remember the old joke from the British series "The Young Ones," Sheriff Joe: "I tried it hundreds of times, there's no way you can hammer in the last nail."
Our runner-up? Congressman Allen West, Republican representing — his invisible friends and invisible supporters. He'll see Arpaio's tasteless Pearl Harbor reference and raise you one Third Reich reference. "If Joseph Goebbels was around, he'd be very proud of the Democrat Party, because they have an incredible propaganda machine."
This clown, who disgraced this country's uniform by threatening to kill a prisoner, not only invokes the Nazis but then he has the nerve to try to get away with it by adding that "the comparison was not between Democrats and Nazis but applied only to the quality of Democratic propaganda," which leads to his worst offense.
The Democrats are good at propaganda? Since when? If the Democrats were good at propaganda, do you think we'd have that Ron Wyden launching that disastrous "Privatize Medicare" plan with Paul Ryan?
But our winner, yet again? Robert Niblock, the CEO of Lowe's. Still, he and his company remain silent, despite a week of blowback for their decision to cave to a Florida right-wing fringe group, led by an admitted porn addict, which thinks there simply were not enough terrorists shown in the TLC network reality show "All-American Muslim."
A Lowe's store in Paterson, New Jersey was protested today. Members of the Muslim-American community spoke eloquently about their freedom and their love of this country and of its freedoms.
A small pro-Lowe's group also showed up. The Associated Press reports that one featured a man named Ronald DeBois, who said he was a member of the New Jersey Tea Party Coalition and who carried a sign reading "America Muslim is lying propaganda. Lowe's equals Patriots."
Mr. Niblock, you are not only on the side of hatred and racism and intolerance, you are also on the side of morons who don't even know the name of the show you are all supposedly protesting.
Robert Niblock, the CEO of Lowe's — once again, today's "Worst Person in the World."
Don't buy anything at Lowe's!
