Say what?

“Keith Olbermann, the pre-eminent liberal voice on American television, was suspended Friday after his employer, MSNBC, discovered that he made campaign contributions to three Democrats last month.

The indefinite suspension was a stark display of the clash between objective journalism and opinion journalism on television.

Many prominent liberals and conservatives immediately called on MSNBC to reinstate Mr. Olbermann, who is usually outspoken but who had no comment on his suspension Friday.

The contributions came to light in an article by Politico Friday morning. Mr. Olbermann acknowledged in a statement that last month he donated $2,400 to the campaigns of Representatives Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and Attorney General Jack Conway of Kentucky, who lost his Senate race to Rand Paul.

Mr. Olbermann also said, “I did not privately or publicly encourage anyone else to donate to these campaigns, nor to any others in this election or any previous ones, nor have I previously donated to any political campaign at any level.”

Several hours later, the president of MSNBC, Phil Griffin, said in a statement, “I became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.”

Mr. Griffin consulted with both Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, and Jeff Zucker, the chief executive of NBC Universal before making the decision to suspend Mr. Olbermann.

No one at NBC News, MSNBC’s parent, would speculate about what this might mean for Mr. Olbermann’s future, though two NBC executives privately suggested this was not a step toward firing him.

One executive said the network decided it was imperative to take this kind of strong action as a way of underscoring that MSNBC, while featuring prime-time shows that overtly support Democratic policy, remains a channel that adheres to fundamental journalistic values.”

I’m no fan of Olbermann, but excuse me, where is it an ethical violation for a TV host to exercise his right to donate his money to whomever he desires.

Back in 2008 it was discovered that nearly 90 percent of journalist gave to Democrats. MSNBC itself in 2007 ratted, er, reported on 143 journalist that gave to various politicos on both sides of the isle.

I don’t really see the difference in whether a journalist gives a political campaign money, or speaks highly of them every night talking of “thrills up their leg” like Chris Matthews.

Bill Kristol:

“MSNBC’s suspension of Keith Olbermann is ludicrous. First, he donated money to candidates he liked. He didn’t take money, or favors, in a way that influenced his reporting. Second, he’s not a reporter. It’s an opinion show. If Olbermann wants to put his money where his mouth is, more power to him.Republicans of the world, show you believe in the free expression of opinion! Tell the crony corporatists at NBC—keep Keith!”

Michelle Malkin however says “good riddance”, and with good reason. After all Keith did get on his high horse about Fox corporation donations a while back.

Still, something in me sides with Kristol on this.