Not-So-Special Comment

As a regular viewer of "Countdown," I am always particularly amused by the clever graphics and lower-third spoof headlines they come up with, often rivaling "The Daily Show" for laughs-on-the-dollar. You know, things like "Fail to the Chief" for a Bush story, but funnier and more clever.

That's why I was disappointed to see them use a graphic of a "short bus" on last night's show as a way of mocking the McCain campaign. For those unsure of the symbolism, the "short bus" signifies the mode of transportation of special needs children to public schools. (Graphics for the show are the purview of the production staff, not Olbermann, but it is his name on the shingle.)

Now, I'm not going to get worked up into a lather about this, as I'm sure most of us, at one point in our lives, have made indelicate reference to the "Tart Cart." NBC's "Last Comic Standing" uses one to transport its would-be comedy all-stars. The realm of humor is often unfriendly to the thin-skinned or overly sensitive, and sometimes provocation is the road map to understanding..

What made this jarring, for me, was the fact that Keith Olbermann has just finished signing a check to the Alaska Special Olympics as a way of shaming Sarah Palin, perhaps justly, for cutting their budget. He pledged $100.00 for every lie Palin told on the campaign trail.

In that light, the juxtaposition is that much more unfortunate. To their credit, Countdown has frequently made public amends when fairly criticized, rather than photoshopping the critic into disfigurement, so I have hope that we may have seen the last of the short bus.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" , on BlogTalkRadio Tues & Thur at 9pm, and Wed, Fri, & Sat at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.