Olbermann, seemingly unrepentant, returns to MSNBC

Keith Olbermann is back (for now).

Returning Tuesday night after an "indefinite" four-day suspension, the host of MSNBC's "Countdown" immediately - and yes, sardonically - declared that his hiatus was not a "publicity stunt," and then proceeded to deliver a crisp, (yes) sardonic, and occasionally funny hour. (Umm, what suspension was that, Keith?)

There were raps on Bill O'Reilly, George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh, and all who would declare President Barack Obama a Muslim. In other words, the usual suspects.

He ended with (who else) Keith: "Back to the subject of me," he said gleefully.

Suspended last week for making (apparently) political contributions, he said, what happened to him "has happened to you dozens of times in your life . . . because you want to be the lead story on . . . Larry King and David Letterman and the front page of The New York Times without being Charlie Sheen or dead or something."

He declared his contributions perfectly legal and above board, took a brief swipe at management without naming names, and thanked his critics, friends, family and anyone else who actually paid attention to this brief and silly kerfuffle.

Olbermann was suspended last Friday by MSNBC president Phil Griffin after Politico reported that he had contributed to the campaigns of Democrat Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway, and to Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords, both Arizona Democrats in House races.

The suspension was a surprise because - as subsequent reports established - political contributions by hosts on cable news networks, including MSNBC, are not exactly unprecedented. Monday night, Olbermann posted a letter to "viewers of 'Countdown,' " which said, in part, "I was suspended without a hearing, and learned of that suspension through the media. You should also know that I did not attempt to keep any of these political contributions secret; I knew they would be known to you and the rest of the public."

Olbermann, in fact, has self-destructed before, most amusingly in 1997 after appearing on "The Daily Show" with then-host Craig Kilborn, who asked him what the "most Godforsaken place on earth" was. Olbermann - longtime host of ESPN's "The Big Show" - promptly answered "Bristol, Connecticut," where ESPN is based.

Reports of clashes with management at MSNBC during both of his tours of duty there have periodically surfaced over the years. Olbermann's success at 8 has tended to quickly stifle those, however. Both host and show are linchpins of MSNBC's new "Lean Forward" marketing campaign.