When Keith Olbermann took the courageous step of delivering a blistering attack on top administration officials for likening those opposed to the War in Iraq to Neville Chamberlain's appeasement crowd last week, it was not a foregone conclusion that his special comment would be received well or that his ratings would hold steady, let alone rise. After all, with the exception of the occasional moment from Jack Cafferty or the even less frequent moment from Chris Matthews, cable news -- well, really all television news shows tend to hedge their bets and play it safe for fear of reprisal from the vast right wing apparatus.

But Olbermann's special comment caught the attention of many Americans desperate for common sense on the airwaves and cable wires -- so much so that his ratings have noticeably increased in relation to his competition. On Tuesday September 5, the evening Olbermann went after the administration's "appeasement" rhetoric, Countdown received a better-than-normal 669,000 viewers, though this number equalled just 64.8 percent of Paula Zahn's ratings at the same time over at CNN and 66.3 percent of her ratings in the key 25-54 demographic. The next evening Olbermann's overall numbers were down a bit to 554,000 viewers. This number, however, represented 84.2 percent of Zahn's rating. What's more, Olbermann actually beat Zahn by more than 25 percent among the 25-54 demo. On Thursday, Olbermann again got around 84 percent of Zahn's rating, but this time trounced her by more than 50 percent among the key demo. By Friday night, Olbermann surpassed Zahn in overall numbers even as younger viewers, his best demo, generally opted to go out instead of watching television news.

Olbermann was at it again tonight with another biting commentary taking the administration to task for the great distance between its language and the reality on the ground. You can watch it for yourself over at Crooks and Liars or read the complete transcript over at Bloggermann.

At a time when MSNBC, or at least MSNBC.com, is showing it's intention to move in a new direction by firing Eric Alterman, it's imperative that we show support for Keith Olbermann, one of the few (and perhaps only) consistent voices of sanity on cable news. If you are a cable subscriber who is home when Countdown broadcasts (8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific), consider tuning in (especially if you're a member of a Nielson family). If you're more of a fan of this online medium, visit http://bloggermann.msnbc.com on a regular basis for interesting commentary. And should the time come when MSNBC or one of its corporate bosses, GE/NBC and Microsoft, tries to can Olbermann as they have Alterman, Phil Donohue and others before, be prepared to rain down fury on the network for stifling much-needed debate and reality in the world of cable news.