Keith Olbermann's female appeal

Sure enough, as I suggested a couple of weeks ago, it appears MSNBC and its number one talent, Keith Olbermann, have decided he has a woman problem. Appearing on "The View" was just the start -- this week, he made a triple-chocolate pumpkin pie with Martha Stewart. Next week, I understand Carson Kressley is going to show him just how beautiful he looks in the buff!

Tellingly, KO has used segments of "Countdown" to play back highlights of both appearances, and while KO contributes the requisite amount of eye-rolling at what a dork he is on these programs, even this gesture serves to underscore the larger point: KO is strong enough to be a man even on a show that's made for a woman.

And because "The View" and "Martha Stewart Living" are aimed at women (certainly much more than "Countdown" is aimed at men), they're a great way to pick up chicks. If the grand dames in charge of these shows think Keith is swell -- as both Barbara Walters and Martha Stewart made clear while Olbermann was on their shows -- then you, the viewer, should watch him, too.

I've thought KO's reputation with the ladies suffered a bit unfairly from his aggressive on-air presence (which is a key ingredient in the show's distinctive, pacesetting aesthetic), not to mention his history as an ESPN prima donna, though to my knowledge he is one of the only male broadcasters ever to publish a public apology for being a newsroom ass. His primary-season scolding of the Clinton campaign was immediately interpreted as a return to the Suzy Kolber-demeaning Keith of old and, when combined with Chris Matthews, evidence that misogyny had a home at 30 Rock.

But a letter sent to MSNBC guest Ana Marie Cox suggests otherwise. You've got to read the letter in full but here's the salient part:

We are in 8th grade and have formed The First and Probably Only Omaha/Dundee Neighborhood Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow Fan Club because we are obsessed with them and their shows. We watch their shows individually every night, but have our meetings every Friday night when we get together and watch together. There are 5 girls, 4 boys, and one dog in our club ...

On a related note, Mika Brzezenski and her co-host -- you know, the one with the hard-to-spell surname -- are being shopped in radio syndication and their "Morning Joe" is starting to overtake CNN's morning program in the ratings. As I see it, MSNBC has the two hottest female anchors in cable news (and I don't mean Erin Burnett hot, either). Call the executives there lucky, or call them prescient, but stop calling MSN the network that hates women.