MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, appearing visibly emotional, condemned the Republican Party last night for airing a video that included graphic footage of the 9/11 atttacks and their aftermath.

Olbermann said:

If, at this late date, any television network had, of its own accord, shown that much video tape and that much graphic video tape of 9/11--it, we, would be rightly eviscerated at all quarters, perhaps by the Republican Party itself, for exploiting the memories of the dead, and perhaps even for trying to evoke that pain again. If you reacted to that video tape the way I did, I apologize. It is a subject of great pain, for many of us still, and it was probably not appropriate to be shown.

The video, embedded below, implies that the 1979 hostage crisis in Iran, the Iraq War, the 2000 USS Cole attack, various attacks on US embassies overseas, and the 9/11 attacks were all linked by a common enemy--"those who... obey God's command to kill Americans." Over shots of the collapsing World Trade Center, firefighters rushing to pull bodies out of the rubble, and a solemn Rudy Giuliani arriving at the scene, a male narrator solemnly intones, "This enemy has been at war with us for decades. This, we now know. The jihadists are intent on attacking...freedom--the very soul of America."

It is, almost literally, sickening.

Watch it:

And Olbermann's reaction:

The hoots and hollers from the Republicans crowd after the video (standing ovation can be seen here) ends tell you all you need to know about what sort of person is supporting John McCain.

Via Slog.