Keith Olbermann owes about $2000 in back-taxes to New York State. A small point, but one which might impact who becomes the next President of the United States.

For several years, the highest rated program in cable news, “The O’Reilly Factor,” has been a staunch defender of the Bush agenda. Its host, Bill O’Reilly, has made a career out of mocking and humiliating left-leaning guests of his program; anyone with an even moderately liberal agenda has steered clear of O’Reilly and the entire Fox network. Last week, the well-known neo-con agenda of Fox was officially outed by former White House spokesman Scott McClellan, who accused the Bush Administration of using propaganda to sell the war in Iraq, and enlisting Fox News as their primary tool to do so.

All of which has fed the maw of Olbermann, the attack dog of the left. Each night on MSNBC’s “Countdown,” Olbermann has been savaging O’Reilly, dubbing him “Bill Orally” and “The Worst Person in the World,” and accusing him and Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes of being complicit in the deaths of over 4000 US soldiers. In response, Ailes called his counterpart at NBC News, Jeff Zucker, demanding that he put a leash on Olbermann or Fox would retaliate. When Ailes got no satisfaction, O’Reilly unloaded on Zucker on the air, calling him a “pinhead” and “a despicable human being,” and accused HIM of causing the deaths of American soldiers (since NBC’s holding company GE does business in Iran). So of course GE had to respond, with CEO Jeffrey Immelt ringing up Rupert Murdoch (whose News Corp owns Fox) to rip him a new one. Global executive power tantrums ensued.

This week, Olbermann’s tax difficulties landed like a birthday present in Bill O’s lap, just as McCain and Obama are teeing up a series of “respectful debates” to occur over the next five months. Will either candidate be heard over the roar of the journalists? Can the American electorate find any impartial coverage? Is the Fourth Estate doomed to be fourth-rate? Or, when we walk into the voting booths in November, will the buttons simply read:

“MCCAIN/REPUBLICAN/O’REILLY/FOX/NEWSCORP” vs. “OBAMA/DEMOCRAT/OLBERMANN/MSNBC/GE”?

Stay tuned.