June 21, 2008 -- THERE'S good news and bad news for Keith ("Crazy Legs") Olbermann regarding the ailment that makes his lower limbs shake uncontrollably. There's a drug that can control the symptoms of Wittmaack-Ekbom's syndrome, which mostly afflicts women - but the MSNBC loudmouth's girlfriend, Katy Tur, might flip out at its side effects.
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals boasts its Mirapex can ease Olbermann's involuntary leg twitching, also known as "the kicks" and "Jimmy legs." But the company warns the drug could cause "increased gambling, sexual or other intense urges." Other medical sources say it can also bring on impotence, loss of interest in sex, constipation, frequent urination, "unusual dreams" and runny nose.
Asked if Olbermann uses or plans to try Mirapex, MSNBC flack Jeremy Gaines e-mailed us: "Since whatever you're going to print is an outright lie, you can go ahead and write whatever you want. By the way, that's on the record and applies to all future items you might make up."
Gaines' tantrum stems from our scoop yesterday that Olbermann has threatened to quit his "Countdown" show unless he's named as Tim Russert's replacement on "Meet the Press." Tur, 24, and young enough to be 49-year-old Olbermann's daughter, did not respond to a message left at WPIX-TV, where she's an on-air reporter.
Meanwhile, critic Tom Carson in July's GQ labels Olbermann a "smart-ass . . . Righteous wrath and smugness are not an ideal combo, and Olbermann's delight in being Keith Olbermann has long since transformed anything genuine in his indignation into performance art . . . When he's working his shtick at full blast, his eyes two Fabergé eggs of radiant self-love as his enraged schnoz spears the camera, you often can't tell whether you're watching a goofball pretending he's a preacher or the reverse."
