Bush wanted 'big bang' - TV host

Edmonton Sun ^ | 11/21/05 | By CP

[Pikamax]

TORONTO -- Years after 9-11 and the "crazy Zeitgeist" that permeated the United States, Americans have still not learned to know their enemies instead of just hating them, said American political journalist Chris Matthews yesterday.

In a speech to political science students at the University of Toronto, the host of the CNBC current affairs show Hardball had plenty of harsh words for U.S. President George W. Bush, as well as the political climate that has characterized his country for the last few years.

"The period between 9-11 and (invading) Iraq was not a good time for America. There wasn't a robust discussion of what we were doing," Matthews said."If we stop trying to figure out the other side, we've given up. The person on the other side is not evil. They just have a different perspective.

"The smartest people understand the enemy's point of view, because they understand what's driving them."

He said Bush squandered an opportunity to unite the world against terrorism and instead made decisions that built up worldwide animosity for his administration.

"We had a strong international unity coming out of 9-11. The world was never so united against terrorism and we lost that," Matthews said. "That is the great tragedy of the Bush era."

When asked what caused the U.S. to invade Iraq, he said it was a combination of factors.

"I think the father-son relationship with the Bushes is part of it. I think the oil thing is part of it," Matthews said of the current president and his father, George Bush Sr., who was president during the Gulf War more than a decade ago.

"Our friendship with Israel (is part of it) and 9-11 created a kind of crazy Zeitgeist in the country. Bush wanted to do something big. It couldn't just be tracking down al-Qaida. He wanted a big bang. I think it's a mixture of these things."

Matthews said the current president is guilty of not knowing enough about the world and not keeping up with current events, as was evident in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the slow reaction to the crisis in New Orleans.

[Mo1]

He said Bush squandered an opportunity to unite the world against terrorism and instead made decisions that built up worldwide animosity for his administration.

---

Chris thinks the President should have taken his advice .. because Chrissy thinks his is important


Here is Chrissy's idea of how the President should have handled the WOT

Thank goodness the President doesn't listen to his critics


July 15, 1979, Carter's "malaise" speech
http://www.americanpresidents.org/ram/amp120399_i.ram



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter

Carter's speech, written by MSNBC's Chris Matthews, was well-received, although some viewed it as too much like a sermon. The country was in the worst recession since the 1930s, with inflation and unemployment at record levels. But many who had hoped for more inspired leadership after the Ford administration found themselves disappointed. Two days after the speech, Carter asked for the resignations of all of his Cabinet officers, and ultimately accepted five. With no visible efforts towards a way out of the malaise, Carter's poll numbers dropped even further.

[hipaatwo]

Your the best, thanks!

[daybreakcoming]

I think you should invite all your Muslim buddies over for thanksgiving dinner and get to "know them".

Yeah and let them carve the turkey.

[IronJack]

American political journalist Chris Matthews

HAHAHHAA! That's waaaaayyyyyy too big a buckle for such a little belt. Might as well call Bozo the Clown an Entertainment Consultant.

[TheClintons-STILLAnti-American]

"The person on the other side is not evil. They just have a different perspective."

And Chris does not have a different perspective. He's just evil.

[Mo1]

You're welcome ..

Though note to myself for later, to see why Chrissy stopped working for Carter ...

Hmmmmm .... wonder if he was part of that purge of Carter's ... LOL!

[A.Hun]

What little respect he earned in the Clinton impeachment debate, he lost a long time ago.

[segis]

That is correct. Fouad Ajami had a very informative piece on this in the Foreign Policy magazine a few months back. Le Monde and their editor(Colombani) are scum.

[khnyny]

"Guess what? We still don't understand the Japanese, but they behave now."

Too funny and oh so true.

[SergeantsLady]

Excellent Idea! A poison to the heart of the beast. (Round-Up perhaps lacks the momentary personal gratification of a weed-wacker but total eradication would be a permanent joy!!!)

Hmmm, even sounds familiar...sort of like President Bush's strategy of injecting "Freedom & Democracy" (via an operational constitutional government in Iraq) as disrupting & killing the terrorist ideology that spawned not just UBL's Al Qaeda terrorists...but organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, et al.....

Failure to understand basic agriculture & the propagation of weeds may be at the "root" of the communication gap between a "Red" Rural Conservative and a "Blue" Urban Liberal. Perhaps, Chris Matthews needs to spend some more time with the Peace Corp in Swaziland...(an admirable fact I did not know about him until recently and I'm still puzzled by it).

[khnyny]

Chris Matthews is an idiot. I can't believe he gets paid for his drivel.

From an earlier post:
"Tehran, Iran, Nov. 20 – A senior Iranian cleric said on Sunday that all non-Muslims were “animals engaged in corruption” and defended the path of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as the only path to heaven."
and: “Human beings, apart from Muslims, are animals who roam the earth and engage in corruption”.
That's a "different perspective" alright.

[khnyny]

"Ebert said we needed to remember that these terrorists were HUMAN BEINGS and not animals and to understand them..... Really???"

Send this to Mr. Ebert:
"Tehran, Iran, Nov. 20 – A senior Iranian cleric said on Sunday that all non-Muslims were “animals engaged in corruption” and defended the path of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as the only path to heaven.

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati who heads the powerful Guardians Council and is a close adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a gathering of Revolutionary Guards commanders, “Human beings, apart from Muslims, are animals who roam the earth and engage in corruption”.

Jannati was speaking at a ceremony in north-eastern Iran to commemorate the “martyrs” of Revolutionary Guards."

According to these people, Mr. Ebert is the animal.

[Mike Darancette]

Years after 9-11 and the "crazy Zeitgeist" that permeated the United States, Americans have still not learned to know their enemies instead of just hating them...

It's really difficult to "know" cockroaches.

[CaptainK]

Matthews predicted our defeat in Afghanistan. He never mentions that now.

[alarm rider]

Jeeze, is somebody keeping a list of these kind of outrages?

May need to check that list twice one of these days.

[jwalsh07]

"The period between 9-11 and (invading) Iraq was not a good time for America. There wasn't a robust discussion of what we were doing," Matthews said."If we stop trying to figure out the other side, we've given up. The person on the other side is not evil. They just have a different perspective.

What more need to be said? Mathews is an ahole, grade A.

[Lancer_N3502A]

Canada, another secular country that has slipped from reality. France today, Canada tomorrow.

[Capt. Tom]

"We had a strong international unity coming out of 9-11. The world was never so united against terrorism and we lost that," Matthews said. "That is the great tragedy of the Bush era."

Matthews is full of it.
What we had after 9-11 was vocal sympathy for us as victims. When we decided to drop the victim status and go on the offensive the other countries ran for cover lest they might actually have to face up to the Islamic problem.

Remember this had nothing to do with Iraq. This was when we went into Afghanistan. -Tom

[Jacques Sherock]

The venue that he chose to address in Canada is not a challenge for his drivel!

Keep him at home please we have enough loonies up here.
Anytime I feel like vomiting I catch his show! He takes me over the edge every time!
Now that is one positive use for this idiot!

[Jacques Sherock]

The venue that he chose to address in Canada is not a challenge for his drivel!

Keep him at home please we have enough loonies up here.
Anytime I feel like vomiting I catch his show! He takes me over the edge every time!
Now that is one positive use for this idiot!