Free Republic

Were those evil Republicans attempting to carpet-bomb Andrea Mitchell with balloons at the RNC last night? Chris Matthews mused about the possibility on Hardball this afternoon. The footage of Andrea gamely batting away the balloons has received a lot of play. This morning, the Today show had fun with it. But Matthews seemed to conceive a more sinister explanation: CHRIS MATTHEWS: If you were watching last night, here was a funny moment. I have to tell you: I love Andrea. Look at this crazy moment. For some reason: I don't know if it was foul play or what it was,...

NBC talking head Chris Matthews has confirmed to former Reagan White House Speechwriter Peggy Noonan that he will challenge Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter in 2010 because he believes Specter will be too old to be effective. Matthews told Noonan that Pennsylvania voters view him as a "local guy." Chris Matthews may look in the mirror and see a US Senator but I see nothing other than a self important windbag. Matthews, known best for slagging his fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton and his abusive nature with underlings at MSNBC, has also been known to comb his hair for hours before his...

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews charged GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as being a member of Alaska’s Independence party. Members of this party advocate to secede from the union and place all federally owned land under state control. Even after Howard Fineman mentioned he received documentation from the McCain campaign showing Palin had been a registered Republican since 1982 and never a member of the Alaskan Independence party, Matthews continued to make the connection of Alaskan secessionist leader Joe Vogler to Palin. Joe Vogler’s views are pefect media fodder to make Palin look fringy. It seems as if MSNBC and others...

If a hypothetical tabloid owned by, say, Richard Mellon Scaife had a cover story with scurrilous accusations about Joe Biden, do you think Chris Matthews would be waving it about on camera and Keith Olbermann citing it? Neither do I. But Matthews saw fit—not once but twice—to display the cover of Us magazine, with its story "Babies, Lies and Scandals" about Sarah Palin. Olbermann alluded to it as well. And who is the owner of Us? Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone . . . and a big-time donor to Barack Obama. How big a donor? You can view...

It's a love-in, man! Looks like the grown-ups at NBC/MSNBC have taken the kids aside and told them to kiss and make up. After the embarrassing "tension convention" [to quote Imus] at the DNC amongst Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough, we've already seen the Countdown host plucked out of the GOP convention, under the convenient excuse that he would be anchoring—back in NYC and safely removed from St. Paul—the coverage of Hurricane Gustav. When Olbermann and Matthews appeared on split-screen during the 7 PM EDT hour this evening, they were clearly on their best behavior. The dueling duo...

The implosion of MSNBC's DNC coverage is ironic since the narrative being sold by the media going into the convention was whether the Democrats could achieve party unity. Since the Clintons resoundingly stifled that storyline, the question now is, will Olbermann, Matthews and Scarborough unite to save MSNBC? Jon Stewart called the infighting, "Lord of the Flies on the NBC roof!" If you've been enjoying the convention on C-SPAN or one of the other networks, this clip from The Daily Show will get you up to speed. Kudos to them, satirizing the surreal is a difficult task.

Wow. I, fortunately, missed the wonderful event. From what I gather, Chris couldn't hold it in and longer and said something like - "My critics come after me about my emotions of certain politicians but right now to hell with my critics..."

Another chapter in the ongoing Matthews-Olbermann feud, or simply Chris's frustration with a technical glitch? Yesterday, a catfight broke out between the two when Olbermann suggested Matthews had stolen an idea from two female pundits, and later made a hand gesture mocking Matthews gabbing [YouTube here, h/t Undercover Black Man]. Were the warring duo at it again this evening? You be the judge. Click on the image to the right to view the video. Again co-anchoring the MSNBC desk with Olbermann tonight, Matthews was just about to throw it to Luke Russert out on the convention floor. The son of...

MSNBC's team at the Democratic National Convention needs to get more sleep and maybe also one of those massages that Arianna Huffington is giving out. The cable network's anchors are sniping at one another tonight, just like they did last night. About 20 minutes ago, ahead of Hillary Clinton's speech, Chris Matthews was talking about how some women feel disenfranchised within the party. It's a touchy subject for Matthews, who has been accused of sexist commentary against Clinton, and he did not appreciate a producer telling him to wrap up his ramble. He also didn't appreciate his sometime rival Keith...

Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann put their own feud aside to agree on something tonight. Hillary honcho Howard Wolfson is a puppet, nay, a Tokyo Rose traitor, for going to work for Fox News. It was the McCain campaign's use in its ads of Hillary's anti-Obama statements that triggered the outburst. KEITH OLBERMANN: Irony upon irony, instead of the commercials designed to destroy Hillary Clinton, [the Republicans] are using Hillary Clinton in commercials designed to destroy the Democratic nominee. CHRIS MATTHEWS: Those are crocodile tears. And you wonder whether an objective person, either rational or post-rational, would be able to...

They don't care if they make Chris Matthews happy, or if they make Hillary Clinton look bad. They don't even care that she wants them to stop. "This is where you see the civil war!" burbled Chris Matthews, experiencing near-asphyxiatory pleasure on an outdoor stage in the sweltering Denver heat, while behind him two competing groups, Obama supporters and the PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) backers of Hillary Clinton, chanted "Obama! Obama!" and "Hillary! Hillary!" at each other. Matthews looked as though he might wet himself as a camera panned the crowd, and he declared, "We're at ground zero!" Actually,...

As frustrated Democrats converged on Denver yesterday, some began chanting "caucus fraud," while others shouted the word "sweetie," a reference to the time Obama called a female reporter by the same name. One Clinton supporter who spoke to ABC News said Obama couldn't be trusted. Another said, "He's shifty and untrustworthy." It was assuredly not the kind of message Obama and his diligently image-conscious team were counting on at the Democratic National Convention. "I'm thoroughly disgusted with the Democratic Party. I believe the magic of Barack Obama was his ability to turn lifelong Democrats like us into McCain supporters overnight,"...

Beginning? Borderline? How unbalanced was MSNBC's convention coverage tonight? Keith Olbermann felt himself getting verklempt over Michelle Obama's speech. So who did he throw it to for some fair-'n-balanced commentary? Chris Matthews. At the conclusion of Michelle Obama's appearance, Olbermann seemed ready to call the election off and just hand the presidency to Obama by acclamation. KEITH OLBERMANN: Ye-a-h-h-h. Case closed. Matthews responded with a very guttural "uh-h-h-h." OLBERMANN: That could not have done better for them. That could not have done better for them. Right to the point of the little girls taking the mikes away and suddenly turning...

Did he or didn't he? Technically, Hardball host Chris Matthews did say "she-devil" when talking about Sen. Hillary Clinton during the primaries. But now he's fighting back over how it's being interpreted. "I never called her a she-devil," Matthews says of the phrase that has been dogging him as he considers a run for the Senate in 2010. Here's what happened: Matthews opened a November 2007 show that explored GOP attacks on Clinton, who at the time was the Democratic front-runner. "She-devil? Republicans are absolutely demonizing Hillary Clinton," he barked before the screen displayed Clinton with horns. "You can see...

Barack Obama is planning to announce his VP pick via text message to his supporters. So in the spirit of the times, let's text message something to Sen. Obama: Brck: b fraid. b vry fraid. hlry stl h8s u. That's what we glean from this startling piece of video of Hillary, supposedly on the campaign trail for Obama today in Florida. Chris Matthews aired it at the top of tonight's Hardball: HILLARY CLINTON: I am doing everything I can to campaign for Senator Obama. I think it's fair to say that I have done more, as Senator Rich said, in...

H/t FReeper hotshu. Billed as a roundtable, it played more like a group therapy session for distraught Dems on the verge. Obama's polls dropping. An inchoate sense this might all be slipping away. Chris Matthews and his guests for the show-ending "Politics Fix" on this evening's Hardball were united in bemoaning Barack's plight. The host himself was the ultimate downer, analogizing Obama's campaign to that of . . . Michael Dukakis. Matthews fellow sufferers were Jeff Johnson, host of The Truth on BET, and Joan Walsh of Salon.com. View video here. Excerpts from the sigh-in:

That didn't take long. Tanned and rested on his first day back from vacation, Chris Matthews suggested on this evening's Hardball that under the guise of the "inexperience" charge, John McCain is handing out "permission slips" to racists to vote against Obama. Matthews put his poisonous point to Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page. CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me ask you this. Isn't he [McCain] handing out permission slips to vote against Barack? "Inexperience" is my favorite. Because you could have all kinds of problems with Barack Obama: ethnically, politically, culturally, class—I don't know what the adjective is for class, but "classily."...

A new women’s organization is setting out to get Chris Matthews fired from his job at MSNBC, calling his treatment of women on his show sexist. The nonpartisan group, called The New Agenda, held its first meeting this week in New York and established as one of its goals the sacking of the host of "Hardball with Chris Matthews."..........snip.......... The 30-some women who attended New Agenda's inaugural meeting included representatives of other women’s (sp) groups from around the country, along with supporters of Hillary Clinton’s defunct presidential campaign, according to one of the founders........snip..........“The goal of the group is when...

Chris Matthews: Back With an Obamania Vengeance . . . If Barack Obama makes it to the White House, perhaps he should appoint Chris Matthews Commissar of Gosplan, the Commission charged with developing the economy's Five Year Plans. The Hardball host, back from vacation, displayed the enthusiasm of a dutiful apparatchik in praising an Obama ad that was in turn a pitch for central planning. During the "ad wars" segment on this evening's Hardball, Matthews first played a McCain ad that hit Obama over his plans to raise taxes and his lack of readiness to lead. After Andrea Mitchell suggested...

Here is video of a segment from "The Chris Matthews Show" over the weekend, in which the usually highly partisan Matthews (in favor of Obama) actually presses his assembled talking heads to come up with something Barack Obama has done to prove he can build consensus in Congress and actually get things done. As you will see, the only consensus that emerges is that Obama has not done anything of note, and John McCain has a real record of accomplishment . . .

The screencap captures it nicely: Heather Wilson, smiling. Robert Wexler, mouth agape. On this afternoon's Hardball, the feisty, brilliant [bio: high honors Air Force Academy grad, Rhodes Scholar] GOP representative from New Mexico took on the duo of the combative congressman from Florida and host Chris Matthews, and walked away a winner. The subject was Obama's Berlin speech, and by extension his presidential qualifications. You'll find excerpts below, but they don't do begin to do justice to Wilson's brio and the coolness under verbal fire she displayed. That's why I'd strongly encourage readers to view the video. Wilson kicked off...

BUT WILL THEY RESPECT HIM IN THE MORNING?July 23, 2008 Back before the Republican Party was saddled with John McCain as its nominee, The New York Times called him "the only Republican who promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small, angry fringe." The paper praised him for "working across the aisle to develop sound bipartisan legislation" and predicted that he would appeal to "a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field." At the same time, the Times denounced "the real" Rudy Giuliani as "a narrow, obsessively secretive,...

Okay, John McCain has the image of an old fogey. However, his people have just produced the best (and FUnniest) campaign VIDEO ever! Check it out. This video is also extremely entertaining. Hint: Chris Matthews plays a big part in this video.

I have my issues with Pat Buchanan. Anyone who writes a book arguing we should have found a modus vivendi with Hitler isn't necessarily high on my list. Still, when it comes to spot-on analysis of the political scene, Pat is without peer. But when Buchanan—his own opposition to the Iraq war notwithstanding—argued on this evening's Hardball that McCain's support for the surge is a winning issue for him, it drove Chris Matthews into a frenzy, so much so that he was reduced to a reality-defying scream that the surge hasn't worked. Air America's Mark Green was along for the...

You'd think Chris Matthews might wish Howard Wolfson well on the news that the former top aide to Hillary Clinton has joined Fox News as a Dem analyst. Think again. The Hardball host has ungraciously predicted that the move to Fox could spell the end of Wolfson—and in doing so revealed his own pop-culture roots. Here was Matthews on this evening's Hardball: CHRIS MATTHEWS: Fox News loves presenting itself as the alternative to the other news networks. Roger Ailes, the guy behind the network, figures that the Hillary campaign needs a new home, now that she's out of the race...

Vote Obama: it's a matter of life or death! It isn't much, if any, of an exaggeration to say that's how Chris Matthews characterized the choice confronting voters this November. Matthews not only described voting for Obama as something to be done to "save your life," he analogized voting for McCain to a decision to remain on the Titanic rather than man the lifeboats. The Hardball host was a guest on today's Morning Joe. View video here.

Chris Matthews may be an appeaser when it comes to confronting radical Islam; but he is tough as nails, apparently, when it comes to standing up to his own American TV news network. New York media industry insiders say the liberal MSNBC anchor and talk show host of Hardball and the Sunday morning program named for him has threatened to resign if the network is the first to air a rumored video recording of Michelle Obama ranting about "Whitey." In fact, the sources add, Matthews, who clearly supports Barack Obama, has threatened to resign if the network aggressively pursues the...

Commentary OK. I'll acknowledge this. Tim Russert, the host of NBC's Meet the Press, has developed into a good journalist. But just a few years ago, it would be easy to say Russert's roots were showing and I'm not talking about hair color. You see, before suddenly becoming a journalist, Tim Russert worked as a political hack for the Democratic Party. Russert was a former counselor to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and New York Governor Mario Cuomo after that, before being hired by NBC in 1984. It's clear to anyone who watches Russert today he has come a long way....

Chris Matthews took to the air on MSNBC's "Hardball," just moments after former Obama fundraiser Tony Rezko was convicted on fraud and money laundering charges, but Matthews wasn't about to let that bit of breaking news ruin the moment, as he never mentioned the conviction once on the hour long program. However, he did find time, during the 5 PM EDT edition of Hardball, to gush about Obama's "magic moment" with his wife Michelle: CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let's go now to Roger Simon. Again your thoughts on last night's magic moment for a lot of Americans, in fact, me included. I,...

Chris Matthews looked at Barack and Michelle last night, and saw Jack and Jacqueline. Opening this evening's Hardball, the host was almost overcome by emotion in describing the scene of Obama's victory speech last night in St. Paul, Minnesota. Here was Chris, discussing the matter with NBC's Andrea Mitchell, Roger Simon of Politico, and Ed Gordon of BET. CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let's dwell for one moment at least on the man who won last night. I swear. I had no idea this would ever happen in America. I don't know if it will ever happen again. This is a trend, I...

During MSNBC's live coverage of Tuesday's Democratic primaries, co-anchor Chris Matthews poked fun at Larry Craig's bathroom arrest during an interview with Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar as he referred to Republican plans to hold their presidential convention in St. Paul, and joked that Craig would be starting his book tour at the airport. Moments later during an interview with Clinton campaign advisor Lisa Caputo, he joked about the Minnesota bridge collapse as an embarrassment Republicans would have to face when they come to the state: "We're having a little bit of fun here tonight with the opportunity of Republican...

If Joba Chamberlain's debut as a Yankee starter didn't go that well last night, Joe Scarborough wasted no time this morning in demonstrating that, after a stint on the DL, he still has his stuff. Within minutes of reassuming his host's role, Scarborough unleashed a high hard one in the direction of Chris Matthews's chin. Scarborough, back from an extended leave spent with his wife who's experiencing a difficult pregnancy, reported that the medical situation seems to have stabilized. Readers will surely join in wishing Joe and his family well. The opening segment was, naturally, devoted to a discussion of...

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Anyway, thank you Roger, thank you. What a night! I'm getting giggles! It's so exciting here -- Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell -- because there's news in the air.

"I'm not fit to be a Senator. I'm not fit to live. Expel me! Expel me! Not him. Every word that boy said is the truth! Every word about Taylor and me and graft and the rotten political corruption of our state. Every word of it is true. I'm not fit for office! I'm not fit for any place of honor or trust. Expel me!"—Claude Rains as the corrupt Sen. Joseph Paine in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" Chris Matthews has broken out a Jimmy Stewart/Mr. Smith Goes to Washington analogy to praise Scott McClellan's book and assess its impact....

I haven't seen Chris Matthews this excited since a Barack Obama speech sent that special sensation skyward. The Hardball host is in an absolute frenzy over Scott McClellan's allegations. So much so that guests on this evening's show are having a hard time expressing themselves as Matthews expounds at length. Ari Fleischer finally called Chris on it. And while David Gregory didn't express his ire in words, he made a facial expression that left little doubt as to his annoyance at being cut off in mid-sentence. The screencap shows Gregory's grimace. But be sure to view the video here to...

MSNBC, which bills itself as "the place for politics," is being pummeled by political practitioners. "It's an organ of the Democratic National Committee," says Steve Schmidt, a senior strategist for John McCain's campaign. "It's a partisan advocacy organization that exists for the purpose of attacking John McCain." Ed Gillespie, President Bush's counselor, says there is an "increasing blurring" of the line between NBC News and MSNBC's "blatantly partisan talk show hosts like Christopher Matthews and Keith Olbermann." Terry McAuliffe, chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign, says Matthews has been "in the tank" for Barack Obama "from Day One" and is practically...

If NewsBusters were ever to use in its promotional material a photo this unflattering of Hillary Clinton, we'd be accused of the worst kind of sexism, of unfairly attacking a candidate based on her looks rather than her views. Check out the image of Hillary that MSNBC used in its promo of tonight's Hardball with Chris Matthews that aired at 5:59 AM EDT today just before Morning Joe came on the air. Hillary in full wattle, lit like something in a horror flick about to emerge from a closet wielding an ax. If there's a less-becoming snap of Hillary in...

Even before I heard Chris Matthews mention it, it struck me too . . . Among the visuals a big-time campaign carefully choreographs is the human backdrop when the candidate speaks—particularly when it's a matter of an important, nationally-televised speech. So it's very hard to imagine that it was coincidence that the crowd visible behind Hillary this evening as she gave her Kentucky primary victory speech . . . was comprised 100% of people of pallor. Kibitzing with co-anchor Keith Olbermann immediately after Clinton's comments, Matthews mentioned it. CHRIS MATTHEWS: I thought a giveaway line was "who is best positioned...

Can it be coincidence that on the day it's reported that Keith Olbermann is feuding with Chris Matthews, the Hardball host goes out of his way to shine up the clown prince of Countdown? As NewsBuster Noel Sheppard has noted, the New York Post, in the course of reporting today that Olbermann has been "lashing out" at his network's talking heads, states that Olbermann's "feuding with 'Hardball' host Chris Matthews is nothing new." So on this evening's Hardball, how does Matthews promote tomorrow night's primary coverage that he will be co-anchoring with Olbermann? CHRIS MATTHEWS: Remember, tomorrow night with Keith...

Maybe the Obama-inspired tremor that began in Chris Matthews’ leg has traveled up to his head and done some damage. Last night on Hardball, Matthews was discussing–what else?–President Bush’s unconscionable Obama attack in the Knesset. The conversation with conservative radio host Kevin James wended round to the career of Neville Chamberlain, and Matthews began to excoriate James for being ignorant of history. Things got very heated, and James fired back, recounting recent historical examples of America’s failure to counter terrorist acts against the U.S. When James mentioned Bill Clinton’s lackadaisical response to the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in...

Curious what Chris Matthews' brother thinks about the Hardball host entertaining a run for Senate? Ponder no more. "I think it is great," Republican Jim Matthews, a Montgomery County Commissioner, said in an interview Thursday. "We are all surrounded by dead people who just plod along and don't even investigate their dreams. It is kind of neat to see a guy at the top of his game contemplating a complete change in direction," brother Matthews said. The prospect of a Chris Matthews run for Senate has come up before, and a 2010 challenge of Republican U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter has...

A Hardball epic . . . Message to Chris Matthews: when ripping a guest for his lack of historical knowledge, try to avoid making a history mistake of your own in the same segment. It happened on this afternoon's Hardball. After lambasting a guest for not knowing his Neville Chamberlain history, Matthews surmised that the attack on the USS Cole in October, 2000 happened under . . . President Bush. View video here.

Heavens to Murgatroyd! Chris Matthews has reduced Hillary Clinton to a cartoon character. Snagglepuss to be precise. "Exit stage left" was one of the Hanna-Barbera animation's catchphrases, and Matthews used it to wonder whether Hillary was prepared to leave the presidential race, given her flagging political fortunes. Here's how Matthews put it at the top of today's Hardball: CHRIS MATTHEWS: Meanwhile, listen carefully. That sound you hear is the slow falling of electoral delegates, of superdelegates, to Barack Obama. Seven more came aboard today. So with Obama way ahead in elected delegates, now trails Hillary Clinton by only four-and-a-half superdelegates....

Was it Hardball—or the World Series of Poker? Interviewing Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson today, Chris Matthews accused the Clinton campaign of playing the white race card. Just minutes later, when Wolfson accused Matthews of discriminating against Puerto Rican voters, Chris protested "don't play that card on me." Matthews began the showdown by rolling tape of Hillary repeatedly telling USA Today that she had stronger support than Obama among "white" voters. View video here.

Now no longer the center ring for the traveling Democratic presidential nomination circus, Pennsylvania's inventive political community has discovered a new favorite political parlor game to while away the brisk springtime evenings: will Chris Matthews, the irrepressible host of MSNBC's Hardball, step down from his pundits perch to run for the US Senate against Arlen Specter in 2010? To a remarkable degree, speculation abounds over this possibility in the Keystone State. The indications that Matthews will run are abundant. His MSNBC contract runs out next summer, and both he and the network show signs they might be ready for a...

Newsflash: look for Chris Matthews to endorse John McCain any time now. After all, the Hardball host apparently believes that only veterans have the right to call for military action. How else can you read Matthews's mocking mention of Bill Kristol today? Here's the entirety of the Hardball host's discussion, on this evening's show, of Kristol's NY Times column of today. CHRIS MATTHEWS: Is Republican Bill Kristol showing the Republican strategy for the next few months? Here's what he writes in today's New York Times as one of their regular columnists. Quote, "we see the liberal media failing to give...

You're a member of the MSM, and you're a Barack Obama supporter. But I repeat myself. More specifically, you're Chris Matthews. What better way to promote your guy's candidacy than to claim that Republicans would really rather run against Hillary? That's just what the Hardball host did on this afternoon's show. Here's his exchange with the–in my opinion–very impressive Republican strategist Todd Harris, who worked for McCain in 2000, and with Dem strategist Michael Feldman. View video here.

During MSNBC's live coverage of Pennsylvania's Democratic presidential primary, co-anchor Chris Matthews brought up the possibility that the North Carolina Republican Party would run an "overtly racist" campaign against Barack Obama ... Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the April 22 MSNBC coverage of the Pennsylvania Democratic primary from 11:21 P.M.: ...

In Chris Matthews' mind, a bigot is someone who's "culturally conservative" on race. Matthews equated the two on this evening's Hardball in attempting to explain exit polling from yesterday's PA primary showing that 38% of white Catholic Democrats wouldn't vote for Obama in the general election. CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well, somebody who doesn't like that group of voters might call them Archie Bunkers. I'll call them Reagan Democrats, John [Baer of the Philadelphia Daily News], they're Reagan Democrats: people who are culturally conservative, maybe a little culturally conservative on the racial front, on the ethnic front. They like to think of...

Here's the problem with Chris Matthews playing footsie with the idea of running for US senator from Pennsylvania. When I hear him say something nowadays, I often can't help but wonder whether he means it, or is just trying to position himself for a possible run. Take this evening's Hardball, during which Matthews went off on Joe Lieberman, castigating him as a "terrible" running-mate for Al Gore in 2000. Kiki McLean, a senior Clinton advisor, was Chris's guest. She mentioned that she had served as an aide to Lieberman in 2000, and to Gore when he was the Veep candidate...