MATTHEWS TRANSCRIPT / * NEW * KERRY SPIN TAG LINE "Kerry didn't shoot himself!"

Hardball ^ | 8/19/04 | Chris Matthews

[Steven W.]

CLELAND: ...I‘ll get shot three times, and I‘m going to bring that shrapnel home so I can be a war hero.

BROWN: He literally got shot. There‘s no question about any of those things. So what else is there to discuss? How much he got shot, how deep, how much shrapnel?

MALKIN: ... Why don‘t people ask him more specific questions about the shrapnel in his leg. They are legitimate questions about whether or not it was a self-inflicted wound.

MATTHEWS: What do you mean by self-inflicted? Are you saying he shot himself on purpose? Is that what you‘re saying?

MALKIN: Did you read the book...

MATTHEWS: I‘m asking a simple question. Are you saying that he shot himself on purpose.

MALKIN: I‘m saying some of these soldiers...

MATTHEWS: And I‘m asking question.

MALKIN: And I‘m answering it.

MATTHEWS: Did he shoot himself on purpose.

MALKIN: Some of the soldiers have made allegations that these were self-inflicted wounds.

MATTHEWS: No one has ever accused him of shooting himself on purpose.

MALKIN: That these were self-inflicted wounds.

MATTHEWS: Your saying there are—he shot himself on purpose, that‘s a criminal act?

MALKIN: I‘m saying that I‘ve read the book and some of the...

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: I want an answer yes or no, Michelle.

MALKIN: Some of the veterans say...

MATTHEWS: No. No one has every accused him of shooting himself on purpose.

MALKIN: Yes. Some of them say that.

MATTHEWS: Tell me where that...

MALKIN: Self-inflicted wounds—in February, 1969.

MATTHEWS: This is not a show for this kind of talk. Are you accusing him of shooting himself on purpose to avoid combat or to get credit?

...

MATTHEWS: I have never heard anyone say he shot himself on purpose.

[mylife]

I never watch Mattews but watched him tonight, what a seething petty man he is

[Merry]

I just heard Keith Ohlbermann say that Michelle made a fool of herself on Chrissies show. They are all working for the DNC and it's disgusting.

[lavrenti]

Seriously, Kerry's people and their buddies in the press are seriously mishandling this story.

Notice the Clinton people have vanished. When did we last see Lanny?

[HarbingerofFreedom]

I wonder if Christine was angry that Michelle chided him for his interogation (her word and quite accurate) of the Swift Boat Veteran --- Hell hath no fury like a woman! (or girlie-man in Christine Matthew's case)

[Steven W.]

Thurlow told him about that earlier in the show. Matthews knows exactly what happened and he (they) are trying to draw another line of distincion on which they can try and defend Kerry from. They set the straw man up and then knock him down. Looks impressive to the average lib unless you know or have some inkling of what happened or allow somebody (like Malkin) who does, because they've read the book or listened to the vets, to actually speak.

In other words, Chris definitely got the fax ;)

[Dark Knight]

Let's see, Kerry was the Swift Vet FU and was shooting a grenade launcher at a beach too close to his own position.

He caught a piece of his own grenade. That is what the medic said. It was a piece of our type grenades.


Kerry was able to lie to get a PH for it, after being denied it by the people that knew what happened.

DK

[MarkeyD]

I just saw the end of the show. She should have been able to correct Chrissy about shooting vs. a hand grenade.

[kellynla]

Poor Chrissy Matthews...
The hero of the Peace Corps LMAO

His "war hero" Kerry is going down like the Hindenburg 'cause Kerry fabricated his military record like the last JFK...ROFLMAO

I've got a great title for a play about JFK, the latest Navy "war hero"..."Christmas in Cambodia" a comedy of errors, missteps, screw ups, fowl ups and SNAFU'S!!!
Maybe we could get "Mr. Credibility" himself, the best propagandist since Goebbels, Michael Moron, to produce it!

[spycatcher]

This entire day of Kerry hysteria has been coordinated by the DNC starting with the WaPo kickoff (p)article.

And Chris Matthews is up to his old DNC misdirection tricks where he puts things in people's mouths: "Are you saying Bill and Hillary personally murdered Vince Foster? Is that what you're saying? That's crazy conspiracy talk! I'm not going to stand for it!"

[Steven W.]

they regrouped. Lanny was good to throw out there at first, being so experienced & all. He panned (persona and arguments just too reminiscent of the Clinton scandal defenses ... remember "protective function priviilege"). He may be back but, for now, they're having to go with "plan b".

[Steven W.]

exactly ... we've seen this movie before. the SwiftVets are battle hardened men of honor - they won't be intimidated by loose tongue rhetoric or killing of cats (remembering Kathleen Willey's former pet Bullseye)

[Sivad]

Kerry frags himself and Chris M is the one who ends up with
PTSD. Who woulda thunk?

[beaversmom]

I posted this on another thread. Self inflicted means I shot myself in the foot deliberately. Doesn't it also mean I did something, intentional or not, that caused myself to be injured? From all the interviews I've heard that's what I gathered it to mean--differentiating it from enemy related.

Chris Matthews thinks he is cute. He's playing a little game. Trying to twist what Thurlow was saying. It always helps when you have a rapid fire mouth and won't let a person finish their thought. He did it with Malkin as well. You could see the delight in his eyes. Michelle did a good she could but he needs to be up against a really formidable debater like Medved.

[eyespysomething]

So a quick post before bed, but I'm going to say Matthews HASN'T read the book.

I haven't either, but I'm not on Nat'l TV debating it, as he shouldn't be either without reading the book first.

Its my understanding he was extremely hostile to Michelle Malkin the whole time she was on. Loser.

[Callahan]

Malkin is confused and she needs to get her facts straight before her lack of clarity hurts the vets. The Swifties charge that Kerry's wounds are "self-inflicted," in the accidental sense, i.e., he got hit by the shrapnel of his own grenade. Nobody is saying that Kerry purposely shot himself to obtain a medal. Matthews used this to create a straw man.

[kellynla]

She should have been able to correct Chrissy about shooting vs. a hand grenade

Chrissy wouldn't know an M-16 from a M-60...

"Daddy, what did you do during the war?"...
"Why I was in the Corps, darlin'..."
"The Marine Corps, daddy?"
"No darlin' the other Corps"...LMAO

[Imaverygooddriver]

Yeah, Kerry shot himself...In the foot. He wants to blather non stop about Vietnam, then he should expect that people are going to ask questions about it. Why? BECAUSE THAT`S ALL HE TALKS ABOUT!!! I mean who`s this idiot trying to blame? He pulls this broadway like war hero thing at the convention, "Reporting for duty" hut two hut two..I was half expecting the Rockettes to come out next with some musical military number, and he gets upset when he gets questioned about this? TOUGH!

Kerry: "Waaah! Why are you questioning my Vietnam service?"

Citizen: "Well John, what else do you want to talk about?"

Kerry: "I don`t know..Uuumm...Hey, did you know I was in Vietnam?"

This has been going around in circles the whole time this idiot has been campaigning. That`s what he based his Senate career on! " I am a Vietnam vet, and other Vietnam Vets kill babies" Now it`s "I am a Vietnam Vet and a war hero" WHAT THE HELL ELSE DOES THIS IDIOT RUN ON? NOTHING!! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!

Look...This is from his own website...

http://www.johnkerry.com/front/splash.html

Front page: "Make history with us"

Make history about what? What the hell is he talking about? Again like I said, NOTHING!

Then you get to the main page where it has "A stronger America"..Then guess what he talks about? I WAS IN VIETNAM!!! AAAAAAAUUUGHH!!!!!!!!

[kellynla]

Malkin needs to stick to what she knows... illegal immigration!
Kerry received at least two PH's erroneously because the "wounds" were not received during enemy contact! And at least one of them was because he like Max Cleland screwed up!!! Shrapnel from your own grenade should not get you a PH!... duuuhhhhhhhh

[lavrenti]

There was never a Plan A. Knowing that Kerry is a control freak, he likely wanted things done "his way" and pulled in his chips from the Times/Globe axis of a-holes and buddies in the WaPo. Rather unusual for The Times to run a huge story, thrown it on the net before it was properly edited unless someone was doing a prop for Kerry. It is transparent. The WaPo is an obvious drive-by character assassination. I'm curious why the FOIA request was done--and what the original intent was.

However, for a plan this does not make. Those cable shows are only watched by the converted of both sides. I have a sense these cable shows serve occasionally as a testing ground for each side to see what argument plays well and what actually is out there regarding a particular story.

The campaign people brought in are only making more of a mess. They have no idea what they are doing. John Kerry does not know what he is doing, and the mediots REALLY are clueless in this regard.

Now that everyone's attention is focused on this, here comes Senate Testimony, Winter Soldier, Dewey Canyon and probably a clear summation of a meeting between Kerry and the the NV delegation to the Paris Peace Talks.

[beaversmom]

Thank you for clarifying. That's what I thought it meant as well--see my post #33. Matthews is playing a little game. I wish Malkin would have been more clear but I understand it's hard when you are up against a mouth. I know she knows the facts but Matthews did the dirty on her.