Posted on 09/07/2004 4:43:04 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
How's this for a 'fair & balanced' panel on this morning's Today Show?: virulent anti-Bush partisan Chris Matthews and, uh, no one.
In fairness, Matt Lauer opened the segment with a clip of W addressing a crowd and getting in this devastating shot at Kerry's latest flip-flop:
"My opponent woke up this morning with new campaign advisors and yet another position. He's against the war again." Can I get an 'ouch!'?
Then a Kerry clip popped up, with Lurch bellowing that in Iraq: "I wouldn't have done just *one* thing differently, he would have done *everything* differently. Guess he would have scrapped the smart bombs and fought the war with BB's and punji sticks.
In a sign of just how frazzled and desperate the Dem ticket has become, another clip showed John Edwards snapping at a supporter who fretted that the campaign wasn't responding to W's attacks.
Edwards angrily admonished her to understand that "we're fighting for y-e-w-w-w-w-w." You know that a campaign is in deep trouble when the candidates start taking shots at . . . their own supporters!
Then there was a clip of VP Cheney wryly observing that "when it comes to foreign policy, Sen. Kerry should stick to windsurfing." To quote Shakespeare: "bwah-hah-hah!"
Matthews agreed that if Kerry is smart, he won't be spending any more time windsurfing through the campaign.
"That's a rich guy having fun. Where are his friends? He needs to play stickball in South Philly."
Matthews fantasized that in October, Clinton will make a dramatic comeback that will create "overwhelming sentiment" in places such as the inner city and south Florida. "He could be a Lazarus."
Mocking the situation within the chaotic Kerry campaign, Matthews mentioned that there is a joke going around. "The campaign is like Noah's ark: two of everthing, two pollsters, campaign managers, etc."
Then Matthews offered some free advice of his own. "Kerry needs to open [Pres. Bush] up like a can of tuna fish on his credibility, his soft spots."
Isn't that nice, in this age of terrorism? A reporter and "analyst" recommending that a candidate eviscerate his opponent?
Matthews opined further: "I think the real lead is about 7%."
To his credit, Lauer said that after the Dem convention people explained Kerry's non-bounce by claiming that there were few undecideds to be captured. He observed that in some polls W has opened as much as an 11% bounce. Lauer then, surprisingly and somewhat snidely asked:
"What happened? Did [W] get ALL the undecideds or did he convince some of Kerry's supporters to come over?"
Matthews: "The Bush campaign destroyed Kerry's credibility and it's been working really, really well. Kerry needs to play the same kind of hardball and discredit Bush, but must do it carefully."
Although there's no doubt where Matthews' heart lies, he seemed to manifest a certain resigned sense of humor about the situation, almost revelling in the blunders and hopelessness of the feckless Kerry campaign.
If the Kerry people were watching it must have been disheartening. Your staunchest media allies mocking you and your candidate, while portraying your opponent and his campaign as a juggernaut.
I can't wait to see how this plays out. If Kerry is clearly proven to have lied about being in Cambodia, I believe his support could crater to McGovern-like levels.
FPL ping.
Me too, and it was disappointing to see him turn into a sputtering partisan. The vileness of his act peaked with his outrageous mistreatment of the lovely and gracious Michelle Malkin.
But between the lambasting he's been receiving for that, the tongue-lashing Zell gave him, and the obvious disintegration of the Kerry campaign, I get the sense that Matthews is trying to crawl back into the good graces of mainstream America. Rather than ardently trying to defend Kerry, I think it's possible he'll start to play the second-guessing critic of the faile Kerry effort.
Well reported. Kerry is in huge trouble. As Kerry goes into more of a panic mode, he will start unleashing things on Bush that will make him look more un-presidential than he does now.
Bush can just keep bringing up his flip-flops and his liberal Senate record and look good. I really believe when the liberal media start to see the writing on the wall, you see much of the liberal media abandon him. You are starting to see a hint of it now.
Yes, it might be over the top. But on re-reading that line I'm not sure whether it is intended to suggest great care to not cut himself or rather to speak to cutting his opponent's credibility wide open.
Well, Kerrey's prediction did not come true. GHWB was too much of a gentleman to attack Clinton's Vietnam draft dodging.
Kerrey, despite his pretensions, is no gentleman. He will stop at nothing to smear GWB.
Oh yes, and PULEEEEEEEZZZE let there be pictures. We need replacements for the NASA ones.
How many bodyguards did he hire to protect himself from that "grouchy old man?!" as he called him on the daily show.
I like it!
Talking about two Kerry-Kerreys in the same post has my blood pressure up too high to see straight.
And don't forget: Spitballs.
"Yes, c'est vrai that I have proposed fighting the war on terror with spitballs. But what Zell Miller and others of his genre do not, comment dit-on?, comprehend, is that these spitballs would be drizzled with a exra-aged new strain of Camembert cheese.
"Personally, nibbled with a snifter of fine Romanee Conti, I find it absolument delicieux. But for the average peon, I assure you it would be la morte certaine!"
Yea - thats it Sissy, good advice. Right after he has a Philly cheese steak with Swiss. I hope ketchuip boy takes this advice, and, more like it.
What are you objecting to? Sounds like most of the same things you hear here on FR all the time. Mostly digs at Kerry and his campaign. Bush ought to pick up on that joke about Kerry having two campaign managers, two pollsters etc and tie that into Kerry being on both sides of every issue. As far as the comment about opening up Bush like a can of Tuna, so what? He was offering advice to Kerry that makes sense but I dont think Kerry will be able to make work. Would you object to him making the same comment about Bush going after Kerrys credibility?
Kerry did it himself. Windsurfing in Nantucket during the campaign....yea, that'll get the Black vote and the Reagan Democrats. Kerry has nobody but himself and his own liberal record to blame.
SKerry will take this to mean that he should stay away from issues and ask about W's NG duty. And maybe Kitty Kelly's book.
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