Matthews doesn't get it

[eleny]

You can never, ever absolve yourself of blame. To stick, it has to come from outside of you.

To his credit, he did say that for the past two years Hardball reported on how the war was sold. That leaves 3 years of what, cheerleading? Yes, a little of that and a whole lot more of just plain kissing ass of administration officials and Congressional toadies like Tom "I owe you one" DeLay.

[Jane Austin]

1. Were you watching before the war?

Tweety was one of the only hosts who questioned the rush to war.

After it started, he got carried away with all the "success" of it, but he was dubious about the "facts" before the war.

Can't believe I'm defending Tweety, but credit where credit is due.

[eleny]

2. Yes, of course I was watching

I watched him ride the fence - one cheek on one side and one cheek on the other. When administration officials and right wing congress people were on his program he kissed their asses. A champion of truth doesn't do that.

Throughout this war, Matthews has talked out of both sides of his mouth. Where were you when he was doing that week in and week out?

[jayfish]

9. Sorry, But That's Incorrect.

I posted it the night he said "I am against this war". ...and that was before the bombs started to fall. You'll have to search the old site (might not be possible) to find it, but it's there.

Jay

[eleny]

10. "We're all neo-cons now." (MSNBC's Chris Matthews, 4/9/03)"

From Will Pitt's posting of today and surely you recall Matthews saying this. I certainly do. You don't say that a month after shock and awe if you were ever, ever against the war.

Have the last say on the issue if you wish. I'm done with you and your weak argument in behalf of Matthews.

[jayfish]

15. Ummm.. We Haven't Even Begun To Argue.

Your literal interpretation of the quote you posted is rather telling though. I'm glad you're done.

Jay

[Jane Austin]

13. I've been right here, yelling at the teevee,

writing to MSNBC, posting my frustration right here.

I am only speaking of the period leading up to "shock and awe" when he was one of the few who questioned the so-called evidence.

[Fleshdancer]

3. Yep. He played devil's advocate but then got distracted by the sparkly bomb footage

Tweety is very childlike in that regard.

[eleny]

7. You've hit the nail on the head

And he protected himself so it would always appear that he questioned. But I've heard him whimper "yeah, yeah, yeah" as war mongers made their case.

[Gabi Hayes]

16. you are right, all the way. if he'd acted ANYwhere near the way Phil Donahue did,

he'd have been FIRED, just as was PD.

he'd whisper "I'm against this war" every so often, but his pro-war guests FAR FAR FAR outnumbered those opposed, and were given far more leeway in their propagandizing.

Remember the numbers given for war opponents vs. proponents by various watchdog groups? It was on the order of four to one pro, and that's low, IIRC.

[Gabi Hayes]

17. looky here

http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=afall02msnbccountdowniraq#afall02msnbccountdowniraq

Jeff Cohen, the founder of the media watchdog organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) and a former producer for MSNBC talk show host Phil Donahue, loses almost all of his airtime on the network as the Iraq invasion approaches. Cohen, once a frequent guest on MSNBC’s various opinion and commentary shows, will reflect in his 2006 book Cable News Confidential that he argued passionately against invading Iraq, using “every possible argument that might sway mainstream viewers—no real threat, cost, instability.”

However, as the run-up to war progresses, he is no longer allowed on the air. He will write: “There was no room for me after MSNBC launched ‘Countdown: Iraq’—a daily one-hour show that seemed more keen on glamorizing a potential war than scrutinizing or debating it.

‘Countdown: Iraq’ featured retired colonels and generals, sometimes resembling boys with war toys as they used props, maps and glitzy graphics to spin invasion scenarios. They reminded me of pumped-up ex-football players doing pre-game analysis and diagramming plays. It was excruciating to be sidelined at MSNBC, watching so many non-debates in which myth and misinformation were served up unchallenged.”

so just STFU, David Gregory, Tweety, and all your GE buds. what a sick sad joke. how delusional can Gregory, for one, be on this?

[eleny]

18. Chris read the message from Phil's firing loud and clear

Thanks for your next reply, too.

[Gabi Hayes]

23. more than welcome. matthews made me so angry....as usual....I started a thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3354055

On MSNBC’s flagship news commentary show, Hardball, host Chris Matthews spends an hour discussing the {scripted WH press} conference {of March 6/03} and the upcoming invasion. Matthews invites six guests on. Five are advocates of the war, and one, given a few moments for “balance,” questions some of the assumptions behind the rationale for war. The five pro-war guests include an “independent military analyst,” retired General Montgomery Meigs, who is one of around 75 retired military officers later exposed as participants in a Pentagon propaganda operation designed to promote the war (see April 20, 2008 and Early 2002 and Beyond).

[shaniqua6392]

4. I agree with you on that one.

I have watched him for years and I know he hates this war. I just wish he could show the flag draped coffins coming home to really get some attention on the matter. But there is no one out there in the media that has the courage to do that.

[pretzel4gore]

14. what about 911? or the stolen 2k election?

whether the pigmedia knew or didn't know, they facilitated bush's crimes, his ruining of the country. They are seditionists of the worst sort. john gibson has described the best way to put bush behind us, the only way... and the 'bush news crew' themselves know it (rupert murdoch sure knows that if bush ever charged with crimes, murdoch is a dead man :))

[Selatius]

5. Hey Matthews! William Pitt just shot your fucking ass down hard! Burn fucker!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3352887

Suck on it, you fucking bastard.

[eleny]

8. Thank you very much!!!

I've been reading Will's thread and it's excellent.

Here's his quote from matthews:
" "We're all neo-cons now." (MSNBC's Chris Matthews, 4/9/03)"

[Bumblebee]

6. Today, because it's all McClellan, I can finally watch MSNBC again! Good feeling.

But still no Olbermann because I am sure he will find a way to be outraged about something one of the Clintons did or said...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

11. I think they're missing one big implication of McClellan's book

I haven't read it but I've only read bits and pieces reported in the media. But McClellan wrote the following:

"The president had promised himself that he would accomplish what his father had failed to do by winning a second term in office". "And that meant operating continually in campaign mode: never explaining, never apologizing, never retreating. Unfortunately, that strategy also had less justifiable repercussions: never reflecting, never reconsidering, never compromising. Especially not where Iraq was concerned."

Trying to read between the lines, I think McClellan may be giving us insight into the real reason for the Iraq war, one that is seldom brought up. The war wasn't to bring democracy to the Middle East. The war wasn't to find WMD or to fight Al Qaeda. It wasn't for oil.

The war was all about getting Bush re-elected in 2004, something his daddy had failed to do. The war was about giving Bush a "War President" image, in anticipation that it would be a successful, quick, and therefore popular war. Bush ran his office like a permanent re-election campaign, under Karl Rove, with one major goal: get re-elected. I have a feeling that every move they made was for that purpose.

And there was this additional quote from McClellan:

"As I have heard Bush say, only a wartime president is likely to achieve greatness," he writes in What Happened. In Iraq, Bush saw his opportunity to create a legacy of greatness."

I think being considered a War President was politically motivated. I think this was all about the 2004 election.

[WinkyDink]

12. Oh, he gets it. And so does David Gregory. They saw the WORLD IN PROTEST.

[Quantess]

19. Chris Matthews is pretty good at his job, I'd say.

I haven't watched the show very often, and I had never seen Hardball prior to about a year ago, so I'm no expert on the show. I don't always agree with him, but that's not the point. The point is that he is good at getting debates going.

:hide: Let the flames begin.

[eleny]

20. No dear - I'm the one who started this thread and I get to decide on the point

But thanks for the kick! :hi:

[Quantess]

21. Oh. Well then it's my counterpoint.

Just kidding. ;-)

I just wanted to be different and say something positive about Tweety. I almost never watch his show, but what I have seen, he's not the worst. Try watching Glenn Beck for 5 minutes if you can stand it.

[Stinky The Clown]

22. The only thing Matthews gets is ........ Matthews.

Blowhard. Gasbag. Liar.