Topic subject The Anti-Chris Matthews Vote: Media soul-searching, but not from Tweety Matthews

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Forum Name General Discussion: Politics
Topic subject The Anti-Chris Matthews Vote: Media soul-searching, but not from Tweety Matthews
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4027589#4027589
4027589, The Anti-Chris Matthews Vote: Media soul-searching, but not from Tweety Matthews
Posted by DeepModem Mom on Thu Jan-10-08 07:10 PM

Columbia Journalism Review: The Anti-Chris Matthews Vote
And how it sparked some media soul-searching (though not from Matthews)
By Liz Cox Barrett
Wed 9 Jan 2008

As my colleague Gal Beckerman observed..., with (Tuesday's) New Hampshire victory, Hillary beat the press. Meanwhile, the press spent some time last night beating itself. Here is a sampling of the sort of mild self-flagellation on display last night on MBSNC (the channel I happened to be watching) where many of the network’s familiar faces -- with the exception of Chris Matthews -- seemed to be doing some form of soul-searching for having, as Tom Brokaw put it, prematurely and sometimes excitedly “ended the Clinton era,” for having been so sure of New Hampshire’s outcome hours or even days before the polls closed....

***

....Here is the closest Matthews came to contrition (New Hampshire primary night):

MATTHEWS: If (Hillary) wins tonight, she has got a leg up on the predictors, on the pundits, the people like me. Who were reading the polls for three days now and believing them. She’s able to say, not only am I the Comeback Kid, I’m the victor. That’s better than the Comeback Kid. And Barack Obama, I will still say, has given the most inspiring speeches I have heard…Surpises, surprises. You know, politics is, as they say, phenomenal. It is not predictable....


By far the most dramatic self-flagellatory exchange of the night was the following:

PAT BUCHANAN, MSNBC analyst: This is an astonishing development. Look, the pollsters were dead wrong. They were predicting 7-8 to a dozen points for Obama. The press was dead wrong. We had virtually canonized Obama and said he had been born in Bethlehem and now you’ve got a race where Hillary Clinton is running three or four points ahead of this fella. Something has happened. There is a hidden vote here somewhere, or my guess is this: The New Hampshire voters said, look, the press has been telling us Obama’s the second coming. We don’t think so. The press has been telling us she’s gone, and the women came out and said, no, she’s not. What New Hampshire did was stand up and body slam the national establishment, the press corp., the pollsters, the whole bunch that came in here as well as Barack Obama’s folks who must be in a state of shock tonight.

RACHEL MADDOW, Air America: Pat, I will tell you that on the influential -perhaps influential on the left — Web site, talking points memo today, do you want to know who they’re blaming for women voters breaking for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama? Who they’re blaming for this late showing for Hillary Clinton? They’re blaming Chris Matthews. People are citing specifically Chris not only for his own views but also as a symbol for what the mainstream media…

MATTHEWS: What Web site?

MADDOW: Talkingpointsmemo.com. It’s cited anecdotally…

MATTHEWS: My influence over American politics looms over the people! I’m overwhelmed myself.

MADDOW: People feel that the media is piling on Hillary Clinton. They’re coming to her defense with their votes…


So was there, in fact, what amounts to an anti-Chris Matthews vote that emerged in New Hampshire? And if so, why might Hillary Clinton have been the beneficiary? Here are a couple of thoughts on those questions. And Matthews himself provided some clues last night as to why an anti-Matthews voter might be motivated to pull the lever for Clinton.

After telling a story about how Nixon once planned to make his voice crack during a speech to look more sympathetic, Matthews continued: “I know Hillary Clinton was completely spontaneous the other day but let’s bring in the panel on that point. It could be that big girls don’t cry,.. but it could be that if they do they win.”


And later:

MATTHEWS: This is a basketball game tonight. Meaning it will be decided in the last couple of seconds before the buzzer… I wouldn’t put it past the Clintons if it looked like it was moving toward a victory for Barack to pull a quick press conference while it’s still vague and say it’s too early to tell. Then go to bed with some vague victory statement. I’ll know throughout this evening what their game plan will be because I’ll be there. There’s a good chance they will try to move pre-emptively claim some sort of tie — if this thing’s moving, as the Hanover vote comes in, towards Obama. It will be interesting to watch the gamesmanship tonight. They have pulled this before. Declaring comebacks when they’ve lost by eight - having been ahead by 20. They’re quite able to try to create a new confected reality. I’m watching this.


And Matthews seems awfully intent on motivating any sort of latent anti-Chris Matthews vote in future primary states as well. Get a load of what he said (hat tip, Greg Sargent) about Hillary Clinton this morning on MSNBC:

The Hillary appeal has always been about her mix of toughness and sympathy for her. Let’s not forget — and I’ll be brutal —the reason she’s a U.S. senator, the reason she’s a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around. That’s how she got to be senator from New York. We keep forgetting it. She didn’t win on her merits. She won because everybody felt, my god, this woman stood up under humiliation, right? That’s how it happened. In 1998 she went to New York and campaigned for Chuck Schumer as almost like the grieving widow of absurdity, and she did it so well and courageously, but it was about the humiliation of Bill Clinton.

http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/the_antichris_matthews_vote.php?page=all

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1. Topic subject Tweety argues 'historic fact' that Bill's infidelity is the only reason Hillary's in S

Forum Name General Discussion: Politics
Topic subject Tweety argues 'historic fact' that Bill's infidelity is the only reason Hillary's in Senate
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4036991#4036991
4036991, Tweety argues 'historic fact' that Bill's infidelity is the only reason Hillary's in Senate
Posted by Amerigo Vespucci on Fri Jan-11-08 04:44 PM

Amid accusations of misogyny, Matthews slams 'View' hosts
David Edwards and Nick Juliano
Published: Friday January 11, 2008

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Matthews_slams_View_hosts_for_questioning_0111.html



Responding to criticism of his perceived misogyny from the hosts of The View, MSNBC commentator Chris Matthews delivered a lengthy, condescending tirade reiterating his suggestion that Hillary Clinton's political career is precipitated on her husband's infidelity, belittling those who would suggest otherwise and claiming to know more about history than the View women.

After prematurely writing Clinton's political obituary before the New Hampshire primary, Matthews reversed himself after her stunning victory, promising Tuesday night to "never underestimate" the former First Lady again. The next morning, Matthews displayed what many saw as a dramatic example of just how far he could put his foot into his mouth.

"Let’s not forget, and I’ll be brutal, the reason she’s a US Senator, the reason she’s a candidate for President, the reason she may be a front runner, is that her husband messed around," Matthews pronounced Wednesday on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

That observation opened the oft-criticized Hardball host to another round of criticism in the blogosphere. The hosts of The View, ABC's daytime chat show aimed at women, weighed in on Matthew's punditry as well.

"I'm very careful here as you know ... not to give my personal opinions," Barbara Walters said. "I had thought that people in news didn't do that. Forget it. The way to get ratings: Come out and slam."

Joy Behar chimed in: "It's almost like a pile-on of these men against her, and I think they're going to get the real backlash for it."

Matthews took offense at Walters' insinuation and took to Morning Joe Friday morning to defend himself. Host Joe Scarborough began with a nice ad hominem attack on Walters.

"Chris, we don't want to take sides," former GOP congressman Scarborough said innocently. "So I'm not gonna bring up the fact that Barbara Walters, a journalist, told Nancy Pelosi she wanted to have sex with Nancy Pelosi's husband. We also will not bring up that journalist Barbara Walters told Faith Hill she wanted to have sex, on air, with Tim McGraw. Instead, I'm just going to ask you this straight question: Does Barbara Walters have a point?"

(For the record, Walters told Hill, "We'd all like to do your husband ," but she said it was co-host Whoopie Goldberg who "would like to do" Pelosi's husband.)

Matthews said it was Clinton's performance campaigning for New York Sen. Chuck Schumer in 1998, after revelations of her husband's affair with Monica Lewinsky, that launched her own senate bid two years later. He said Walters and Behar -- whose name he either was unable to remember or refused to acknowledge -- had their facts wrong.

"Those are this historic facts, Barbara and the other woman, those are the historic facts. I know how you play to a crowd, I know how talk radio works, which is the way a lot of programs work, where you find something to argue about," Matthews said.

"If Barbara Walters wants to debate history, and politics and what's happened in this country the last 50 years, if she wants to go on Jeopardy and see what she knows and what I know, I'll take her on," Matthews promised. "If any of the women on that show want to take me on on historic political information ... let's talk political history. Let's talk facts, not opinions, facts, and I'll take them on."

This video (at the URL above) is from MSNBC's Morning Joe, broadcast January 11, 2008.