What did Carter ever do to Chris Matthews that

[Skidmore]

he seems to feel the need to hammer on him? Right now he castigated him as a "loner," a "doctrinaire," and a few other things. Said he was "hard to get close to" and tried to present Carter as having "held back" from a political statement in his eulogy of Ford.

[bullimiami]

1. matthews is a republican from way back. he doesnt like carter.

[MonkeyFunk]

4. He used to work for Carter

and Tip O'Neill. saying he's a Republican from way back is wrong.

[xultar]

20. I bet Carter called Tweety on something and now Carter has been proven right

Tweety is now sore...the fucker.

[monarch]

25. Tweety also insisted, prior to the funeral,

that Carter would use his eulogy to get in a dig on the Iraq war, going so far as to argue with a guest on his program insisting that he knew Carter and that Carter would be unable to resist the opportunity.

[NYCGirl]

6. Actually, Matthews is a Democrat from way back:

Matthews has worked for four Democratic politicians. He was a presidential speechwriter for four years during the administration of Jimmy Carter. He served as a top aide to long-time Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O'Neill for six years. He worked in the U.S. Senate for five years on the staffs of Senators Frank Moss and Edmund Muskie before losing to Pennsylvania Congressman Joshua Eilberg in a U.S. House of Representatives Democratic primary in 1974.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Matthews

What he's thinking now, I don't know.

[rurallib]

14. Didn't Tweety's brother run with Swann in Penn as a Repub.

I don't know but I have gotten the impression that Tweety flopped to the dark side when W came in.

[NYCGirl]

17. I think he basically just likes to say things to get people to watch the show,

Edited to add: And to get guests to appear.

[Pirate Smile]

18. Yes, his brother did and Tweety did admit to voting for Bush in 2000.

I think he voted for Kerry in 2004.

[lisa58]

7. I think he used to work for Carter...

...that's why he doesn't like Clinton.

Matthews is just a loose cannon that likes to stir it up because he thinks it's good for ratings.

[BuelahWitch]

8. Matthews was Carter's speechwriter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Matthews

Why he should be so hateful to him is beyond me. :shrug:

[buff2]

9. Or any other Dem

He detests Democrats,and when he claims he "really likes" one of them it's a big fat LIE.He leans so far to the right I can't believe he still sits up.

[Pirate Smile]

11. He actually worked for Democrats.

"Matthews has worked for four Democratic politicians. He was a presidential speechwriter for four years during the administration of Jimmy Carter. He served as a top aide to long-time Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O'Neill for six years. He worked in the U.S. Senate for five years on the staffs of Senators Frank Moss and Edmund Muskie before losing to Pennsylvania Congressman Joshua Eilberg in a U.S. House of Representatives Democratic primary in 1974."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Matthews

[Annces]

2. I think he is a beautiful person

and gets better with age.

[Vincardog]

3. Easy Carter has the unmitigated gaul to devote his time to helping people. RePukes hate that

[NanceGreggs]

5. BINGO! n/t

[Greeby]

10. Because Carter speaks the verboten words on the Israel/Palestine issue

And Matthews, a faithfull shill for MSNBC/GE, responds predictably

[bahrbearian]

12. Mathews likes his guys with a Manly "Swagger"

[texastoast]

27. Ooo la la n/t

[monarch]

13. He has always slammed Carter.

What did you make of his comment that Ford was the only president who liked to hang out with staff? I seem to remember a certain pizza shared by Clinton with the White House staff during the Republican shut down of government.

[babylonsister]

15. I heard Tweety and I didn't get that impression at all! It's weird how

people can interpret things so differently. I didn't think Matthews was 'hammering' on Carter.

[Skidmore]

21. He pick, pick, picks away at Democrats.

Do you ever recall hearing him refer to any Democrat using "sublime" or "glorious" or "manly" or any other of those absurd adjectives he comes up with when he's trying to extol someone's virtues? No, it is a constant pick, pick, picking away like a freaking vulture on a carcass.

[LSK]

16. you mean we still have tweety questions???

I thought it was common knowledge that he randomly takes a blue or red pill every morning and depending on which pill he takes, hes either a right wing whore or a good guy???

[BlueEyedSon]

19. Best response ever! nt

[H2O Man]

22. I do not think

that "loner" and "hard to get close to" are negative comments. I think that most Washington insiders felt that Carter was from outside their groups. In many ways, it was one of the best qualities that non-Washington people associated with President Carter. At the same time, it is fair to say that it made it difficult for Carter to accomplish some of the things he wanted to, because he didn't enjoy the network that Washington insiders have. Even within the democratic party, there were tensions: one might consider, for example, Carter's relationship with Teddy Kennedy.

[shaniqua6392]

23. I saw Matthews interviewing Carter on Hardball recently

and he was quite nice and seemed to like Carter a great deal. Chris Matthews is a Dem who did vote once for Bush from what I understand. The one thing he has done on his show is to be totally against the Iraq War. If you watch him every day, there is no other conclusion. He has criticized Bush for trying to send in more troops to Iraq and he said that it would just be sending more of our young men and women to die. I know people on DU are not that fond of him in general, but our family watches him every night. I don't need to watch someone that I agree with 100% of the time. I like a little variety.

[dogman]

24. Personally, I believe it is about Ronald Reagan.

Reagan defeated Carter and wooed Tweety's other idol Tip O'Neil. I think that experience turned Tweety hard right. I believe he is very conflicted internally and that it shows in his split persona. Inside he knows what is right but the lure of the mighty and powerful hypnotizes him. He is like the monkey who wont let go of the prize in the jar. His desires overcome his sensibilities.

[sandnsea]

26. tiny penis syndrome

He doesn't feel secure in his masculinity and consequently is easily intimidated by the bullying bluster of these egomaniacal Repubs. To the point that he won't stand up for any Democrat, lest he be called wuss. It goes back to not serving in Vietnam.

He also must have had an abusive father because he doesn't know the difference between phony pleasantries from men who have no intention to ever give a shit about the personal plight of anyone.

He is a recovering alcoholic after all, comes with a fairly predictable set of issues.

[KoKo]

28. Agree...but taking it further I ask: What did Dems do to Tweety that he HATES US?

That's the question. He rarely misses a beat when there's a chance to diss a Dem even when he now declares he was "Against Iraq Invasion from Beginning"...I don't recall "Hardball" ever showing coverage of the Millions who assembled peacefully to try to STOP IRAQ INVASION...or the PEACE VIGILS that were in the Millions in small towns and large cities all over the WORLD ...AFTER WE INVADED!

Tweety's Memory got lost in his Alcohol Addiction...or perhaps his Repug Memory just deleted his years with "Tip O'Neil" Hard Drive. :shrug: