# Guy Destroyed on Hardball **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542 "2008-05-16T12:49:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/41 "2008-05-17T00:25:39Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I didn’t realize that was a woman, but she did get to speak. She pointed out that James was just repeating talking points without knowing what they meant. [/QUOTE] Not the other guest on the show last night, the other guest on the show where the state rep was talking about Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/42 "2008-05-17T00:42:03Z")
But what did he DO??? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/43 "2008-05-17T01:07:27Z")
I saw the whole sequence during Countdown, and Chris Matthews came on to discuss it. And for anyone who prefers to read a transcript over watching a video clip, go to [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24664512/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24664512/). And it was great, by the way. Everyone, not just Republicans, should get challenged on their use of buzzwords. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/44 "2008-05-17T04:29:36Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn] Everyone, not just Republicans, should get challenged on their use of buzzwords. [/QUOTE] Just what do you mean by buzzwords? Do you even know what buzzwords are? Do you? What is a buzzword? A word that buzzes? Do you know? Well, do you? You _did_ say that _everyone_ should be challenged… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/45 "2008-05-17T04:44:07Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] I don’t know what that looked like when you originally linked to it, but I sense a fair amount of mischief afoot. [/QUOTE] Well I think the mischief has been cleared up, but now they are asking for citations on all his legal accomplishments. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/46 "2008-05-17T05:23:15Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] You _did_ say that _everyone_ should be challenged… 😃 [/QUOTE] Well, anyone stupid enough to run for office or present themselves as a pundit. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/47 "2008-05-17T05:23:31Z")
I admit, I had to look it up. I remember Chamberlain had made some kind of treaty with Hitler and waved the signed document to reporters, but the details escaped me. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been as helpless as Shouty McDumbass, though. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/48 "2008-05-17T05:33:47Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] I admit, I had to look it up. I remember Chamberlain had made some kind of treaty with Hitler and waved the signed document to reporters, but the details escaped me. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been as helpless as Shouty McDumbass, though. [/QUOTE] You probably wouldn’t have popped off about it in the first place, though, if you didn’t really know the details. That’s the thing. I admit, I didn’t know what Matthews was getting at either, but I would have looked it up before going on the show or just not brought it up at all. Matthews might have his lampoonable characteristics, but he isn’t any Glen Beck or Sean Hannity. He’s got some gray material up there and if he detects vacuity in a guest, he’ll go after it like a pitbull. I think Id probably be able to bullshit my way through Larry King Live or Hannity and Colmes, but if I was going on Hardball, I’d know to do my homework or there’s a chance (if Chris is in the mood), that I could look really dumb. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/49 "2008-05-17T05:35:35Z")
[QUOTE=Lakai] When I heard about what Bush said before I though, “since when appeasement talking to the enemy?” I deeply enjoyed Matthews telling that nuthole that appeasement before WWII was Chamberlain giving away half of Czechoslovakia, not talking with Hitler. It would be cool if a history teacher would show this clip to his class to demonstrate why knowing history is important. [/QUOTE] [History teacher here, checks class notes…] Dang, I will have to wait almost a year to teach the students that bit then. ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/50 "2008-05-17T05:45:30Z")
[QUOTE=GIGObuster] [History teacher here, checks class notes…] Dang, I will have to wait almost a year to teach the students that bit then. [/QUOTE] Why? You can only learn about WWII history during a certain part of the year? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/51 "2008-05-17T05:53:36Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] Why? You can only learn about WWII history during a certain part of the year? [/QUOTE] Essentially, yes. Chronological order is important. One has to follow the curriculum to prevent giving other teachers (in case you do not show up like when my car broke down) the grief of students demanding to continue a lesson or activity that a substitute teacher would not have a clue you are following. ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/52 "2008-05-17T08:21:08Z")
The point I was making was that you ought to do it now regardless. It’s not really valuable for learning history, but rather the importance of knowing what the hell you’re talking about in general. You can say, “look, it’s important to know what you’re talking about because people will call you out” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/53 "2008-05-17T12:35:02Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] I admit, I had to look it up. I remember Chamberlain had made some kind of treaty with Hitler and waved the signed document to reporters, but the details escaped me. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been as helpless as Shouty McDumbass, though. [/QUOTE] Don’t feel bad-I couldn’t recall for the exact moment then, either. [sub]and I was a history major[/sub]. I think we sure as hell knew it wasn’t about j_talking_ to Hitler. Hell, FDR talked to Stalin, Kennedy talked to Khruchev-doesn’t make either one of them an appeaser. -Still, if that’s the case, you’d probably have said, “Refresh my memory-I can’t recall the exact details.” ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/54 "2008-05-17T12:58:10Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] But what did he DO??? [/QUOTE] He demonstrated that he learned ‘Political Science’ and ‘History’ by switching channels between Rush Limbaugh and the WWF… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/55 "2008-05-17T13:19:05Z")
Wow; that much shouting gives me a headache, but Matthews did manage to expose something that’s bugged me for years: the conflation of “appeasement” with simply talking to one’s enemies, and the assumption that everything Neville Chamberlain did was wrong. (He gave away too much, but he also managed to keep England out of a war with Germany for a couple of crucial years while it built up strength.) How do these half-wits keep getting radio shows? I guess being able to shout non-stop is a kind of talent, but, man, that was a pathetic performance; I experienced _schadenfreude_ when James finally said (or shouted) “I don’t know!” There’s nothing like really aggressive ignorance. Reminds me of Bill O’Reilly lecturing John McCain about torture, or lecturing Wesley Clarke about military history (both of which, amazingly, he tried to do). ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/56 "2008-05-17T15:03:09Z")
Wow. Normally I feel bad for people when they get exposed like this, but after just a few words out of that guy’s mouth I already felt he’d deserve whatever he got. What a wormy putz. This reminds me of the comment Bush made a few years ago comparing himself and the Iraq war to Winston Churchhill and WWII. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/57 "2008-05-17T15:29:22Z")
Tsk tsk tsk. I thought everybody knew about Munich, Sudetenland, “Peace in our time”. I’ll pause a moment to bask in my superiority. I wonder what tipped Matthews off that James did not know that of which he spoke. He probably was just heading for the true definition of “appeasement”, and the differences between talking and giving shit away…and struck gold by accident. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/58 "2008-05-17T16:12:57Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] He’s got some gray material up there and if he detects vacuity in a guest, he’ll go after it like a pitbull. I think Id probably be able to bullshit my way through Larry King Live or Hannity and Colmes, but if I was going on Hardball, I’d know to do my homework or there’s a chance (if Chris is in the mood), that I could look really dumb. [/QUOTE] Vacuity? Vacuity is to Kevin James’ dumbassness as the hole at Ground Zero is to the Grand Canyon (how’s that for buzzwords). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/59 "2008-05-17T17:16:04Z")
[QUOTE=Lakai] When I heard about what Bush said before I though, “since when appeasement talking to the enemy?” I deeply enjoyed Matthews telling that nuthole that appeasement before WWII was Chamberlain giving away half of Czechoslovakia, not talking with Hitler. [/QUOTE] I loved the way that the Air America guy was just smiling as James proved his ignorance. The point not made was that Hitler, as the duly elected head of a major European power, didn’t have to legitimized by Munich. Legitimate is not a synonym for moral, alas. However, Matthews might be said to have legitimized a moron who should be broadcasting over a baby monitor in his basement. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542/60 "2008-05-17T17:15:33Z")
[QUOTE=Lakai] When I heard about what Bush said before I though, “since when appeasement talking to the enemy?” I deeply enjoyed Matthews telling that nuthole that appeasement before WWII was Chamberlain giving away half of Czechoslovakia, not talking with Hitler. [/QUOTE] I loved the way that the Air America guy was just smiling as James proved his ignorance. The point not made was that Hitler, as the duly elected head of a major European power, didn’t have to legitimized by Munich. Legitimate is not a synonym for moral, alas. However, Matthews might be said to have legitimized a moron who should be broadcasting over a baby monitor in his basement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-destroyed-on-hardball/449542.md?page=4)