Hardball with Chris Matthews -- is this a joke?

Cafe Society
1

As a general rule I don’t watch TV news – I find it to be mostly hype and sensationalism, and I learn nothing that I can’t get from other sources. But the past couple of nights I’ve been watching MSNBC to get the latest on the All Cho Celebrity Week. Last night I saw a bit of Hardball with Chris Matthews.

How in the world did this clown get his own TV show? He reminds me of a character that might be played by Fred Willard in a Guest/Levy movie. I half expected him to shout “HEY! WHA HAPPENED? I DON’T THINK SO!” during his broadcast. It seems that the guy cannot speak without simultaneously shouting and tripping over his own words.

And it’s amazing the number of facts he either gets wrong or manufactures. Some of his (paraphrased) gems from last night:

“So the killer is just like other serial killers, like Ted Bundy and Hannibal Lecter and Jeffrey Dahmer and that guy who shot at Jodie Foster.”

“He mentioned Eric and Dylan, you know, the Klebolds.”

(Interviewing Cho’s roommate) “Back in my day we wouldn’t have put up with a weirdo for a roommate. I guess that’s this new tolerance thing everyone’s talking about.”

How does a schmuck like this get a job in news?

2

I’m still convinced that Nancy Grace is a joke most people aren’t getting. Kinda like the Village People.

3

Sure, but Nancy Grace is an evil joke. Matthews is more of an unfunny putz of a joke.

I remember seeing Grace comment on the trial of a murderer years ago, back in her CourtTV days. “He’s crazy if he thinks he’s getting off on an insanity plea.”

4

Well, the semi-serious answer is that Chris Matthews got on television basically by writing a great political book: Hardball. Then he did a few guest commentaries. Some producer said “Hey! We could give this guy a show and call it Hardball, y’know… like the book he wrote!” And the rest is history.

In all seriousness, I don’t mind Chris Matthews. He does talk (yell?) funny - and he’s not that great of a journalist. But I think of him as basically being a sports commentator, with the sport being politics.

BTW, since you don’t like TV news, and you don’t like Chris Matthews, can I recommend that you set your tivo to record Meet the Press on Sunday mornings? Tim Russert rules.

5

I caught about two seconds of the blowhard Glenn Beck the other day.

A blabbermouth was blabbing something like “these acts are typically lashing out at authority and are most commonly perpetrated by boys.”

Beck – playing the common man, apparently – goes, “can you say it so a guy like me can understand it?”

:: pause and look puzzled ::

“. . .authority? . . .boys?”

Like he’d never heard those two words before in his life.

I just can’t watch that shit. NYT had a nice article today on how well Charles Gibson has been during “Cho Week” at just delivering the news straight up.

6

Sure, I’ll give that a shot.

I like Keith Olbermann, he seems to be able to speak in complete sentences and know what the hell he’s talking about.

7

:dubious:

“How did it make you feel when he was making love to you?”

8

I don’t know; as much as all these shows autoparady themselves, I still think that the high point in the satire of so-called journalism occured with John Stewart’s infamous appearance on “Crossfire”:

STEWART: I think, oftentimes, the person that knows they can’t win is allowed
to speak the most freely, because, otherwise, shows with titles, such as “Crossfire”.

BEGALA: “Crossfire”.

STEWART: Or “Hardball” or “I’m Going to Kick Your Ass” or…

STEWART: Will jump on it. In many ways, it’s funny. And I made a special effort to come on the show today, because I have privately, amongst my friends and also in occasional newspapers and television shows, mentioned this show as being…bad.

BEGALA: We have noticed.

STEWART: And I wanted to – I felt that that wasn’t fair and I should come here and tell you that I don’t – it’s not so much that it’s bad, as it’s hurting America. But I wanted to come here today and say…

STEWART: Stop, stop, stop, stop hurting America.

…

STEWART: I didn’t realize that – and maybe this explains quite a bit.

CARLSON: No, the opportunity to…

STEWART: … is that the news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity.

…

STEWART: You’re on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls.

…

CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think.

STEWART: You need to go to one. The thing that I want to say is, when you have people on for just knee-jerk, reactionary talk…

CARLSON: Wait. I thought you were going to be funny. Come on. Be funny.

STEWART: No. No. I’m not going to be your monkey.

After that, the television news media, and Fox in particular, is like the tail end of a Saturday Night Live skit, or Series Five of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

“Stop, stop, stop, stop…hurting America.”

Stranger

9

Word.

10

I generally like Matthews. He’s to the left of me (not difficult at all) but he LOVES politics and he KNOWS politics. That’s his appeal- not his eloquence or his knowledge of anything outside of politics. I did do a double-take at his including Lecter with real people. The Klebold thing I could excuse as a slip of the tongue.
The comment to Cho’s roomie was an awkward attempt to seem chummy.

I think Doctor Who sums it up well: But I think of him as basically being a sports commentator, with the sport being politics.

11

It definitely was. But that’s just the thing, he seems to have a lot of them. I found it hard to listen to him, because he couldn’t seem to get a sentence out without… without manhandling, er, get a mangle out with… get out of the mangrove sentence.

And I didn’t like the way he interviewed the student. He’d ask a question, and then talk over the student, providing the answer he wanted to hear. (Once again paraphrased if not entriely fictional.)

CM: Steve, was did the killer play a lot of violent video games?

S: No, I never saw him playing any vid…

CM: Do you think his playing video games triggered this incident?

S: He didn’t play a…

CM: What is it about the video games that set him off?

S: I don’t know what set hi…

CM: Steve, do you like gladiator movies?

And on and on it went.

12

Commentary is not news.

13

I think you guys are forgetting one of the best post-convention news clips in history…

Zell Miller challenges Chris Matthews to a duel. :smiley:

14

Hell, yes. He doesn’t give a damn what party you’re from. When you sit across from him, you’re going to account for all the loose-tongued shit you rattled off for years without anybody calling your bluff. Tim Russert is the bluff caller.