Congress, GOP & Prostitutes, Politics, TV
I’m a long-time “Hardball” viewer, and after all these years, I’m still not sure what to think about Chris Matthews.
Before he got his own slot on MSNBC, Matthews was a center-left newspaper columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. He moved to television just in time for the Clinton wars, when, like a lot of other DC Kool Kids – Maureen Dowd, Christopher Hitchens, Andrew Sullivan, to name a few – he apparently took the Clintons’ flaws and foibles as a personal betrayal.
Today, five years on, he is still mad at them – spittle flies anytime Hillary’s name comes up.
Matthews was idealistic in his youth. He joined the Peace Corps and was a speechwriter for Pres. Carter and a staff member for House Speaker Tip O’Neill. Now he treats his early resume as a liability. Like the class brainiac who plays dumb so he can hang out with the jocks, he over-compensates for his liberal past by toadying up to Republicans, and regularly spouts their propaganda and talking points as fact.
Making nice with rightwingers is a smart career move. He obviously sees himself as next in line to host NBC’s once-vaunted “Meet the Press” on Sunday mornings. The show’s reputation has been so compromised by Tim Russert – another journo with a liberal background who is overweaningly pliable to the right – that replacing Russert with Matthews would be, at best, a lateral move.
Whatever happens with MTP, Chris Matthews’ GOP butt-kissing has already won him at least one accolade. Media Matters, the left’s leading news-bias watchdog organization, has named him “Misinformer of the Year.” (Last year’s winner was Bill O’Reilly.)
There is a thorough list of his mis-statements at Media Matters, but here are Matthews’ recent statements about Dear Leader that could have been scripted by Karl Rove:
* Chris “Hearts” George, Part 1: Bush sometimes “glimmers” with “sunny nobility.” On MSNBC’s Hardball, during a discussion with Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley of the effects on President Bush and his administration of the investigation into the leak of the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame, Matthews said “[S]ometimes it glimmers with this man, our president, that kind of sunny nobility.” [Hardball, 10/24/05]
* Chris “Hearts” George, Part 2: “Everybody sort of likes the president, except for the real whack-jobs …” Insulting the majority of Americans who hold an unfavorable opinion of President Bush, Matthews exclaimed on Hardball: “Everybody sort of likes the president, except for the real whack-jobs, maybe on the left,” adding, “I mean, like him personally.” [Hardball, 11/28/05]
* Chris “Hearts” George, Part 3: Matthews praised Bush speech as “brilliant” even before it was delivered. Before Bush had even delivered his November 30 speech at the U.S. Naval Academy, Matthews used variations of the word “brilliant” twice to describe it, while deriding Democratic critics of the Iraq war as “carpers and complainers.” [MSNBC live coverage, 11/30/05]
* Chris “Hearts” George, Part 4: Bush “belongs on Mount Rushmore.” Recounting his experience at a White House party, Matthews said that he “felt sensitive” during his interactions with the president, adding: “You get your picture taken with him. It’s like Santa Claus, and he’s always very generous and friendly.” He continued: “I felt like I was too towel-snappy with him,” explaining that Bush had noted his “red scarf” and remarked that he looked “preppy.” During the same show, Matthews stated: “If [Bush's] gamble that he can create a democracy in the middle of the Arab world” is successful, “he belongs on Mount Rushmore.” [Hardball, 12/16/05]
Topics: Congress, GOP & Prostitutes, Politics, TV
Matthews’ show rolled over and died as a serious news show with the run up to the war on Iraq when he failed to challenge the administration’s conventional wisdom, thus turned the show into “Softball.” He is no Edward R Murrow, rather he is more like a bit actor playing the 19 principles of propoganda fed by this administration, their apologists, and propoganda miester Rove. A real journalist would have challenged the assertions on the run up to the war by countering with the cautions noted by Blix, El Baradei, Ritter (folks who had been on the ground), by former Senator Bob Graham (who was head of the Senate Intel Committee and who did not buy the pre-war propoganda because it didn’t square with those pesky facts) Representative Dingell, by former generals Shinseki, Zinni, Clark, Hoar, Odum and many others. Since he committed himself and “Softball” to the war, Matthews’ allowed “Softball” to become another propoganda outlet, to include being another mouthpiece for the happy news that was piped out of Iraq by the administration, only to be recycled as news when the major media rebroadcast it. In his present personna he has no credibility to move to MTP. His network erred when they retired Aaron Brown, instead the network should have retired Matthews. Perhaps Fox would have room.
Security Watchtower
September 12, 2006
U.S. Military exceeds recruiting goals for 15th consecutive month
For the 15th consecutive month, the four major branches of the United States military met their recruiting goals (also see this pdf file with complete stats from June 2005 to June 2006).
Marine Corps Maj. Stewart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman, called the latest recruiting and retention successes a positive sign that the services are attracting the manpower they need to maintain a quality force for the future. “The numbers also indicate that people out there understand that we are involved in a global war on terror and are making the decision to serve this country at this important time,” Upton said. High retention rates military-wide show that once people join the military, many choose to continue their service. In addition to a good pay and benefits package and the benefit of learning skills, military service offers other less-tangible rewards, Upton said. “They’re staying in because many feel they have found a home, a family,” he said. “And they feel that they belong to something important. They feel that they are needed in this global war on terror, and they want to be a part of it.”
Our hats off to all the military recruiters who do an important and often thankless job, all while facing difficult challenges (ie. a 4.7 percent unemployment rate, anti-military zealots, etc). The highlights from August include:
During August, the Army recruited almost 10,500 soldiers, 104 percent of its goal, and the Marine Corps signed on more than 4,300 Marines, 107 percent of its goal. The Navy and Air Force both met their August goals, recruiting almost 4,100 sailors and almost 3,200 airmen, respectively.
Recruiting numbers in the reserve components were also up in August, with all components but the Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve meeting or exceeding their goals, defense officials said.
The Army National Guard recruited more than 6,500 soldiers, 100 percent of its goal. The Navy Reserve signed on almost 1,100 sailors, 106 percent of its goal; and the Marine Corps Reserve, with more than 800 recruits, exceeded its monthly goal by 1 percent. The Air National Guard recruited more than 1,000 airmen, 128 percent of its August goal.
The Air Force Reserve fell 1 airman short of its 849 goal, officials said. The Army Reserve, with more than 2,400 accessions, met 62 percent of its August goal but is faring better in year-to-date recruiting, which stands at 94 percent of the 33,100-plus goal, officials s