Fresh off spending most of late Tuesday afternoon and early evening quivering with glee over what was sure to be a devastating loss for Hillary Clinton — long the object of his misogynistic scorn. Chris Matthews spent most of the evening with his arms crossed or making insane movie analogies. That is, when Rachel Maddow, Tom Brokaw and even Pat Buchanan were not mocking him. And sitting across from him was a contractually disarmed Keith Olbermann having to refrain from joining in on the fun. How many "Worst Persons in the World" awards has Matthews been deprived of because of this?
Having been singled out as a main culprit behind voter backlash one might think Matthews would contemplate and consider his behavior.
But we all know that was too much to ask. So yesterday the story from the spittle-spewing Matthews pie-hole was that New Hampshire voters are either bigots or liars — just like New York voters are sops for electing Clinton in the first place — because in Matthews’ world view they only did so because her husband cheated on her.
How has this guy not been snatched up by Rupert?
Admittedy, I’ve used this clip on my blog before — and I will again — for I do love it so. Brother Theodore did for a comedic-living what Chris Matthews thinks he is doing as a public service. If only Olbermann was allowed to be like Letterman. And you do have to admit, Tweety & Ted look and act a lot alike.
Related posts:
- Howard Kurtz or NYT: Who Got Punk’d by Their Sources?
- Keith Olbermann Gives Contradictory Statement to Glenn Greenwald
- Rikyrah: Opt-Out States Are “Where the Majority of the Black Population in This Country Lives”
- Glenn Greenwald On His MSNBC Source For the GE-Olbermann Story
- Late Night: Elephants on Parade
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Good morning A/T
Last night he delivered one sentence that made me think that he’s reading the criticism. He said any of these candidates are capable of being the next pres. Then he listed them and included Edwards. Of course, then he went back to discussing Hillary and Obama exclusively.
That doesn’t look like a $400 haircut on Tweety.
How has KO been contractually disarmed? IMWTK.
You’re right Atta, you CANNOT mock him enough – for me. And I thank you for it.
The man has no self-awareness.
First of the day: “misogynistic.” Ding!
That is the institutional cut. Done by one of the other mentally deranged inmates at the asylum.
Mock, decry denounce. I posted a link to a DKOS frontpager last nite that documents the history of verbal abuse of women in gen. and HRC in partic. with all the necessay email links for filing complaints. Write write write and not only to each other via FDL. Best recommended lines, more or less:
or
“…you do have to admit, Tweety & Ted look and act a lot alike.”
Especially that very last second or so of the clip. /snark!
You’re right mrstrailerco
One less bingo.
I omitted it thinking it would spoil your day. Any synonym you prefer?
Let’s all ask Tweety to follow his own suggestion he put out in response to the put-down from Brokaw:
Tweety, I would be happy for you to stay home through early November. That would do us all a great favor.
See Glenn’s post yesterday for the full conversation.
I get the impression that a number of people here watch tweety teevee. Why?
Poor Tweety. He’s suffering people! He’s got way too many unsolved issues in his life. I bet he sees Hillary as his mother for crying out loud!
Ewww.
I’m with you, nomolos.
OK, brought forward from the last thread or whatever whacky thing we says here:
OK, I’m a stupid male. What was so bad about the Collins piece?
KO is clearly allowed to mock damn near everything but not too much on MSNBC. Tweety for example, to my recollection has never been a WPITW nominee. The only explanation is KO isn’t supposed to do so.
You are indeed a stupid male. Don’t you get it she is a female and therefor is not allowed an opinion
I take it MSNBC is not where he normally hangs out?
Well, my head hasn’t ’sploded as I feared, so I think I’ll be OK. I do appreciate your concern and also your good sense in not taking me seriously 9on this, anyway.) The written word doesn’t always convey jest.
No preferred synonym.
Attaturk -
I know there are some pups who may be tired of (or don’t see validity in) the tweety hits but here’s one vote for “keep on keeping on”. He is just the most visible (for the moment) example of the boil on the brain of the MSM that MUST be lanced. The lies, disinformation, spew, et al that the media have been allowed to perpetuate for far too many years is only gonna get worse as we head into November and beyond that. Basta, already….. to every lazy/lying and empty/evil voice in today’s media.
Me, too I guess. I got upbraided yesterday for thinking MoDo’s piece yesterday was good. Won’t make that mistake again. Or if I do, I’ll at least ahve the good sense to keep it to myself.
Well, I’m sure she’s permitted her opinion. But, I’m not putting a lot of stock in anyone who characterizes Joe Lieberman as a moderate.
cannot bash tweety enough
he’s patronizing creep with a fairly big platform
I agree, it’s time for some talking heads to roll
Ah the beauty of the first amendment. It allows people to make asses of themselves right out there in public. But I guess lieberman is a moderate compared to nutinyahoo another crazy man from israel.
Dawson Bell, newspaper guy -Detroit Free Press- on CSPAN 1 about the Michigan primary
Re. heads rolling……since their mouths and their brains are already disconnected, it wouldn’t be any great loss.
What a guy. Here’s another sexist gem from him taken from the Media Matters article IrishJim found yesterday:
That article is a goldmine. Here’s the link for those who missed it yesterday:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200712180005
Tweety represents the status of the garbage that give this country its news on a daily basis.
He is approaching the breaking point and even the fools that are his bosses will find that they will have to either reign him in or get rid of him.
KO made the point recently that puzzles me the most. The goal is profit and offering the non neo, ignorant Mathews position no longer can possibly be disputed.
AND RACHEL JUST SITS THERE WAITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Atta,
What’s weird is that Tweety uses *exactly* the same conventional wisdom as Maureen Dowd: Bill gave Hillary NY for cheating, her supporters are old, embittered women, etc. It’s uncanny.
I think she’s him in drag.
‘morning all – coffee is ready…
Tweety is a real piece of work.
I think her point was that Obama has a gift in making Lieberman-esque “bipartisanship” sexy.
And I sort of liked the article, since it clearly expressed why reporters hate her and voters do not. The paragraph on how HRC won New York was pretty good, and accurate.
Last night, Dan Abrams, Laurence O’Donnell, and Pat Buchannon, in talking about the MSM could be so wrong on the NH primary, all casually agreed that MSM reports, from the entire political spectrum, dislike Hillary Clinton and her organization and were expectant and gleefull at her anticipated demise. Yet they never elaborated on why all reporters would dislike HRC and whether that has any effect on their “reporting” of events.
I’m not on the “let’s get rid of the misogynistic creep” bandwagon. But to those of you who are, remember MSNBC caved on Imus. Don’t know if taht means they’ll do it again or if they’ll feel a need to stand up for one of their people. I guess it all comes down to sponsors and I don’t know that any of Tweety’s are feeling any heat or share your sense of outrage. We’ll see.
Someone asked about the Exit Poll data last thread and you might find some of the results interesting.
LA Times Graphic Analysis
CNN Cross-Tabulations
First off…the voter proportions between the parties was about 55% Democrats to 45% Republican. Actual number of men were about the same. Women outnumbered men in the Democratic Primary vote 55%-45%. Republicans had just the opposite gender proportions.
Younger people typically gravitated to the Democrats, although Ron Paul appeared to attract many of those who voted in the Republican Party. The Republicans average over $75,000 income. Democrats average below this. Even a substantial number of Republicans do not have a religion or are not active Church-Attenders. About a quarter view themselves as evangelical or born again.
The data regarding the Republicans are almost as interesting as the Democrats. Over half of those voting thought Bush was doing a lousy job. But a majority of those thought he wasn’t Conservative ENOUGH! Still, about half the voters thought abortion should be legal.
Interestingly, of those evangelicals that voted McCain and Romney had as much support as Huckabee (@ 1/3rd)….splitting that group up.
On the Democratic side of the ledger there were some weird things. Despite Hillary’s failure to strongly renege her vote against the War in Iraq MORE of her supporters proportionately support an IMMEDIATE withdrawal than did Obama and Edwards supporters. Only about 5% of Democrats want a Continuing military presence in Iraq of any sort.
Dig deep and you’ll see other patterns that will seem odd, suggesting that the messages of the campaigns are not necessarily resonating with voters.
I think her point was that Obama has a gift in making Lieberman-esque “bipartisanship” sexy.
And I sort of liked the article, since it clearly expressed why reporters hate her and voters do not. The paragraph on how HRC won New York was pretty good, and accurate.
That’s sort of how I read it and some of the comments were so dissmissive of HER that I wondered if some m*soginist hadn’t written them.
Digby’s got a new post up on the topic at hand. *g* Y’all know the way……….
I just read his wiki. I didnt realize that hes almost as old as I am. He was born in ‘45. His wife who is lovely was an award winning journalist.
Sometimes he’s great but then he’s acts as stupid as he has lately. His obsession with Hillary is strange.
I watch him but often mute the whole yelling thing.
Bob Schieffer on Imus’ show this a.m. gave props to the Collins piece. He also was positively gleeful at the prospect that maybe the nominees for both parties would be undecided all the way to the conventions. How exciting would it be [I paraphrase] to actually have real conventions instead of informercials.
Can’t argue with that.
Are yopu listening to Bernstein right now?
God, he’s lusting after Hillary–bad. This is the only explanation I can honestly think of for his outrageous yet casual bigotry towards her (and by extension all women and girls).
I realize this is off thread, but important. Can sombody explain, if you care, how a FDL article on the 9th Circuit Appeals Courts overturning a provision of San Frans healthcare law as it relates to ERISA, appearing this morning. is gone 20 minutes later, after I posted a response to it. Same thing happen last week with another FDL article written on $100.00 barrel Oil. It disappeared, just like this morning’s post. This does not past the sniff here folks. Why would FDL remove two topics of such national importance? The FDL post provided a link to this article:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/…..IUC2V1.DTL
Why is the link to the article and reponse posted gone?
Hillary failed the DC Bar?
correction “reversing a lower couts decision!”
Great article. Dismisses notion of HRC’s “emotions” playing a role: late breaking voters (those who chose within the last 3 days) overwhelmingly chose Obama; Obama didn’t lose votes (Edwards did); and, if anything, it was the widespread bigotry in the press that inspired voters who already favored HRC to vote.
http://alternet.org/module/printversion/73242
Every now and then, I write to NBC and MSNBC asking that they have a sex therapist watch Tweety’s broadcasts.
cinnamonape–
I don’t see many crosstabs. I’m particularly interested in the gender composition of late deciders. Know where I can find those.
Note, btw, that the gender composition of the voters was the same in IA as in NH.
And if you haven’t seen Bowers’ analysis you should.
Raven,
I think that some people may be misreading the last section, where she talks about why HRC’s tone resonates with women who are competent but overlooked, taken for granted, attacked and exhausted, as being a misogynist attack on women voting with their emotions. But I didn’t see it ass negative, which it would have been if, say, Dowd had written it. But it explained, to some extent, why the weeklong smears from the press and other Dems didn’t work.
Tweety: Maddow :: Dowd: Collins, in other words.
I saw your comment, it’s with the news article section, the article and your comment are right here
the article moved off the front page but is still available :)
Ha! I know! Poor bastard.
Thx!
Here are the links Cinnamonape left for me downstairs: http://firedoglake.com/2008/01…..nt-1195313
I just read it , too. A few questions and oberservations:
- is he responsible for Jimmy Carter’s use of thwe word “malaise” for which he got poundeed or “moral equivalent of war” which made no sense?
- i note he did graduate work at UNC-Chappel Hill. You’d think he might talk about the local guy in the race a little bit more?
- he got an honorary doctorate at .U So. Carolina along with his wife? Is this sorta a reverse of his analysis of Hillary? He only got it because of his wife?
Listening with half an ear. I think he gets Hillary better than any of the “reporters” and pundits who hate on her.
Prairie’s blowin’ Tiny Bubbles this a.m.
Seriously? Here’s the answer: that item was in the news box. If you go up to the news box and click on “more news,” you’ll find that the link to that article is still there. Yep, right there on the website. Not disappeared or anything. The headlines in the news box rotate through as new news comes up because, as we all know, there is new news alla time.
Everything is not a conspiracy, gang — sometimes, it’s just a matter of clicking through a link.
Why I ever watched Tweety, FWIW:
I was aware that Matthews worked for Tip O’Neill and in this early days in television, he occasionally represented the liberal view on shows like “Crossfire.” I happended to see him during the Clinton impeachement thing, and wondered what happended to him. I knew he was a Catholic, and thought,like some, the morality thing must have weighed so strong with him that he was blinded to the Republican use of something unrelated to government to overthrow the twice elected President.
After a long period of never seeing him, I noted a while back that he actually had a descent viewpoint on Iraq and would call neocons to task. Still, I knoted the bizarre dislike for the Clintons. I was somewhat fascinated to try and figure out that, and his other idiosyncracies, like severely and critically questioning someone for 20 minutes and then ending with a higly laudatory non-sequitur. Anyway, in the last six months, the anti-Hillary crap was so bad I couldn’t even watch to try and figure it out.
This guy Mathews has been after Hillary since the midterm elections. He definitely has a problem with women. But I really beleive that more than his problem with women, he really love the man. He called McClain “Big Mac” yesterday, drools over manly men like nobody I’ve ever seen before. I stayed up late during the NH primary just to watch his disapointment after seeing him sneering over the predicted loss of Hillary Clinton. At the beginning of the night, he had the biggest grin on his face. At the end, he was soooo defensive. Then yesterday, he explained to his viewers that she won because NH voters were bigots. PLEASE! NH voters were smarter than he gave them credit for. Lets not be lead around by the MSM that said Al Gore was stiff and boring so we must vote for Bush.
He has always supported Edwards. Had him on and praised him, but this madness over Hillary wins, I guess. I think Chris thinks hes funny and cute. Kind of weird for a 62 yr old man
Note also that he went to a Catholic grade school, high school, and college.
The right wing was successful in having Dan Rather removed from CBS. It’s now time for progressives to mount a coordinated campaign to cleanse the media of the Matthews, Russerts et al of the airwaves.
Chris Matthews has done the republicans a great service. For democrats, he’s become a red herring dragged across the trail of Hillary’s track record. Now, no one is interested in asking her tough questions; all we want to do is figuratively depict her with crutches and head wounds, and award her the nomination as an antibiotic painkiller.
Not good.
yesterday tweety told us he saw Obama for the first time in NH
and gave a little ode
except that’s a big fat lie..Tweety was in Springfield when obama announced
he is a blithering idiot who is nothing more than a big fat liar who thinks he is the news
The same reason people pick their scabs?
Don’t have cable and never watch Tweety but if I were to offer a Fristian diagnoses, I’d say it’s male menopause.
I totally reject this.
First Amendment, remember?
turn in too soon to watch KO
Naw, I don’t think so. It seems like Edwards’ supporters are overly concerned that a large number of people are going to commit to Hillary Clinton based on nothing but a dislike for unfair treatment. I think that may have been valid in NH. I actually didn’t want the primary to end and the candidate to be selected based on the MSM anit-Hillary bullshit. Have a little faith. I think we’ll all try to vote with some intelligence, based on the records of the remaining candidates. By the way, the records, as opposed to what they say, are not that different.
Matthews has this image of himself as the irish working class yob from
the 1950’s, an old line Catholic Archie Bunker yer maun type, that he
and, evidently his employer, think sells to a target market. Convince
his sponsors or just take him out back and beat the shit out of him,
methinks paddy’s never been in a fight.
I found it very TELLING that when Tweety said Hillary should come on his show, she laughed, and said “Yeah, right.”
Just that should have been enough to show his bosses he was a joke. But — we know who his bosses are.
And to see him and Scarborough laughing at her treating him as a schoolboy — like SHE was the joke — hahahaha. They don’t GET it.
Me too. And grad school. I win!!!
Didn’t know that. I on’t watch him very much.
Likewise.
Thats Joe theres a dead girl in your office Scarborough.
I don’t get it either. I watch FOX to see how they’re covering things and alot of people here would never watch FOX. But they se3m to harbopr as much hatred, if not more, for Matthews (is it required to call him “Tweety”?). But they watch him. Alot. i don’t get it.
Good morning from L.A. Mockery of Matthews is to no avail I’m afraid, since Tweety is what passes for tested & established @ MSNBC-his contract to blather on extends through the general election & probably beyond. Maybe a tidal wave of complaints would be cause to terminate, but doubt it…
OT- today’s Page 1 of LA Times dead tree edition features big pic of GWB & Olmert in a cozy, grinning photo op, Bush w/his reading specs perched on his nose, them both examining a GPS that Olmert gave Georgie to attach to his trail bike.
Ironic headline of lead article right next to pic reads :
Booby Trap Kills 6 U.S. Soldiers
(Link is online night rewrite version)
Tie, then. Tiebreaker: Altar boy?
Thanks for the link to the Bowers piece. Nice bit of analysis.
Of course.
He pinched her cheek. He’s the most condescending person on the planet.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=23yp21gOB5s
Yeah I just looked at the Iowa gender % and they were the same. I agree that it’s Edwards that seemed to lose support. There is also a tiny bit of loss in the total age turnout for 18-29. It seems that it may have been a percent or two less (w/in margin of error?) but also in the numbers of 24-29 year olds that supported Obama in Iowa. Clinton matched him in that latter subgroup (it was only 7% of the total, though), thus reducing his likely 60% support within the total 18-29 cohort.
You’ve said you’ve looked at the 2004 Primary results as well…what was Edwards’ gender support there in NH in 2004? Could it be that he really never had that support in NH women to begin with? That it wasn’t a real erosion? Maybe he never had that support to begin with? Perhaps women in NH supported Hillary more than women in Iowa because of carryover of media and just general familiarity from an adjacent states Senator?
We may never really know what the cause of the Obama surge was and which groups jumped, or if it was the result of some flaw in the modeling of the electorate expected to turnout for the election. The pollsters may not have taken, or processed, such detailed demographic comparisons for their pre-Iowa and post-Iowa surveys.
Maybe Hillary WAS losing female voters after Iowa’s loss, but they got “sticker shock” and returned back to the fold. Unless we actually knew the NH pre-Iowa/post Iowa survey numbers in more detail that possibility can’t be excluded.
You know, I asked that altar boy question and right after said “Oh Jeez, I hope askin’ doesn’t bring up any traumatic memories.” Seriously. What a shame.
Me too. I dunno what to do for a shootout. Just call it a tie?
Suits me. ;-)
OK.
Jon Stewart mopped the floor with him a couple of months ago, on Matthews’ advocating lying in his book — which he didn’t disavow. Tweety stalked off practically enraged.
MSNBC.com – Kerry endorses Obama
Tweety of Arabia!
And poor KO having to sit next to the fool. I can hear his teeth grinding from here.
OT
Have you all looked at this site?
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/index.asp
It amazes me just how much cash is being spent.
I wonder how much of all that money goes right in to the pockets of MSM?
Those Democratic consultants can piss away money to advertising firms amazingly fast. And often they get kickbacks and/or commissions on these expenditures.
that is what I just said to my husband *g*
I said this yersterday, but since you mention it….
I don’t watch the guy much and when I do, well, I just wasn’t getting why people here were making so much of a fuss. I just didn’t see it. I thought he was just another gasbag – albeit a high profile one – who was usually : 1) wrong; or 2) had nothing to say.
Then I saw “the pinch” the other night and I realized what everyone was talking about. Unbelievable that he would do that to a United States Senator who might well become the President of the United States. literally not believable. I was like “Did he just pinch her cheek????!!!!”
Kerry to endorse Obama
Prodigious numbers. Kucinich will probably have to drop out, as he’s almost out of money. Perhaps a lot of money has already been appropriated for media buys down the road, particularly for Tsunami Tuesday in a month?
Hmmmm. I thught he’d sit it out. I don’t know how much endorsements, in themselves, mean to us peoples. Just another thing for those fools in the msm to overstate the importance of. But I refer to the endorsement “in and of itself”. Kerry has a PAC & do-re-me doesn’t he? If so, that’ll help BO.
Every time I listen to Joe Scarborough to me there is a lightly, lengthily sheet of contempt, a layer of personal, or trained bias, that conference room corporate meeting typed polarization, all developed by very determined corrupt corporate money managers, that continuous Media driven ideal that Hillary is hated by a wide majority of Americans. For year shoveled on Hillary to bury her. How could these people vote for Hillary, Mainstream Media is sure that she is hated by America.
All of a sudden, As if by some spirit, the Angle’s of God and the Devil are right in the communications medium fighting for the minds and the vote of the electorate. The Irony all placed in the conversation of this election, God is part of our being in our minds and hearts and now may very well be showing a truth. Mainstream Media is wrong. This is funny, if it is true, many candidates talk about God, but at this moment everyone witnessed what one might consider a divine spirit of unity was definitely with Hillary. But the Media is screaming, racism, racism the voters are lying.
All this, battling the corrupt corporate Borg connected to those secretly hidden ear pieces, all sitting in round robin taking orders though their ear rather then though their heart. How could a citizen battle power like this? All this happening, on going for years in the media, sneering, contempt to the ideal that Hillary is the status quo ranted by Edwards, yet only a few years ago, with Kerry he, Edwards, was the Status quo. Then, this New Hampshire election happens, the poles are off. What could it be? Perhaps we all witnessed something the Media would be terrified to recognize, did America just witness a miracle? Was the Audacity of Hope hitting, Hillary the real target? I think so.
Is he going to write jokes for the campaign
He must have a lot of power and $$$ left. I think it is good for Obama
LOL
So, no endorsement by JK of his former running mate, John Edwards.
It’s my understanding (if you can believe Wiki) that they are not even on speaking terms.
OT: Reid:
MSNBC, the network who also gave us Don Imus, will do nothing about Chris Matthews. And giggle while they’re not doing it.
Right on!
So whaddya gonna do about it?
I never trust Wiki on politics, but so I’ve read also. Edwards apparently very vocal in his questioning of the early cave/concession by Kerry on election day ‘04.
While I am all for the justified mocking of Mathews (and all his fellow travelers), I gotta say something OT-ish. It may, or may not, have had an effect on the vote for Clinton but those two asshats that protested Hillary with “Iron my shirt!” posters and a chant saying the same thing? I gotta say, my first response was, “What assholes”. Then, quite involuntarily because Hillary and the rest of these…creatures…are calculating politicians well before they are human, I had the thought that this little incident may well have been a plant by the Clinton campaign to gen up the anti-sexism vote.
C’mon, you have to consider that it is a possibility that these guys were plants rather than real assholes. I’m not saying that this (and the crying, which didn’t bother me at all because the context was appropriate – context is everything) was responsible for Hillary winning NH. I am just putting it out there that McAuliffe and company (ANY DLC strategerists) would be more than capable of such dishonesty. I want those two guys checked out to see if they were true GOPers or were plants.
That all said, I simply hold to the idea that NH was Hillary’s to lose from the get-go and that Obama simply came close to changing what was originally set to be less of a close call. I hate the entire narrative of “comeback chick” or “comeback girl” or “comeback kid II” because it is just so phony. I’d prefer the voters to vote and the gassbag press stand back out of the way and actually do their jobs: discuss actual policies and their honest effects. I don’t know if Hillary is “back” or not. I want Edwards to win, but barring that, I want him to stay in the race until the bitter end so he can play King (or Queen) Maker and, in doing so, extract some TRUE progressivity from the final candidate.
I liked Imus. They not only gave him to us but they took him away. He got shafted. Seems to have landed on his feet, though.
Maybe something to do with Edward’s supposedly talking Kerry into “standing their ground” on their Iraq Force Authorization Resolution votes when Bush said “what are they complainin’ about…both those guys supported the invasion, are they now saying that kicking Saddam out was a bad idea?”. Kerry wanted to, and was advised by others to “flip flop” and make a clean break with his vote by a public mea culpa but Edwards advised against doing so.
Then, after the election, Edwards did a mea culpa! Maybe that’s one reason they don’t like one another?
I have read reports that it was a stunt by folks from the morning drive time show on WBCN, which is one of the first rock stations in the country. I used to listen to that station when I lived in the area. Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t see a bunch of radio idiots coordinating things with advisers to a presidential campaign.
Think Opie & Anthony type shows. Or Howard Stern if you will
Unfortunately as bad as it is, it is the best of the lot. I don’t even have FOX as an available channel on my remote and I don’t thinkn I know which of my 800 Channels is CNN.
Indeed, these guys are drive-time DJ’s who make a living by being adolescents…much of their schtick is about being sexist and just plain crass.
Toucher And Rich “Iron My Shirt” Prank
Toucher and Rich
BTW their web-site is down for “construction”, but Wikipedia goes into detail about the types of humor these guy promote…such as ask a pretty girl for a date, then excuse oneself to go to the restroom, and discuss ones acts of defecation to the girl in euphemisms.
Or to make fart noises on the air during serious interviews.
These guys are witless versions of Borat.
My argument is that it could well have been a political stunt by Hillary’s people to play off the gender issue. Of course, I would not put it past a Howard Stern to put up a totally undirected (not intended to help OR hurt) stunt for “grins and giggles” – but if that were the case, they would hype their stunt after the fact. A Howard Stern-ish stunt is a publicity stunt and to benefit, they would have to claim ownership and provide the guys in on it. No ownership has been claimed which means it was either REAL. There really were two asshole cavemen GOPers doing an “honest” protest against Hillary OR it was a political stunt to garner a feminist backlash vote.
I have suspicions, not proof. It may have been good for a percent or two of vote gain for Clinton (or prevented the loss of a percent or two to Obama or Edwards) but it wouldn’t have, by itself, won the day. The crying thing helped humanize the political robot to many people (it doesn’t affect me that way – I just don’t trust the emotions displayed in politicians in general) and may have prevented the loss of another percent or two to Obama or Edwards.
In any case, I still wonder about those “Iron my shirt!” guys AND I still think NH was always Hillary’s to lose, just as it was McCain’s to lose on the GOPer side. Whether that translates downstream is anyone’s guess. I think McCain gains simply because as Romney’s campaign implodes, McCain is the only establishment candidate left with any chance. Huckabee scares the Zeus (the uber God of us all) out of the establishment GOP so McCain, as broken a candidate as he is, is all they have left.
Hillary, on the other hand, is simply one of three good candidates to choose from, though she is third in the order of “goodness”. There is no “comeback” because it is not (yet) Obama’s to lose or Edward’s to lose.
Ah…then if they are claiming ownership of the stunt for its intended purpose (publicity) then I can put the suspicion that it was a political stunt to rest.
Of course, their stunt likely DID have the immediate effect of helping Hillary vis a vis an anti-sexism backlash. It blends in nicely with Tweety’s dismissive sexist crap on Hillary and likely equates to a gain of a few percent of sympathy votes OR the prevention of the loss of a few percent to other candidates.
Like I was saying. . .
And as a radio shock-jock stunt it makes your immediate suspicion of a coordinated campaign stunt done nefariously by the Clinton’s to be a way over the top conspiracy theory.
Ya know, not every bad thing or thing that is beneficial to the Clinton’s is an underhanded plan by them.
Dowd’s piece was great – clever, funny, lively; she is a very entertaining writer. The problem was that she was LYING. It was a hit piece, pure and simple. Maureen Dowd makes stuff up in her columns all the time. For the record, there were no “tracks of her tears,” there was no crying, and there certainly was no crying jag. And that’s not a matter of opinion either (the standard defense of Dowd is that she’s on the OpEd page). That’s just the truth. My husband watched the clip and didn’t even know that Clinton had misted up. And I’m not trying to upbraid anybody, I’m just stating the obvious.
And as I expressed above, my suspicion can be put to rest. It is NOT beyond these people to do something like this, however. These Carville-types, these McAuliffe-types, are not moral or ethical creatures. They are, quite literally, Grimma Wormtongues of our political system.
It is clear that they are not above planning or considering setting up 527s to go all negative on Obama, for instance. Obama isn’t above getting down there too, in spite of his rhetoric. Nor is Edwards, sadly. They have both hit at Hillary for her tears, afterall, as either phony (Obama) or a sign of potential weakness (Edwards). And there is always the possibility with these politicians that any tears they shed under any circumstances are, in fact, crocodile tears. I ALWAYS suspect that…or that the tears are simply “heartfelt” self-pity (tears that come from married GOPers who are caught with wide stances in public restrooms, for instance).
Always cast a jaundiced eye at signs of “humanity” from otherwise tightly wound and tightly controlled politicians. They really are NOT like the rest of humanity.
Didn’t somebody named Glass get in a whole lot of trouble at The New Republic for doing this back in the day?
ny favorite HRC reponse to tweety~I saw in some video on C&L within last few days~it was along the lines of “I never know what to say to men who are obsessed with me”.
Maybe it was in the inflection but I immediately felt that I knew what she meant. Some people who worked for me (especially men) were always scarded of me- all 5′ of nothing. It got to the point that I learned to laugh at it, finnally seeing that there was nothing I could do to change their reality. Very reminiscent of wingnuttery logic-no mater what I said or did, it was viewed as proof that “she’s scary” . I can imagine HRC shaking her head at some point and going-what IS it with these guys???? (actually at many many many points..)
hahahaha
Thanks…
As if they had the power to control anything that well….just doing the best they can folks…as for the so called 527 campaign against Obama- I think that was just more wingnuttery plants..throw something into that cage and see the mammals scramble……
If one starts to take a good look at Obama many Americans can see how this guy is in a manipulated tide of affection, praise, admiration, and fundamentally a whole bunch of power steering. Here, America hopes Obama is driving in a well designed Corvette out of American automakers, not some new fangled Chinese hybrid Americans are forced to buy from a Wal-Mart show room because the economy tracks for the powerful few.
Just getting through the prologue rereading some very catching statements Obama makes that encourage me, yet suddenly brings me to caution.
It’s to know that from the get go Obama is very concerned about the impact of his name in politics. I’m glad and impressed by this admission. Sitting with a friend and adviser in a restaurant his friend said “You can’t change your name, of course, Voters are suspicious of that kind of thing”. As they look over and talked about the headlines of Osama Bin Laden.
It is definitely not just experience but maturity that links me to caution. Here, the basics with American success in working through this experiment of our current formula of Democracy are so important and so distorted by Mainstream Media, I feel afraid. That so called powerful endorsement by Oprah and failed win of Obama in New Hampshire signals a time for reflection to play fair follow the money plus following the deeds. The Media hates Hillary so much they wish to jump through the logic of debates and go directly to a Republican vs. Democratic play off. To me and perhaps a great deal of others, ideals in laws, believes in the Constitution, philosophies in social structure, Public housing, affirmative action, the list goes on but the Media avoids much because of previous Republican controlled Congress abuse of power and deliberate secrecy America is dealing with now.
My caution with support to Obama starts immediately in the prologue when Obama states “ Most of us are wise to the ways of admen, pollsters, speechwriters, and pundits.” To me Obama completely dismisses the huge wave of hate black rape music industry that in it self is the economics of party time, big money, an economy based black drug society bridging the whites, sex, homicide, theft, social friction to the decadence in factories of jail time training. To me here, Obama just thinks about the power steering to a good life, and totally avoid conversations about the power brakes needed.
That simple low keyed conversation Hillary is accused in acting, staged, using sexism, weeping, crying, pouting, showing emotion, like candidates are not supposed to, show me a new side of Hillary, and a new support for her as the right choice to lead. Just by saying “She, Hillary, see’s where America is going and it must be reversed”. I totally agree, Hillary understands the power brakes are broken, or just a plain poor design.
RE: OK, I’m a stupid male. What was so bad about the Collins piece?
Go read Digby.
Ahhh… KO looking for a contract.
Money talks for everyone. Damn things are gonna suck when money starts sreaming.
“what are we to do … should we stay home”
The best was….
but, but, but – some of the poll companies…they need it..but
- I was screaming: Shut up and take Tom’s advice – drop the crack pipe. and HOW ABOUT ISSUES and POLICY.
Umm – no he does not support Edwards. He mocks him by calling him a good looking likable guy (policy and leadership is a sign of respect, not…umm your a nice guy).
He also had Liz Edwards on and laughed at her and spent 2 minutes on the trial lawyer/ambulance chaser thing.
He also clearly likes Clinton far less, and acts like he’s off his meds when she is around or even brought up.
Yes, Hillary put the IRON MY SHIRT guys there as a stunt to gain sympathy, just like John Kerry shot himself in order to win his Purple Heart. What does it say about the kind of insane crap that Hillary faces that this kind of bizarre ideation can be found on a supposedly liberal blog?
And she slapped him. She should not come close to him.
As for Edwards losing support I think its because NH voters do think about “electability” and with fewer stories and him being lower in the polls they bought into the main event (Obama-Edwards). I also think that Clinton got most of the Biden & Dodd support. Lastly I surely think that Clinton had game on the ground and solid support in any case. I do think she likely got a point due to the idiot pundants on TV (both for mocking her, and because while electability is important there is also a strong faction in NH that wants to buck the norm [or in this case the mini-norm since its not exactly like some Huckabee 5th to 1st turn-around]). Lastly I would add a mini bounce of maybe 1 point due to 50 – 55 degree weather that without a doubt (and I am glad) helped older voters get to the polls amid 30+ inches of melting snow from DEC. Anyway thats my dime store guesses. Since I am not sure how people crossing from one primary to the other impacted the race I have dropped trying to think what impact that might have been – in this race anyone who did not want to vote for one of the many candidates in their own party (or the one they lean towards) could well be unstable!
Kerry endorses Obama…and he will likly loose a point :)
As for political strategy I do not think anyone thinks that they are not all going to push visceral arguments of Change (when not)/Experience (when they dont have it)/ Unity (when practically/effectivly its not possible – ex more of a downside to the people voting for you) / etc. Thus of course Clinton will be anchored by her opponents with the status quo, thus Obama needs a national message of unity to show he can bring something others can’t to make up for lack of experience, thus Edwards trying to hang on as the “just right” (some experience, some change) candidate should another falter. Only thing that makes me an Edwards supporter is I believe he has been enlightened on the important issues to me… but when ignored (or even if not) he has no way to re-invent the tactics of politics.
If Iowa was rigged by shipped in kids from Illinois or elsewhere around the country, then Obama isn’t the leader.
If NH was rigged by Diebold, then Hillary isn’t the leader.
But, they’re all out some money and Obama & Hillary received far more media attention and boost.
On we go to SC where Edwards might get some ‘favorite son’ boost.
Geez, this whole process is flawed, messy, nasty and awful.
At least, after Iowa we saw how Obama worked and how his ’supporters’ behave.
Didya know Hillary didn’t even have a victory speech prepared for NH? She just spoke a few minutes because it was a surprise to her campaign as well as for everyone else. Diebold to the rescue!
Are there any states where things aren’t rigged? I sure hope so, for Democracy.