Chris Matthews was not happy and seemed overly sensitive when John McCain compared Barack Obama to his old boss Jimmy Carter. On Tuesday night's "Hardball," after Matthews played a clip of McCain saying Obama was running for "Carter's second" term, he declared "I don't like it," and tried to write the attack off by saying not enough voters "even remembered voting for the guy."
The following exchanges occurred throughout the June 10 edition of "Hardball":
JOHN HARWOOD, CNBC: Look John McCain has a more complicated task because he's got to try to discredit Obama but also say he's not gonna be like George Bush either. And I think the difficulty of this task is highlighted by, you look at the examples, Barack Obama is saying John McCain would be George Bush's third term and McCain comes back with Jimmy Carter. Well you know there are a lot of voters out there saying, "And who was Jimmy Carter exactly?" They don't remember that.
MATTHEWS: I know.
Story Continues Below Ad ↓HARWOOD: It's a long, a lot of water under the dam since Jimmy Carter was president.
MATTHEWS: I was trying to think Pat [Buchanan], Pat, you know, Pat. 28 years ago Jimmy Carter left office and I'm trying to think about people, somebody said you have to be, have to be 50, you gotta be 50, at least, to have even remembered voting for the guy.
...
MATTHEWS: Are you old enough, are, are you old enough to remember the 1980 race? I remember it quite well.
HEIDI HARRIS, TALK SHOW HOST: Oh thank you for that!
MATTHEWS ON HOW DEMS SHOULD TIE MCCAIN TO BUSH: I was working in the White House. Well I just remember how brilliant Reagan was and his people like Jimmy Baker. They just blamed Jimmy Carter for everything that was wrong in the world. If inflation was going up because of the commodity price spike in the world – it was Carter's fault. Everything was Carter's fault. The inflation was his fault, the interest rates his fault, the Iranian hostages were his fault. Don't you think the Democrats are stupid not to play that game?
...
HARRIS: Well I think it's true that Jimmy Carter was at fault for all of those things but secondly--
...
[BEGIN CLIP]
JOHN MCCAIN: We've got to get spending under control and we've got to become independent of foreign oil. Senator Obama says that I'm running for Bush's third term. It seems to me he's running for Jimmy Carter's second.
[END CLIP]
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to "Hardball" and the "Politics Fix." Tonight's roundtable: Jill Zuckman of the "Chicago Tribune," Michael Crowley of "The New Republic" magazine and MSNBC senior campaign correspondent, Tucker Carlson. We've got everything here tonight. What a nice, diverse group. Let's talk about this amazing decision. I don't like it. But it's amazing decision. Tucker, you first, because you always surprise me, colleague, and that is, was it smart to say, this isn't about continuing the policies of George W. Bush? It's about whether to return to the policies of Jimmy Carter. Is a smart switcheroo?
TUCKER CARLSON: Well it's resonant for people over a certain age. For a lot of people, though, Jimmy Carter evokes images of Habitat for Humanity and hammer swinging, right? Or controversies about his latest book. I think Jimmy Carter may be a figure of history for a lot of people. Seems to me McCain would be better served tying Democrats and Obama, in particular, to their longtime suggestion about raising gasoline prices.
...
JILL ZUCKMAN, CHICAGO TRIBUNE: The reason I like the Carter second term theme, just as an attack mechanism, is because it, it does appeal to voters of a certain age. I mean, it means something to them. And those–
MATTHEWS: You mean beat Carter again? Let's go back and kill him one more time.
ZUCKMAN: Those are the people who go to vote. The twenty-somethings, they don't care about him. The older people, just remember what, all those horrible things that happened during Carter's term.
MATTHEWS: You know, Michael, you're younger, but I gotta tell you something. All through the '60s, the Democrats will still run against Hoover! 28 years before that, they were dragging that carcass out again and beating the Hell out of it again. Will it work this time for the ‘Rs'?
—Geoffrey Dickens is the senior news analyst at the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Can't even get...
June 10, 2008 - 19:52 ET by ontheright...the cliches right. Water under the bridge moron. Water under the dam would be Katrina-esque. But hey, in fact it was the dimocrats who failed the poor folks in LA, right? To deny this is to be stupid.
What a boob.
< Oh, a lot of people
June 10, 2008 - 19:52 ET by Chris Norman<
Oh, a lot of people remember Jimmy Carter's presidency well enough to cringe at the thought of it. It's as timely and apt as Matthews' "Titanic" comparison.
Carter was such a stellar intellect
June 10, 2008 - 19:55 ET by 10ksnookerHe still is, and with all his help, Comrade Obama ought to be able to wreck the US economy in 6 months flat. Jimmy, it took a few years. So if you are trying to beat Carter to the bottom, then Comrade Obama may be your guy. Maybe that is what the tingle is all about.
It's no wonder Chrissy is a little touchy, having worked for that dreg.
<em>It's a long, a lot of
June 10, 2008 - 20:05 ET by dscott<em>It's a long, a lot of water under the dam since Jimmy Carter was president.</em>
That wasn't water under the bridge, it was lots of oil and natural gas out the exhaust stack due to idiot Jimmy Carter who cancelled the breeder reactor program that was used to recycle spent reactor fuel rods leaving all of us with high level nuclear waste to store at all the nuclear power plants. This idiot cancelled the breeder reactor program under the lame excuse of nuclear non proliferation as though an electric utility would be selling fuel rods to terrorists or foreign governments. The man was a total idiot, did I say he was an idiot, just in case, he was and still is an idiot. This idiot, cost us billions of dollars in petrodollar based trade deficits for 30 years. Why did this idiot cancel the one program that would effectively deal with high level nuclear waste? Why? He was kowtowing to the environmental lobby and in the process created an environmental problem that all of us were stuck with having to deal with indefinitely.
If Matthews is to have anything to say about idiot Carter, it should be apologizing to the American People for his extremely poor judgement and defending an idiot!!!!
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.
dscott... Not just the
June 10, 2008 - 20:23 ET by bigtimerdscott...
Not just the nuclear program, he went back on his word behind the scenes with the Senate when they went on recess with ANWR...along with some others.
Quite a few roads lead back to Carter.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Wilson
dscot.....Carter was a TOTAL moron.....did you know.....
June 10, 2008 - 20:57 ET by BEGRUNTon top of being a moron, he was an obsessive micro manager, to the point of mental illness? So much so, he insisted on taking personal charge of the sign up list for the White House tennis court?
"If a man does his best, what else is there"?
General George S. Patton Jr.
I remember Jimmy
June 10, 2008 - 20:08 ET by CarlosSI remember Jimmy and:
Nightly newscasts of Iran parading around our Americans
Skyrocketing inflation.
Long, long gas lines.
Gas being siphoned out of my car.
Buying gas only on Wednesdays, because my license plate ended in "2"
Watching a televised Jimmy sitting by his cozy fireplace in a sweater telling me to continue to endeavor to perservere
Oh yeah, and the hostages being released..., right after Jimmy left Washington, D.C.
Sounds to me like the Dimocrats are setting the stage for a replay of those nostalgic days
Carlos, I remember Jihad Jimmuh, too. After 4 years of Obama...
June 10, 2008 - 20:22 ET by R D Helm...'ol Jimmuh will be looking like Mt. Rushmore material.
And that is one scary thought.
Remembering Jimmy Carter
June 10, 2008 - 20:28 ET by merlin61Yes, I too remember Carter and the sweater and
the fire, and I also remember his failure to rescue
the hostages in Iran, and I also remember it
too Ronald Reagan to do that job. Carter is an
idiot and traitor.
"and I also remember it
June 10, 2008 - 22:04 ET by ThisnThat"and I also remember it too[k] Ronald Reagan to do that job".
You mean the old guy? Ronald Reagan who was too old to hold the job of President? That guy?
Sounds like the '80s are here again, with an incompetant on the Dim side and an old guy on the Republican side. However, both of them are much farther left than their counterparts in the '80s.
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
Notice, though, that
June 10, 2008 - 20:15 ET by Chris NormanNotice, though, that Matthews didn't have the nerve to try to actually defend Jimmy Carter's presidency. He just maintains (and hopes) that there's enough voters young enough not to remember it.
Chris, I noticed that too.
June 10, 2008 - 22:08 ET by ThisnThatChris, I noticed that too. If Carter was so great, wouldn't a phrase like "a second Carter term" be embraced by the left? Wouldn't Obama want to wear that with pride? Maybe he would even get a lapel pin made, with Jimmie's grinning face printed on it. Heck, he'd be more proud of that than some stupid ol' patriotic American flag, wouldn't he?
___________________________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber
He just maintains (and
June 10, 2008 - 22:21 ET by bigtimerHe just maintains (and hopes) that there's enough voters young enough not to remember it.
Exactly Chris...he has both hands and fingers crossed...his toes on both feet too if he's able.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Wilson
They just blamed Jimmy
June 10, 2008 - 20:27 ET by motherbeltThey just blamed Jimmy Carter for everything that was wrong
in the world. If inflation was going up because of the commodity price
spike in the world – it was Carter's fault. Everything was Carter's
fault. The inflation was his fault, the interest rates his fault, the
Iranian hostages were his fault.
...
HARRIS: Well I think it's true that Jimmy Carter was at fault for all of those things but secondly--
Give that woman a Klondike Bar!!!
LMAO!!
mb, I'm LMAO, too,
June 10, 2008 - 20:37 ET by Chris Normanmb,
I'm LMAO too, because they have the nerve to accuse the Republicans of blaming Carter for all ills, all the while blaming all problems today, no matter what or how small, on George W Bush - and every other Republican president when they were in office. These people have no sense of irony - or hypocricy.
Chris,
June 10, 2008 - 20:40 ET by R D HelmLOL-You could have just said, "These people have no sense," and saved yourself some keystrokes. :-)
While Carters Presidency was
June 10, 2008 - 20:47 ET by SnappyWhile Carters Presidency was a few years back it is far from forgotten, not only by those of us who suffered through it, but by the fact that he is still throwing his idiocy into the ring with his recent trip the the middle east, his comments on the current presidency etc....... I think it was not out of line and actually rather current for McCains analogy.
History
June 10, 2008 - 20:48 ET by ScrapironIs there a book on recent history we can send to Chrissie and Hussein O? Based on recent flubs by O he really needs it now. No matter what Chrissie reads he lies about it one minute later so a book would have no effect. Hussein O reminds me of a local marine mechanic, he lies to anyone and everyone about their maintenance needs or what he did to fix their problem. I have heard him tell the truth twice in 20 years, he told someone he was the biggest liar in the county. So far I haven't heard a truth from Hussein O. Was Hussein O the real Hussein's spokesman in Bagdad? The one that stated the American troops would never set foot in Iraq while they were hundreds of miles in and taking over one block from him.
Old, Retired and glad of it.
Anyone who voted for Carter then
June 10, 2008 - 21:32 ET by jefflebowskiis certainly too embarrassed to admit it today! Carter is the worst American to ever serve as President. Clinton was the worst man but Carter is a close second there too. If Bush had the cajones of a gnat, he would rescind traiterous Carter's passport.
Carter is an embarrassment to our country! I loathe the old fool!
Jeff Lebowski
www.angrywhitedude.c...
Rub it in Lebowski
June 10, 2008 - 21:36 ET by Cool ArrowBut I've become a responsible American since then.
LYDSEXICS UNTIE
Clear, that's debatable! lol
June 10, 2008 - 21:39 ET by jefflebowskiJust joking Clear, your posts show that you have atoned for your earlier indiscretions!
Jeff Lebowski
www.angrywhitedude.c...
.....somebody said you have
June 10, 2008 - 21:54 ET by MidAmerica.....somebody said you have to be, have to be 50, you gotta be 50, at least, to have even remembered voting for the guy.
Doesn't really matter if you remember carter or not. Just tying obama to a past administration works too. Remember he's the agent of change and 'fresh ideas'. If obama is made to look like a retread of the past he doesn't shine nearly as bright.
Chris Matthews
June 10, 2008 - 21:55 ET by nandrelliHe resents the fact that Carter is blamed for everything that occurred during his administration, even though, as President, there are things he had no control over.
Well, after 7-1/2 years of listening to the Democrats and their wholly-owned subsidiary, the MSM, blaming Bush for everything (especially Matthews and his sidekick, Olbermann), I guess it just must be "karma" (acknowledgements to Sharon Stone) coming back to bite Matthews in the butt (or maybe that was just the tingling sensation from his leg?).
Tough Luck.
And regardless what Matthews (and all those with BDS) might say, Carter is clearly the most incompetent President in my lifetime (I was born during Truman's only elected term). The numbers don't lie.
Evening nandrelli... What
June 10, 2008 - 22:12 ET by bigtimerEvening nandrelli...
What he really means his real career politically/msm is attached to Carter...he feels slighted he was part of the problem instead of part of the solution.
He still doesn't get it either.
Bring on Mika and her daddy....doncha' just love msnbc.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Wilson
Well Isn't That Conveeeenient!
June 10, 2008 - 22:14 ET by Intellectual HonestyNotice, though, that Matthews didn't have the nerve to try to actually defend Jimmy Carter's presidency. He just maintains (and hopes) that there's enough voters young enough not to remember it.
Exactly what I noticed. Matthews can't defend Carter's ineptitude so he has to do exactly what he claims McCain is doing - change the subject. Of course McCain is spot-on with that analysis.
To tie in the "How convenient" theme. Dana Carvey, who created and played the Church Lady character, had a great line in an HBO special from years ago that seems to apply here with Obama. He was talking about the OJ trial: "And Johnny Cocharan is up there, doing what every great defense lawyer does and creating reasonable doubt. And yet with the mountains of forensic evidence implicating OJ, Cocharan's like, "Why we havin' a trial."
This of course is one of the main defenses of Obama to play as if any questioning of his fluid, weak positions are beyond the realm of reasonableness. When it comes to Wright, Ayers etc. "That is not the ___ ______ I know(knew)" & "...see this is the same old game of gotcha" or "...this is the same game of guilt by association." Puke.
Come this election the most important demographic is going to be the "seasoned-citizens" and it is safe to say that most will vividly remember those horrific four years, particuarly the last two. They, like many, saw a certain level of honest idealistic intention in Carter but realize in retrospect that idealistic approaches where the intention/impression is tantamount cannot stand the weight of reality.
And after the million or so jokes, put downs, disses about McCain's age have been played out you will see a huge percentage of the "seasoned citizens" pulling the lever for McCain.
Intellect
June 10, 2008 - 22:20 ET by Clear thinkerIntellect honesty...
"Come this election the most important demographic is going to be the "seasoned-citizens"
This demographic will be in a dead heat with the "racist-minions" in the Democrat party.
"Abstain from McCain"
The Two-Party System Has It's Plus & Minuses
June 10, 2008 - 22:54 ET by Intellectual HonestyThis demographic will be in a dead heat with the "racist-minions" in the Democrat party.
Agreed that one counters the other. I believe the tie-breaker will be a level of resentment among many "whites" when the LMSM and the Dems/Obama campaign harp on the idea that a vote against Obama is a form of subconscious racism. Couple that with the reliability of the "seasoned-citizen" demographic vs. the "buzz electorate" - 18-25yr voters and you have a potential off-set in McCains favor. Take it a step further and throw in the realities of the Electoral College and top that with the experience level of McCain vs. Obama plus the knowledge that the Dems have, at the moment, a very good chance of not only retaining the House and Senate but expanding and many more Dems than some may believe will support the idea of a split government with checks-and-balances and you've got a very favorable Political Sundae towards McCain.
"Abstain from McCain"
In reference to my title, the two-party system is all fine and dandy when ones side is not only winning but also seems to uphold understood basic principles of said party. Of course McCain has wandered in a variety of ways and some of his rhetoric ("I don't like obscene profits") makes many, like me, want to gag. Still there are advantages and disadvantages and yet it is what it is.
McCain has the one issue that trumps all others, national security, to his advantage. If you don't have strong national security everything else is irrelevant. Like or don't like affirmative action? - well if we are nuked by some Islamic group then it really doesn't matter now does it.
In the final analysis, I hope McCain chooses a strong VP because I really believe the plan is for McCain to not run for a second term but to place his VP as the frontrunner for 2012. That's why I believe some of the establishment that on paper would seem to be adamantly anti-McCain gave him the green light. I guess all questions will be answered in due time.
Those of us who tried to buy
June 10, 2008 - 22:11 ET by gueinThose of us who tried to buy either a car or a house during the Carter administration remember him vividly, Chris. Even liberals don't want to remember Carter. When somebody talks about Washington, Lincoln, FDR, JFK, Reagan...nobody today remembers them either?
You mean back in the days
June 10, 2008 - 22:58 ET by Clear thinkerYou mean back in the days when people got a mortgage with 16% interest and thought they got a good deal?
"Abstain from McCain"
Quite true, Clear
June 10, 2008 - 23:04 ET by BlondeOur first mortgage was at 12 1/2%....and that was a deal!
Thank you Jimmuh Cahtah.
I am seriously rethinking McPain (after the CEO blather).....but seriously. Old Juan has it right...paint Obambi as the second coming of Carter.
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
Yeah, well,
June 10, 2008 - 23:10 ET by RESTLESS 1I say screw (fought real hard to keep it civil there) Obama. He is nothing more than another politician. He is no saviour, no "truth light" as the truth and he have never met. He surrounds himself with the same morally lacking, selfish people all the others surround themselves with. And Michelle may have us wistfully remembering the "good old days" of Hillary when she gets to the WH.
"This
liberal would be all about socialize -- uh, uh, would be about
basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."-Maxine Waters 2008
??????
June 10, 2008 - 23:01 ET by RESTLESS 1"It's a long, a lot of water under the dam since Jimmy Carter was president."-John Harwood.
SIGH!!!! Can't these guys get anything right???
"This
liberal would be all about socialize -- uh, uh, would be about
basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."-Maxine Waters 2008
LOL R1... That
June 10, 2008 - 23:08 ET by bigtimerLOL R1...
That sleepy-eyed Harwood is a genius to-boot...I will never forget the morning he slipped and said something about "your party" I think to Scarborough...letting it be known what a non-partisan he always claimed to be...yeah right...
I LMAO that morning...!
True colors were never more prevalent...talk about hypocrisy.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Wilson
Matthews isn't a news guy
June 11, 2008 - 02:48 ET by Parker1227I think Matthews is an old school liberal and doesn't really try to hide it. He was a Tip O'Neill man. But he is a full-time analyst/commentator who usually stays out of the reporting side of the news. That's what you are supposed to do when you want express your opinions all the time. Now Keith Olbermann is something quite different. He mixes reporting and opinion into a high octane firestorm of news-propaganda. He is helping to destroy the profession of journalism (what's left of it that is).
If you don't vote for McCain, you are voting for Obama.
BOO-FRICKIN-HOO, Chrissie!
June 11, 2008 - 03:16 ET by ToddonCapeCodWell I just remember how brilliant Reagan was and his people like Jimmy Baker. They just blamed Jimmy Carter for everything that was wrong in the world. If inflation was going up because of the commodity price spike in the world – it was Carter's fault. Everything was Carter's fault. The inflation was his fault, the interest rates his fault, the Iranian hostages were his fault.
Much like Bush is getting blamed by Chrissie and the Left today.
Matthews
June 11, 2008 - 10:33 ET by DaieI would have no problem with Chris Matthew spewing his anti-Bush stuff IF he didn't try to pass himself off as a unbiased commentator. That's what gets me. Come on Chrissy...just admit to what the rest of us already know-your a liberal! I am 32 and although I don't 'remember' the Carter years, Mr. Harwood, I am smart enough to have read a history book and have listened to my parents and other family members about the Carter presidency. I realize the MSNBC crowd thinks everyone under 35 is going to fall in line with Obama and get the deer in the headlights look but there are some of us out there smart enough to look up information about Carter or ask someone about him if we are interested enough in what McCain is referring to.
My husband is a submariner. Jimmy Carter didn't even show up when the USS Jimmy Carter was commissioned. Nice!!! Still wondering why the government even bothered to honor a man who could care less.