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Matthews: Granholm is a 'Genius', So Can She Play Palin?

By Geoffrey Dickens | September 30, 2008 | 18:31

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On Tuesday night's "Hardball," Chris Matthews wondered if Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, "an Ivy League grad" and "genius," was really a good choice to play the role of Sarah Palin in Joe Biden's debate prep. During a segment with Democratic consultant Nancy Skinner, who is prepping Granholm, the "Hardball" host implied the "Harvard Law" graduate may not be the best "fit" to play the Republican vice presidential nominee:

She's a genius. You think she is, in, in her manner, in her background and she's born in Canada. How does she sort of fit the role of Sarah Palin? Why is she a good sparring partner to play that role?

A little later in the segment Matthews painted Palin as empty-headed as he worried the "neo-conservatives" would "home-school" her in the "ideology of the right," like they did to Dan Quayle and George W. Bush.

The following exchanges occurred on the September 30 edition of "Hardball":

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Joining me now is Democratic consultant Nancy Skinner, who helped prep Jennifer Granholm, the Michigan governor, who is playing Sarah Palin in Joe Biden's debate prep. What an interesting role you're playing. Also with us MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan. Nancy, tell me why you think Governor Granholm, who's what, an Ivy League grad law? What? Didn't she go to Harvard Law or something? She's a genius. You think she is, in, in her manner, in her background and she's born in Canada. How does she sort of fit the role of Sarah Palin? Why is she a good sparring partner to play that role?
...

PAT BUCHANAN: Let her own philosophy, her own personality come through. Let her be, Sarah be Sarah. If she loses then you lose, but you don't lose on somebody else's game-plan.

MATTHEWS: Pat, you have forgotten the nature of a neo-conservative. They find these-
BUCHANAN: She's not a neo-conservative!
MATTHEWS: No, no!
BUCHANAN: Yeah.
MATTHEWS: The people briefing her are, in this home-schooling exercise that's going on. It's just like they did with Quayle or George W. Bush. They get a newcomer who hasn't had a lot of book learning in the ideology of the right, and they teach them the right words. You don't think that's going on right now? Randy Scheunemann is not filling her with that ideology right now?