Try to keep a straight face when you hear this: President Barack Obama isn't getting enough media love.
That's the world view of MSNBC "Hardball" host Chris Matthews - at least when it comes to the economy. According to Matthews, there has been a plethora of positive economic news - from a stock market that has shrugged off the threat of bad liberal policy, i.e. cap-and-trade or ObamaCare, to the actions of newly reappointed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke of pumping liquidity into the economy.
"What do you make of this whole thing about the good economic news out there the president gets no credit for?" Matthews said on his Aug. 25 show. "I'm in the stock market. I have suffered like others before and I have seen this comeback - back up to almost 10,000 now. He gets nothing for this. The fact that consumer confidence, which was once closer to the bone, is way up. The fact that the Fed chair has done such a good job in pumping up the money supply and pumping back the economy, and averting a Great Depression - no credit."
There is some question as to whether or not consumer confidence is an economic or more of a psychological indicator, despite Matthews' willingness to celebrate a bump in it. However, as Anne Kornblut of The Washington Post explained to Matthews, Obama will get credit when there is more certainty with the direction of the economy, as some contend things are still tenuous, despite the "Hardball" host's economic triumph declaration.
"Well, I don't know if he gets no credit, but I do think people are kind of a lagging indicator, people's feelings about their job security, about their portfolios," Kornblut said. "I mean, it takes a while for people to really feel like that's secure. And additionally you're sort of proving a negative here. I mean they're saying what we did is - it could have been a lot worse. We don't know how bad it would have been had we not done all this. There's actually no way for them to demonstrate that. There's no way for people to feel it. People only feel the pain they really feel."
Matthews credited Obama and the Democrats in Congress' Keynesian approach, with the stimulus passed earlier this year as the focal point of what helped things turn around.
"Well, anybody who studies economics, Jonathan, knows that we are still suffering from a huge drop in consumer spending, a huge drop in investment by business, that had to be offset by an increase in government spending and it was," Matthews said. "And however sloppy it was, it seems to have done the trick of keeping us out of a Great Depression."
Jonathan Martin of Politico had to explain to Matthews the flaws of his logic - at least as it pertains to politics and that hanging one's hat too high on averting what could have been isn't a winner.
"Chris, to Anne's point, nobody in the history of politics, you know, as ever won a campaign based on a slogan of it could haven a lot worse," Martin said. "That's a tough argument to make. The fact is, look, I think the president reappointing Bernanke today to me says that he sees light at the end of this tunnel. If he was still concerned - if President Obama was still concerned about the state of this economy, he would not have ratified one of the sort of chief faces of the current administration, of the current sort of economic status quo."
Matthews blamed the Democratic Party for not capitalizing on what he perceives as a grand achievement and reiterated his contention Obama just isn't getting enough credit.
"The failure of the Democratic Party to unite in voice is so powerful," Matthews continued. "They argue over whether he's doing enough or not enough on this or that. There's no sort of chorus out there for this guy, in terms of the horrible challenge he faced coming in January 20, what he's done with it. He gets no credit for the stimulus package, passing it. Despite the fact that the evidence is it's working to offset, again, a Great Depression."
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Comments Policy
Matthews is Obama's mistress
August 26, 2009 - 07:13 ET by ArchConservativeThere is a reason that Chris Matthews only gets 650,000 viewers. He's an idiot.
You support the troops by supporting the mission! If you don't support the mission, have the guts to say you don't support the troops.
Obama: Not my President. Ever.
LOL
August 26, 2009 - 07:30 ET by kgChris gives Obama enough love for everybody.
"DumbAssity of Dope"
the wimp, the simp and the carpet-licking chimp
August 26, 2009 - 07:42 ET by AJBCABLE NEWS RACE
MONDAY, AUG. 24, 2009
FOXNEWS O'REILLY 3,440,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY 2,937,000
FOXNEWS BECK 2,810,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 2,450,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,066,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 1,860,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,114,000
CNN KING 1,063,000
MSNBC MADDOW 885,000
CNN COOPER 827,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 640,000
Boy, ol Olberman is really fighting to stay on top, no?
BATH-TUB-BOY...
August 26, 2009 - 07:56 ET by danybhoyNew MSNBC slogan...
MSNBC, we are the best of the rest when it comes to ratings...
big deal, unless you are on FoxNews, you are sitting with the kids at the card table for Thanksgiving dinner. The only reason they are #2 in cable news is that CNN sucks. But hey, I see that Allison Stewart is back at MSNBC. It has got to be sad to realize that she was on MtvNews & has downgraded to MSNBC. Lets be honest folks, Kurt Loder is as good or better then most at MSNBC, & that's sad.
"...How blind can you be, don't you see...
...that the gambler lost all he does not have..."
Nightwish
Re Ratings
August 26, 2009 - 09:40 ET by slickwillie2001From a commenter at Hotair yesterday, re Matthews's ratings, -"Hardball is starting to look more like undescended testicle."
Chris is trolling now
August 26, 2009 - 09:45 ET by dronetekI'm starting to think hes saying this stuff, just so he'll get attention on here. His ratings are in the tank, so piss off the right enough to get his face plastered all over the ineternet everyday.
Expected and unexpected
August 26, 2009 - 07:24 ET by nadadhimmiThe msm always says the econ numbers that can't be cooked enough to look good have taken an "unexpected plunge", always "unexpected", month after month; "unexpected". What IS expected though is Matthews homoerotic yearning to kiss the ass of "the one".
Move over Larry Sinclair...
August 26, 2009 - 07:24 ET by Apodicticthere's a new #1 Obeyme pole smoker in the house.
Once again, I feel bad for
August 26, 2009 - 07:29 ET by gopsteveOnce again, I feel bad for whoever on your staff has to watch MSNBC.
hmmm
August 26, 2009 - 07:38 ET by BKeyserWe generally (always) have to look back in contemporaneous recent history to determine exactly when a recession began or bottomed out because there is no definitive moment or indicator that says, "this is it folks, this is the start of a recession," but Chrissy can say several times that the administration "stopped a Great Depression"? So who exactly is omnipotent, Chrissy, or the Administration? And if it's Chrissy, why did he take a hit in the market? And if it's Barry, why is every policy he's enacted or trying to enact going Titanic?
Double dip
August 26, 2009 - 08:05 ET by KC MulvilleThe danger that economists are worried about is that we jump out of the frying pan into the fire, i.e., the remedy to the first recession causes a second, deeper recession. The staggering debt that Obama took on will come back to haunt us; the best we can do now is to limit the damage. We certainly can't afford more massive spending, which will cause debt to skyrocket.
My point is that we're a long way from being out of danger. We can't say that the recession is over. It's entirely possible that we'll have a next wave, and it'll be worse, and it will have been caused by Obama's massive overspending.
Agreed KC
August 26, 2009 - 08:12 ET by BKeyserThe WSJ has an opinion piece about the real breadth of the deficit and how even the new $9T projection is based on unrealistic rosey projections and assumes federal spending will hold to the rate of inflation. Somebody gave the man in the hole a shovel...
BK, I understand your wish
August 26, 2009 - 09:22 ET by motherbeltBK, I understand your wish to see him bury himself, but you have to remember, he is dragging the country down into that hole.
~MB
August 26, 2009 - 12:42 ET by BKeyserI said "gave" not "give" MB- I want him stopped ASAP, believe me.
One good thing
August 26, 2009 - 11:02 ET by KC MulvilleGood article, thank BK.
The irony is that the Obama Gang claims they've saved us from disaster, even though they've only spent a fraction of the money. Well, if we've been saved, why spend the rest of it? It's still possible for Congress to get it back ... but the Democrats won't do that, because:
Suppose it turns out that a financial meltdown was averted, as Robert Samuelsson argues, because Bernanke propped up the financial markets after the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers? I'm becoming more convinced that this is true. If I'm right, then we don't need to overhaul the economy to Obamanomics. We just needed a smart, gutsy chairman of the Fed, and we had that in Bernanke.
Give the money back.
This is the result of a
August 26, 2009 - 09:20 ET by motherbeltThis is the result of a President with zero executive experience, who thinks that everything goes directly from his mouth to God's ears, and ignores the law of unintended consequences.
Paul Greenberg has a great column today at townhall.com about the President losing touch. For me, this is the money quote:
There may be something worse than having a president who is merely wrong, and that's having one who seems lost.
Bushing Obama!
August 26, 2009 - 07:46 ET by GeneralAlI can't resist the urge to say to Prissy Chrissy "Nah, Nah, Nah!" How much credit did this goon or the others in the MSM give GWB? Zip, Zero, Nahdah! We were in a recession in 2001 when he took over. We were coming out when 9/11 occured.He prevented another attack, He took out Saddam, He got our crew and plane back from China, He gave AIDS money to Africa, and the list goes on. Never once was there a positive report from the MSM idiots! Not this pansy wants us all to show his Tele-Prez some love! I'd rather kiss a pig!
He can't have it both ways...
August 27, 2009 - 07:39 ET by Joe C.He can't have it both ways...According to Matthews, the deficit spike is Bush's fault because it started last Oct. although Obama voted for it, it started when the Dems took over Congress, and, according to John Kerry (who served in Vietnam), it was all Obama's idea. However, all praise to Obama for averting a Depression although Bernanke's strategy occurred last Sept. under Bush.
There is no evidence that anything that has been done since Jan. 20 has improved the economy; if anything, it has delayed a recovery that other countries started last April. In fact, the major economic effects haven't even occurred yet since little of the stimulus money has even been spent. The delayed recovery is in preparation for when all the bad sh*t happens next year.
Tingle Toes
August 26, 2009 - 07:44 ET by SkipperMLMKeep it up Chris, but Barak is pleased with Robert Gibbs and you'll not get his spot. I'm sure you could spin, lie and evade as good as him but the fact is, Obama loves Gibbs. You're like a heart broken teenager over the guy that chose the other girl. You're starting to look like a stalker. You're so blindly obsessed.
Is it me?
August 26, 2009 - 10:37 ET by StarAZIs it me or does Gibbsy look like a scoop of vanilla ice cream crossed with a Kewpie doll?
His "O"lliness Should Get Some Credit
August 26, 2009 - 07:55 ET by JustAlEvery time we the people push back one of his socialist programs like Stateist Healthcare, the market goes up. Just wait until we the people kill the idiotic crap and trade nonsense, the market will easily hit 12000 then.
Consumer confidence
August 26, 2009 - 07:56 ET by sevenYes it is higher when umemployment is 5%. Obama has done nothing but devistate employment. Confidence also goes up if the market is at 14,000. Market is still way down.
OBAMANATION...
August 26, 2009 - 08:09 ET by danybhoyJust wait for all the love when the market does'nt do much & unemployment goes north of 10% & gets close to 12-13% nationally. Deep blue hellhole states like Michigan & Ohio will see it close in on 20% unemployment. Then we'll axe Matthews where's the love?
"...How blind can you be, don't you see...
...that the gambler lost all he does not have..."
Nightwish
Matthews is a big fat idiot and other observations
August 26, 2009 - 08:06 ET by cmujellyI'm sure that the 3 million or so who have lost their jobs since HopeyMcChange became president are doing handsprings over this economic news.
The one thing that makes me smile when I hear some idiot like Matthews trumpet Obama's economic record is that these are the same people who used to go around pretending that it was another Great Depression when the unemployment rate was around 5 % during the Bush years. Now that unemployment has hit 9.4 % (despite the fact that the President "promised" that it wouldn't exceed 8% if we passed his stimulus package), these guys are pretending that its the Roaring 20's all over again.
Give Chrissy a break....he's
August 26, 2009 - 08:23 ET by motherbeltGive Chrissy a break....he's just doing his "job," remember?
It Ain't No Economic "Comeback" If...
August 26, 2009 - 08:27 ET by Wildcatter1980...prospective employers are not ringing my phone "off the hook". Wake up and smell the coffee, Chrissy.
--
We need to stop calling them "Progressives" when in reality they are big government "Socialists" who no longer value the individual's rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
I'm sure Mr. Tingles has
August 26, 2009 - 08:33 ET by mattmI'm sure Mr. Tingles has enough homoerotica to cover it.
Obama and Media Love
August 26, 2009 - 08:36 ET by FeynmanFanIf Obama got any more love from the media he'd have to go on birth control.
"I support the President but not his policies" - Blonde
LOL
August 26, 2009 - 10:34 ET by StarAZYou made me laugh--and I NEEDED it. Thanks.
gulp gulp
August 26, 2009 - 08:51 ET by tomolson3Chrissy..you really know how to swallow!!!!!!
Mr. Tingles the economist
August 26, 2009 - 09:01 ET by east tennessee johnWell, Mr. Tingles, does that mean BO also gets credit for the rising unemployment rate; the screwed up deficit estimates; the increased money supply which may , just may be either inflationary or lead to the FED increasing rates beyond 0% and causing even greater deficits and higher intrest rates throughout the economy? You are a total partisan fool. Your station's(Didn't see Big ED in the rating numbers) total ratings for 3 hours of your demented BS is still 171,000 less than Beck who's on at 5PM. You should be ashamed to even cash your paycheck. That goes for Maddow and KOtheJO too. If this were a little league game, the slaughter rule would be invoked. How pathetic. You might remember, BO voted for the TARP program so his inheritance was self induced, idiot.
So the stimulus money is
August 26, 2009 - 09:02 ET by G. MaySo the stimulus money is barely spent and these clowns are claiming it's working? Only in Bizzaroworld.
Even progressive economists were saying months ago that Obama's economic numbers were too optimistic. Now the merry band of thieves has updated their numbers because data that was available to every other person with an internet connection wasn't available to the White House. Only in Bizarroworld.
Democrats presided over congress for almost two years before the financial collapse and didn't cry foul. After the collapse, they blame Bush when it was they who had control of the pursestrings and financial legislative committees.
Looks like we keep Barney Frank company in Bizzarroworld.
As a caring and unselfish journalist, Chris Matthews will be
August 26, 2009 - 09:52 ET by Rush Fanmore than happy to give President Barack Hussein Obama all the love and affection he needs; not that there's anything wrong with that.
----------------------------------------------
“Nobody believes what the mainstream media says now anyway. Except the uneducated, the illiterate, and the uninformed -- which, sadly, is a fairly large number” ~ Rush Limbaugh
Déjà Vu
August 26, 2009 - 10:13 ET by BondPlainBondOnce again...
This clinches it. Matthews lives in a very personal and very necessary tingly, fantasy world.
Aw...not enough wuv as he gambols?
August 26, 2009 - 10:31 ET by StarAZAs The One frisks around his $35K a week vacay digs, he isn't getting enough luv...? Cry me one! My kid has been waiting 4 mos for unemployment check number one. These AZ people are mouthbreathing incompetents--there are stories in our paper everyday. Today I was reading a letter to the ed about this--saying give these jobs to the unemployed--and saw it was FROM me! Gosh, I am smart.
You know what bugs me...the new tack that people objected to Medicare, too, so this must be just like that and it will all be OK. That is called fallacious reasoning...let me spell that for you....
B followed by S.
What economic recovery is Prissy Chrissy referring to?
August 26, 2009 - 10:48 ET by R D HelmBecause there sure as hell is not one going on in this country.
-Dave
Yeah, come out here...to AZ
August 26, 2009 - 10:54 ET by StarAZI know these people aren't real reporters, but if they were, they could report on what is going on. Some people out here in AZ are inquiring about giving up their kids because they cannot provide for them, the food banks are going begging, some people pay for elec a few bucks at a time with a meter or go without a/c (desert), the unemployment system is totally lost, they simply cannot do it, even though people paid in and are sleeping in their cars, the town halls are overflowing, pets are abandoned and therre are dog packs, it's endless. Oh--and we can't sell our houses because most of us are underwater and today we learned that the fabulous mortgage mod program results in ruined credit and higher monthly payments for Arizonan--at least the ones interviewed. We are talking feral--and no end in sight. But I am glad everyone in DC and in the MSNBC studios is so well-dressed, their stocks are going up, and they know all about it--without reporting it or doing any research.
What economic comeback?
August 26, 2009 - 10:50 ET by ThalpyWhat economic comeback? What excuse will Matthews have for the the next housing bubble burst? A true believer, no matter how deluded, will always find a way. Up to this point, the only Obama accomplishment worthy of note is his assault on the United States and our individual freedom. That is all. The fool, Chris Matthews, will continue to dream on.
Prissie Chrissie, Again
August 26, 2009 - 10:51 ET by rammingspeedThoughtful Democrats (are there really any now, with their apoplexy peaking at not getting their way?) know they are in no damn position to celebrate anything. The numbers against Obama et al are growing every day. Sen. Russ Feingold said he's never seen this much contention, nor has anyone else in the Senate, and the Dems are on the wrong end of it. How the hell can the news media give Obama any love behind this reality?
Economics
August 26, 2009 - 11:20 ET by BigMike252Matthews is now a professor of Economics?
Matthews is a professor of Moronics!
What come back?
What economy is he talking about?
What Stock Market?
The only thing the Stinulus Stimulated was the pockets of Husseins' Campaign Supporters!
Message to Matthews: This is costing us Trillions long after your Leg thrill is out of office. So far it's been very entertaining with The Clown and his Posse.
The fossil media can gas
August 26, 2009 - 11:47 ET by EdhenryThe fossil media can gas about baby killing, redistribution of wealth and other anti-american activities, but when it comes to economics, they embarass themselves.
The Dow is below 10,000 and unemployment hovers at 10%because of O.
Matt
August 26, 2009 - 17:41 ET by jessieHMatthews is a retard, isn't he.