Matthews Furious—Did Olbermann Lift His Lines?

August 27th, 2008 8:49 PM

Another chapter in the ongoing Matthews-Olbermann feud?  Yesterday, a catfight broke out between the two when Olbermann suggested Matthews had stolen an idea from two female pundits, and later made a hand gesture mocking Matthews gabbing [YouTube here, h/t Undercover Black Man].  Were the warring duo at it again this evening?

You be the judge.  Click on the image to the right to view the video..

Again co-anchoring the MSNBC desk with Olbermann tonight, Matthews was just about to throw it to Luke Russert out on the convention floor.  The son of the late Meet the Press anchor was interviewing young convention delegates.  In light of the reported desire of both Matthews and Olbermann to grab the Meet the Press anchor chair, the opportunity to interact with Luke might be seen as a valuable plum.

Matthews appeared to be reading a script from his laptop, when he suddenly stopped. Olbermann picked up the thread and threw it to young Russert.  A furious expression crossed Matthews' face and he began to shake his head and mutter, until his image was blotted out by a prominent NBC logo.  Did Chris suspect he had been sabotaged by a pro-Olbermann producer? Some readers have suggested that Matthews wasn't miffed by Olbermann but by the illogic of the line he had been given to read: that Obama was the first African-American to be nominated for president in almost any major country.  Too true: few Americans of any color get nominated for president in other countries.

In any case he Mortal Media Kombat between Olbermann and Matthews is making for better viewing than the convention itself.