Matthews Bashes Bush's 'Rhetorical Ability' - Then Calls Saturday's Speech 'Masterful and Wonderful'
In less than 30 minutes Monday, George W. Bush went from being a former president with "slight" "mental" and "rhetorical ability" to a "masterful and wonderful" speaker.
Such hypocrisy came from MSNBC's Chris Matthews. Let's play Oddball (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS MATTHEWS: But doesn’t it to this day, you guys, still scare you in your spine that a president with as slight a mental and as a rhetorical ability as George W. Bush - he was no Churchill, he was no Hitler, he was no Stalin, he was no call to arms kind of guy - was able to talk the American people into that war over absolute B.S.
That was Mr. Hardball doing his typical Bush-bashing in a segment previously addressed by NewsBuster Scott Whitlock.
But later in the program, as Matthews discussed the Fight 93 Memorial - something near and dear to his heart as a Pennsylvania native - he was suddenly impressed with the former President's speaking skills:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: For generations, people will study the flight, the story of Flight 93. They will learn that individual choices make a difference, that love and sacrifice can triumph over evil and hate, and that what happened above this Pennsylvania field ranks among the most courageous acts in American history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: We’re back. That was former President George W. Bush really being masterful and wonderful the other Saturday, on Saturday at an event dedicating the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
So, when talking of war, Bush was rhetorically challenged.
But when speaking before an audience in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, about a project Matthews supports, the former President was masterful and wonderful.
Isn't it marvelous how the intellectual capacity of Republicans fluctuates with liberals depending on whether or not they agree with them?
It's much like how folks such as Matthews treat Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). When he was battling Bush for the nomination in 2000, he was all the rage.
But when he went up against Barack Obama in 2008, he was the scourge of the earth.
As I've said for years, it takes a lot of rationalizations to be a liberal these days.
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Comments
Well, "rationalizations" or
Submitted by Chris Norman on Mon, 09/12/2011 - 10:56pm.
Well, "rationalizations" or irrationality. It also seems that liberals admire an eloquent speech given in mourning or commemoration of an attack than a speech devoted to a call to arms. They certainly preferred the post 9/11 Bush when he was just giving speeches (at least those that didn't put terrorist nations on warning) to the Bush who decided to take action.
If Pap (Smear_ Matthers) couldn't be any clearer on his bias
Submitted by djwolf12 on Mon, 09/12/2011 - 10:51pm.
he would have to tatoo America-Hating Liberal on his forehead
Of course, he's biased...
Submitted by Chris Norman on Mon, 09/12/2011 - 11:00pm.
That Matthews is biased doesn't bother me - he is a commentator rather than a reporter. What bothers me is when he's called upon to be a serious political analyst and still functions as a partisan hack. But - what really is alarming is that he's obviously unhinged and the fact his mouth doesn't seem to be connected to any brain.
Matthews is obviously
Submitted by bkeyser on Mon, 09/12/2011 - 10:56pm.
bi-polar; on the one hand he's an arrogant sycophant for Obama and all things progressive, and on the other he's an arrogant fool unable to control his own thought processes.
Okay, maybe it's not a mental disorder, maybe he's just a bewildered, despondent liberal endlessly trying to rationalize the failed policy he's forever supported yet never actually seen fully implemented until the coronation of the one they call The One. I think he's so utterly confused and dejected, he rarely makes sense outside of his little naked corner of the world.
"Neat catch and post . . ."
Submitted by Gary Hall on Mon, 09/12/2011 - 11:05pm.
I would say.
Nailed it, NS.
(:~> gary
I very much agree.
Submitted by needle on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 12:10am.
But I am concerned that there are health risks involved in listening to Chris Matthews long enough and intently enough to catch and analyze this stuff.
Sanitation workers patrolling sewer lines have it easy in comparison.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
"It takes a lot of rationalizations to be a liberal these days."
Submitted by needle on Mon, 09/12/2011 - 11:52pm.
Actually it takes more than just rationalization; it takes a liberal dose of Kool-aid and “medical” marijuana. No wonder the Libs are so adamant about decriminalizing marijuana.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
There isn't enough
Submitted by richb313 on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 9:51am.
There isn't enough marijuana in the world to make any sense of Chris Mathews. Alcohol is a much more likely suspect as it does a lot more damage to the brain. I suspect that Chris has a flsk stashed away somewhere and takes a hit off it everytime they go to commercial break.
I find it disturbing that Matthews' brain bounces around for no
Submitted by Jer on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 12:01am.
discernible reason:
On the May 1, 2003, edition of Hardball, Chris Matthews was joined by right-wing pundit Ann Coulter and "Democrat" Pat Caddell.
MATTHEWS: Ann Coulter, you're the first to speak tonight on the buzz. The president's [George Bush's] performance tonight, redolent of the best of Reagan -- what do you think?
COULTER: It's stunning. It's amazing. I think it's huge. I mean, he's landing on a boat at 150 miles per hour. It's tremendous. It's hard to imagine any Democrat being able to do that. And it doesn't matter if Democrats try to ridicule it. It's stunning, and it speaks for itself.
MATTHEWS: Pat Caddell, the president's performance tonight on television, his arrival on ship?...
CADDELL: He looks like a fighter pilot.
MATTHEWS: He looks for real. What is it about the commander in chief role, the hat that he does wear, that makes him -- I mean, he seems like -- he didn't fight in a war, but he looks like he does.
Later that day, on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Matthews said:
MATTHEWS: We're proud of our president. Americans love having a guy as president, a guy who has a little swagger, who's physical, who's not a complicated guy like [former President Bill] Clinton or even like [former Democratic presidential candidates Michael] Dukakis or [Walter] Mondale, all those guys, [George] McGovern. They want a guy who's president. Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It's simple. We're not like the Brits. We don't want an indoor prime minister type, or the Danes or the Dutch or the Italians, or a [Russian Federation President Vladimir] Putin. Can you imagine Putin getting elected here? We want a guy as president.
Paging Dr. Sam...
Jer
nice find, Jer
Submitted by mom_rox on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 8:23am.
I think both Dr. Sam and Dr. K would review some tapes, thoughtfully deliberate a course of action, then each would pronounce, "I give up. He's incurable."
Matthews certainly pegged Putin incorrectly.
I am thinking we both would get lost in the mood swings.
Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 12:41pm.
Watching Chris Matthews opinion go from one extreme to another is like watching a championship ping pong match at 32x fast forward speed. Good gravy....I would need to write a self-referral to an orthopedic surgeon.
A hard Rain gonna fall
Submitted by Boudin on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 12:44am.
Weather we like it or not
Frank,
We still got your back here in Louisiana, god bless you folks!
Obama
Submitted by PrimalElements on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 6:25am.
Bush is an eloquent genius next to ODUMBO........play the tape.
Perhaps Bush is more eloquent when his speech actually
Submitted by Lipton on Tue, 09/13/2011 - 9:40am.
has meaning for him. Many times I saw him speak or do press conferences and it seemeld like he woudl rather be somewhere else, but I do believe that Bush cared about the country and cared about what happened on 9/11 in a way that many in the MSM and politican just don't have the capacity to do (call it self-centered if you like).
matthews is on my list of people to ignore. Others include Maher, Garafolo, Rathers, Olbermann. Nothing they can say will shock or impress me so why bother.