'Chris Matthews Show' Spends Half the Program on Why Perry's No Reagan
Wouldn't it have been wonderful if while Ronald Reagan was President the media gushed and fawned over him the way they do now?
On this weekend's syndicated "Chris Matthews Show," the host actually spent half the program discussing with his guests why Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry is no Reagan (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: First up, with the sudden rise of Rick Perry, lots of talk about whether he could actually win the White House. Is he the underestimated conservative who could be elected like Ronald Reagan was in 1980?
Polls show Republican voters are convinced Perry could repeat Reagan’s defeat of a weakened Democratic president. But there's some smart analysis out there that says no. It points to these differences between Perry and Ronald Reagan.
First, Reagan was very well known nationally, even famous. Perry's virtually unknown. Reagan was super conservative, but on the national stage, he was not seen as divisive the way Perry is. And Reagan was smooth. He was ideological, but also affable. Look how he handled this famous jab from Jimmy Carter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER: Governor Reagan as a matter of fact began his political career campaigning around this nation against Medicare.
FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RONALD REAGAN: There you go again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Wow. Well, Perry’s more sharp-elbowed, more spoiling for a fight. And in his interview with Time magazine this week, he bragged about it:
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY: There may be someone who is an established Republican who circulates in a cocktail circuit that would find some of my rhetoric to be inflammatory. And I think the American citizens are just tired of all of this political correctness and politicians who are tiptoeing around important issues. They want a decisive leader.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MATTHEWS: Mike Duffy, there he is on the cover of your magazine, that great interview, but he, is he right? Do they want a leader enough to put up with a real soddy buster [sic] cowboy who has a rough edge?
I think Matthews meant “sodbuster.”
Regardless of the faux pas, he and his guests spent the next eight minutes discussing Perry’s shortcomings and why he isn’t like Reagan.
Next came “The Matthews Meter” to really drive the point home:
MATTHEWS: Let’s go to the meter right now about the question we’ve been asking twelve of our regulars including Katty and Kelly: Is Rick Perry like Ronald Reagan in 1980? Is he the underestimated conservative who could win the White House? Well, the meter says he's not. Eleven say no way. Just one person said yes. All of you including, eleven of you including Kelly, you're first, and then Katty, say this guy is not one of these underestimated. He's properly estimated, and he's not really up to the job of beating Obama you’re suggesting.
KELLY O’DONNELL, NBC: Well, I think that especially when you're talking about Reagan comparisons, that's a big set of shoes to fill. And so I think it's a little early there, and I think for the reasons we’ve talked about. Reagan had a milder public tone…
MATTHEWS: Easier to take.
O’DONNELL: Easier to take.
So in their view, Reagan was “easier to take” in 1980 than Perry is today.
Of course, that’s not what media said about Reagan 31 years ago. Back then he was depicted as just as divisive as Perry is today.
But as always happens with liberal press members, hatred for Republicans starts waning the minute they get out of office and turns almost to adoration after their funeral.
Proving the rule, Matthews ended this lengthy segment with some very flattering video clips of Reagan to really drive home the point about what a wonderful guy he really was.
In case you hadn't gotten it yet, Perry is no Reagan.
To be sure, I am by no means saying Perry is Reagan’s equal. The point here is media members that utterly despised our 40th President when he was campaigning and during his two terms are now speaking glowingly about him in order to diminish current Republican candidates as not being qualified for the job.
Yet this was exactly what they said about Reagan in 1980: he was just a former actor that, yes, had governed California, but was by no means competent enough to be Commander-in-Chief.
Now he's the model nobody on the right can live up to.
If only they had so adored Reagan when he was President.
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Comments
Welcome back, Carter
Submitted by Galvanic on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 3:29pm.
I can think of only one logical reason for the MSM making comparisons between Reagan and GOP candidates: they are resigned to the fact that Obama is the second Jimmy Carter, and they are worried about a strong candidate defeating their flawed President.
Some even acknowledge openly that Obama isn't likely to salvage his Presidency on his own, so they are hoping that the 2012 GOP candidate is not Reagan 1980 but Dole 1996. In other words, their only hope is that the GOP nominee is weak.
What the Dems needed was a strong Democratic challenger to the weak Obama, but they feared that rather than strengthening their prospects, it could split their so-called base.
Barack Obama = Neville Chamberlain 1938
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 3:13pm.
NO 1
YES 837
Regular Viewers!
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 3:30pm.
Matthews said: "Let’s go to the meter right now about the question we’ve been asking twelve of our regulars including Katty and Kelly: Is Rick Perry like Ronald Reagan in 1980?"
I'll be kind to Matthews, and go with his assumption that he actually has some regular viewers. Now, given that his shows are tailored to the most far reaches of the leftist, communist, progressive spectrum of television viewership, it would be incredulous to give any of his "regular viewers" any credibility, at all, when it came to judging anything to do with Ronald Reagan.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
hay matthews ... here is the whole interview. Typical YAWN
Submitted by upcountrywater on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 3:56pm.
Didn't have enough time to run the entire clip, whatever.
Ronald Reagan Talks About Balancing the Budget on "The Tonight Show" — 1975
A refreshing late night talk show host, way back then.
You Didn't Build That.
LOL
Submitted by stunned on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 4:12pm.
It would have been nice if liberals were as fawning over Reagan's memory when he died. I watched and giggle at the mix of surprise, shock, outrage and resignation by the MSM as the crowds lined up to say farewell to such a beloved former President.
tired of liberal lies
Absolute nonsense, stunned...
Submitted by Jer on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 7:26pm.
Show me just one clip evidencing that type of reaction by the MSM and I will apologize profusely. The coverage I watched was very respectful.
Jer
You're right, Jer.
Submitted by Chris Norman on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 10:03pm.
You're right, Jer. The media usually has a strange, new respect for Republicans once they're dead. Oh, they might prominently mention some scandals and criticisms of the Republican worked into the mix of remembrances, but, you're right - the media mostly likes dead Republicans.
Perry is electable if the Establishment backs him
Submitted by lrgon on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 4:12pm.
The establishment has quite a few candidates in the GOP that they can prop up but it appears that Perry is their man for now.
Romney is still a good second bet to the power elite that picks and choses presidents.
The wild card in the mix is the Tea Party influence in the primaries.
The Tea Party is leary of fakes like Romney and McCain coming along twisting their liberal past into conservative. Now along comes Perry the former ALGore campaign cheerleader whose record as a constitutionalist is checkerd with Merck vaccines, crony capitalism, NAFTA super corridor anti-private property eminent domain, tax hicker and illegal immigration "dream actor." He could very well be the GOP standard bearer and once again the big government establishment will have "winners" in both parties pushing their mouldy new socialist world order.
NS - on MSM/Reagan
Submitted by Gary Hall on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 4:14pm.
For starters, just loved the opening. Indeed.
An observation on the closing:
They don't adore Reagan. They are only going to bring up his name, if it serves their agenda. Give them an opportunity and they'll blame him for most that ails the country. They'll challenge any notion that he had much to do with the downfall of the Soviet Union. And on a bad day, they'll blame him for HIV/Aids becoming a pandemic . . 'if only he'd mentioned it while President.'
In reality, as a group, they're only going to use Reagan's legacy when they can use it to help Obama, or when they can use it to tear any Republican, or conservative principal, to shreds.
What we will never hear from Matthews, or the MSM at large, is anything along the lines of:
(:~/ gary
wake up and smell the coffee will ya!
Submitted by lrgon on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 11:21pm.
Reagan promised to destroy the EPA, Energy Department and OSHA. But with Bill Bennett and all those other clowns in his admimistraion he never got off the ground with his campaign promises. All we conservatives got from the Gipper was a lot of rhetoric, albleit, damn good rhetoric, but no action. The liberals got what they wanted during RR's tenure- a huge friggin tax raise and they got to keep their bureaucracy, a bureaucracy that RR was going to cut except for the establishment bunch he had around him that never let him follow through on campaign promises..
Soddy Buster?
Submitted by mom_rox on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 5:06pm.
Contact CAIR. Sounds like Mathews made an anti-muslim statement ;)
Good one, mom
Submitted by Galvanic on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 8:29pm.
He may want to have Al Sharpton start his car each morning.
Waste
Submitted by kiwikit on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 5:21pm.
Why does he bother? Does he really think that any Republican would consider watching his garbage-fest? He's just preaching to the choir, none of whom is a potential primary voter?
Let's take it one at a
Submitted by Maestroh on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 7:00pm.
Let's take it one at a time:
1) Yes, Reagan was well-known in 1980-because he'd been a movie actor some 30 years previous. Who had heard of Sarah Palin in August 2008? Different era.
2) Mathews conveniently ignores the fact that on October 14 Reagan was trailing. He needs to remember that just because Reagan won big, the 1980 election was not a cakewalk.
3) Mathews must not know Reagan got in hot water in August 1980 by advocating teaching Creationism in schools, speaking of states rights in MS, calling Vietnam a noble cause and in September saying that Carter was opening his campaign in the home of the KKK. Yeah, that sounds so soft and smooth to me. How can he not know this? I remember all of these & I was only 10 years old.
Perry ain't Reagan?
Submitted by Newsbubba on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 7:02pm.
Well blow my dress up, Prissy! Thanks for telling us.
Perry ain't Reagan, but he's damned sure the closest thing in this election to one.
And podner, I'll take "a real soddy buster [sic] cowboy who has a rough edge?" over that RBFSOB who occupies the White House now. Four more years of him and you're going to have to renounce your gayness or suffer the punishment of Sharia Law.
Don't show your ignorance, Prissy. To say soddy buster and cowboy in the same breath would have gotten your ass shot off in the Old West. Didn't you ever see a Western movie, or are you strictly a Glee fan?
What is downright hysterical
Submitted by Maestroh on Sun, 09/18/2011 - 8:37pm.
What is downright hysterical is the claim Reagan was not as divisive as Perry. In 1976, Reagan lost TN and KY with his suggestion of privatizing the TVA. He lost NH because he was portrayed as a radical who would dump federal programs on states & bankrupt the states. It was falsely alleged he told bankrupt NY City to "drop dead." It was suggested he would get us into a war with Rhodesia because of a statement about sending in advisors. Ford said in both 1976 & 1980 the American people would never elect someone as far to the right as Reagan. Bill Milliken said Reagan was an extremist and Jacob Javits, Chuck Percy, and Charles Mathias dismissed him. In 1980, Reagan was considered every bit as radical as George Wallace.
Perry is no Reagan but he's a lot closer to Reagan than Obama is to JFK.
Ladies and Gentlemen meet Rick Perry.
Submitted by Crash on Mon, 09/19/2011 - 6:59am.
Rick Perry is not Ronald Reagan because he's Rick Perry ... dumb masses!
Ronald Reagan was his own man, Rick Perry is his own man; therefore they will never be duplicated, only, modeled after.