According to new rankings by the Telegraph newspaper, Chris Matthews is the second most influential pundit in the United States.
Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh came in fourth. Explained the Telegraph, "John McCain has declared: 'I don’t listen to [Rush].' But thousands of the voters he needs in November do."
Bill O'Reilly's 2.3 million viewers earned him the 12th spot, just ahead of Keith Olberman's 700,000 to 900,000.
Of course, a mild amount of research on the part of the Telegraph would have revealed that Rush brings more than "thousands" of voters to the table. He brings in excess of 13.5 million.
Yet Chris Matthews' 530,000 viewers trumped all of these people, making him the second most influential person in the United States. This is a laughable assertion at best. Am I the only one wondering if the Brits are trying to promote Matthews's Senate campaign?
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I think we can safely say
May 2, 2008 - 21:08 ET by Chris NormanI think we can safely say that this is a fine example of bias at it's most ignorant.
Speak for Yourself, Chris.
May 3, 2008 - 09:17 ET by capavOn his show yesterday, he could hardly contain his excitement in showing a clip of McCain making a statement about being in the Middle east for oil. He showed it twice and quoted some brilliant mind saying "in Washington, a gaffe is when you say what you believe". Whoa! He should re-wind his television career and look at his liberal "gaffes".
And that's not bias?
May 3, 2008 - 10:43 ET by motherbeltAnd that's not bias?
Matthews
May 4, 2008 - 10:48 ET by capavI was referring to Chris Matthews, not the poster I was responding to. Sorry Chris.
Another fine example of
May 2, 2008 - 21:24 ET by stratmanAnother fine example of "stupid is as stupid does".
Wile E. Coyote has more gumption and honor than these writers.
RRAM Tough!
I heard about Chrissy today....
May 2, 2008 - 21:29 ET by BlondeBeing one of the "most powerful political pundits".
Forgive me, I was far too busy to fall over laughing....but had I had the time, I would have....I'd have demanded the paramedics take me off from laughing myself to death!
(Sorry...old joke..."call the paramedics")....LOL.
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
Blonde..certainly
May 2, 2008 - 23:40 ET by Gary HallBlonde..certainly sent a trickle down my leg..., er, I mean a ... a tinkle down my leg.. er, I mean a tingle up my pants... oh no, it was a "thrill up my leg.
Oh, help us all -- gary (;~/
Gar,
May 3, 2008 - 00:05 ET by BlondeYou ought to serially (**wink**) pay attention to that leg thing.
It's particularly noisome that Barak and his minions own the lexicon about the leg goings on. Sheesh!
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
You have to wonder
May 2, 2008 - 21:36 ET by motherbeltwhat criteria they used!
I'm assuming they are pushing his possible campaign, since they ended with this:
his return to full-time politics would be journalism's loss.
Maybe it was a mistake.
May 2, 2008 - 21:41 ET by Chris NormanMaybe it was a mistake. Maybe they meant to say Matthews was the most showerful of commentators - as many who've had the misfortune of sitting near him have found out...
Omigosh....ROFL!....
May 2, 2008 - 21:43 ET by motherbeltOmigosh....ROFL!....
Rush is right! This
May 2, 2008 - 21:42 ET by bigtimerRush is right!
This proves everything he says once again.
I love it.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
There was a time!
May 2, 2008 - 21:55 ET by pbthinkerThere was a time, during the Clinton Impeachment I believe, that I enjoyed watching Matthews. I felt, at the time, that he liked politics and the game, much more than he did the partisanship, even though it was obvious he was a Democrat lover.
Since then, however, he's grown to love the partisanship much more and has shown himself to be a democrat and has taken sides, vs. before, where he displayed some partisanship (you just can't lose it) but was trying to balance his presentation. Right now, he seems to have little desire to even look balanced.
Democrats: Stuck on Stupid since 2000.
pb... I too watched him
May 2, 2008 - 22:01 ET by bigtimerpb...
I too watched him then, he had real disdain for Bill Clinton, and Hillary wasn't much far behind.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
"...I felt, at the time,
May 2, 2008 - 22:16 ET by fitzfong"...I felt, at the time, that he liked politics and the game..."
Actually, that's one of the aspects of Chris Matthews that I always found so annoying. There's no substance to his commentary whatsoever. It's all about personality with him...it's that tired Kennedy/Camelot worship where he's looking for the next fairytale dynasty. He has this creepy fraternity/model UN attitude towards his guests, as if they should be elevated beyond garden-variety blowhards. "Inside the Beltway" types like Chris Matthews are as shallow and vacuous as the E! News red carpet watchers. They get close to some no-name political operatives and act as if they're the most important and fascinating people in the world. I'm just waiting for this self-important gasbag to ask "Fast Eddie" Rendell, David Axelrod or Howard Wolfson "who" they are wearing.
Yessir. Well said. I
May 3, 2008 - 00:28 ET by maggieqpublicYessir. Well said. I feel your pain.
By George, I think they missed it!
May 2, 2008 - 22:12 ET by R D HelmBy about as far as it was possible to miss it.
Blimey!
What the American people are looking for is somebody who can solve their problems. - Barack Obama, April 27, 2008
So McPain doesn't listen to Rush?
May 2, 2008 - 22:31 ET by jefflebowskiWell, I don't either much. But I don't need Rush to tell me who to vote or not vote for. And I decided years ago that I would NEVER vote for McPain!!!
jeff, perhaps McClinton should listen to Rush.
May 2, 2008 - 23:42 ET by R D HelmGod knows he doesn't listen to anybody else!
What the American people are looking for is somebody who can solve their problems. - Barack Obama, April 27, 2008
But I don't need Rush to
May 3, 2008 - 06:51 ET by NewsbusterbrownBut I don't need Rush to tell me who to vote or not vote for.
The vast majority of Rush's listeners don't, either. I listen to him for either information or his take on things. However, I still make my decisions on my own without anybody's help.
“There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)
I still make my decisions
May 3, 2008 - 07:03 ET by motherbeltI still make my decisions on my own without anybody's help.
No you don't!! If you listen to Rush, you're a "mind-numbed robot." ;-)
Once Rush was talking about how they claim he instructs his listeners to call Senators and Reps at their Capitol offices on this or that issue. To prove that he doesn't do it, he decided to show them what would happen if he actually did, and he told people to call. The switchboard was overloaded and shut down in no time at all! LOL
No you don't!! If you
May 3, 2008 - 08:48 ET by NewsbusterbrownNo you don't!! If you listen to Rush, you're a "mind-numbed robot." ;-) :-)
I can handle that charge better when liberals state it then when conservatives do. I understand why the former do it, but not as much the latter.
Once Rush was talking about how they claim he instructs his listeners to call Senators and Reps at their Capitol offices on this or that issue. To prove that he doesn't do it, he decided to show them what would happen if he actually did, and he told people to call. The switchboard was overloaded and shut down in no time at all! LOL
I remember that, motherbelt. That was great. :-)
“There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)
Put down
May 4, 2008 - 16:04 ET by Jerry MackThe msm keeps trying to put Rush down. His audience keeps growing.
Jerry Mack,
May 5, 2008 - 20:03 ET by R D HelmLOL-Nothing like a little free publicity to boost the ol' ratings.
That is what many on the left don't realize. People are going to tune in just to see what the ruckus is about.
What the American people are looking for is somebody who can solve their problems. - Barack Obama, April 27, 2008
Matthews 2nd most powerful pundit???
May 2, 2008 - 22:33 ET by motherbeltOK, I tried, and I can't resist it any longer! I have to say, in my best wide-eyed, wide-mouthed Chris Matthews imitation:
HAH!!
mb... LOL... ...as long
May 2, 2008 - 22:34 ET by bigtimermb...
LOL...
...as long as that spittle isn't coming out...I can see it!
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill
Don't you actually need
May 2, 2008 - 22:53 ET by CJK51Don't you actually need viewers and/or listeners to have an audience over whom to wield influence? I think the Bose infomercials or Time-Life commericals hosted by Air Supply and featuring the best of soft rock have larger audiences than Matthews.
And I love the line, "his return to politics will be journalism's loss." When was this drooling nutbag ever considered a journalist and not a blatant political hack and Democrat apologist?
As a resident of Pennsylvania, it chills me to the very marrow to consider him as a possible senator. A second term of Steady Eddie Rendell has already been painful; we have the latest unibrowed member of the Casey family as an empty suit senator and Specter as the seasoned veteran. Haven't those of us in the Keystone State suffered enough?
Chrissy is way under paid !!
May 2, 2008 - 23:48 ET by upcountrywaterRush makes 25 million a year, so chrissy should DEMAND a 30 million dollar raise.
Go for it chrissy, press the issue!
The POPE says, GOD BLESS AMERICA!!
IranianUranium<sleep>New/Infrastructure/repair?/ROFLMAO
What ever happened to the definition of journalist
May 3, 2008 - 01:06 ET by Captain RepusLeave it to the Brits to show their misunderstanding of the English language. Somehow they believe a spittle-spewing partisan hack who has no clue as to journalistic ethics, has no knowledge of the country he lives in beyond D.C. and East coast cement dwellers, who works for MSNBarakC (a paid subsidiary of the DNC) is a journalist. I suppose it is difficult to recognize an actual journalist since there don't seem to be any around any more.
To be fair, they didn't call
May 3, 2008 - 08:01 ET by motherbeltTo be fair, they didn't call him a journalist. This was about "political pundits."
We wish it soooo...
May 3, 2008 - 01:14 ET by RMRThis is the ultimate liberal wish-list.
Liberals at the Telegraph and world-wide are so desperate for this "list" to be true that they couldn't allow something as "trivial" as "facts" to stand in their way.
The fact that Rush Limbaugh's audience is over 20 million, and Chrissy-boy can barely scrape together a few hundred thousand, is irrelevant when measuring "influence". Right, Telelibs?
Next you will be telling us that MSNBC is the most watched network in America. HA! HA!
You should change your name from the Telegraph to the Teletubbies. Then, maybe, this "list" might make more sense.
High ranking of Matthews is a stupid joke
May 3, 2008 - 03:35 ET by jawebster1I, Jim Webster, say there is no way Obama sycophant Chris Matthews, who gets a big thrill crawling up his leg whenever he hears Obama speak, is more influential than Rush or any of a hundred pundits I could name. His show is not watched except by like minded liberals and they are few in number when compared to any show on Fox, even the cancelled John Gibson show. I used to watch him before our cable company carried Fox, because I liked him going after the Clintons, which was to his credit, but no more.
Has Gibson actually been
May 3, 2008 - 05:46 ET by Jack BauerHas Gibson actually been dropped by Fox?
I thought he looked on the way out when they saddled him with that female "co-host,"
First she just started to read out the viewer responses, they she got more action... but it didn't work. He looked really unhappy being with her.
GIBBY...
May 3, 2008 - 15:06 ET by danybhoyJack Bauer,
Gibby still works for Fox, he still has his radio gig on FoxNewsTalk... http://blog.gibsonradio.com/ ...6pm-9pm eastern, Monday through Friday. I love his show, funny & informative. I catch him on XM, he is also on Sirius, I have no idea what stations carry the show nationally.
I do know he said his contract was coming up, I don't know when exactly. He did'nt know how long he wanted to keep doing TV, especially with HD right around the corner. He has said he was'nt looking forward to that, I don't know how honest he was being about that, I'll take him at his word. He seems to like radio better because you can get away with more then you can on TV, & I think he is having fun, & it shows. He has a damn good staff, & is not afraid to piss people off to get at the truth.
I don't know if Gibby will ever be a regular on FoxNews again, but I'm sure he will pop up from time to time.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
FYI.. The Daily Telegraph
May 3, 2008 - 05:34 ET by Jack BauerFYI.. The Daily Telegraph is a conservative leaning newspaper, and supports the Conservative party in the UK.
But like most Brits, and/or Europeans they know very little about America, because they all operate in the same fevered liberal media swamp, so get easily blinded.
So I have tried to help them out with this post on their site...
Crikey!! Good dressing
May 3, 2008 - 06:21 ET by motherbeltCrikey!! Good dressing down by our resident bloke!! LOL!
I'm going for bloke! Good
May 3, 2008 - 06:49 ET by Jack BauerI'm going for bloke!
Good use of "crikey." "Blimey," is also good!
Going for "bloke"???
May 3, 2008 - 07:04 ET by motherbeltGrooooooan!
"Blimey!" is overused. LOL
Not by me!
May 3, 2008 - 07:24 ET by Jack BauerNot by me! And not in the States I assume?
But you could try the full monty phrase which you may know is: "Cor Blimey".
Now I just looked it up in my OED -- and it's one of those many euphemisms for uttering God's name out loud. The derivation being:
Guess what Crikey is the 19th Cent. euphemism for? Bit obvious!
Yes, I'm very familiar with
May 3, 2008 - 07:50 ET by motherbeltYes, I'm very familiar with "Cor Blimey"....didn't want to push it tho. LOL I never knew what it really meant. Crikey I did figure out on my own.
I always liked the drawn-out "C-o-o-or!" LOL
He is not even the second
May 3, 2008 - 09:05 ET by general companyHe is not even the second most influential on MSNBC. Who are they catering this poll to anyway? Just makes them look stupid and out of touch to Americans
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Telegraph gets 1000 mocking post re: Matthews "influence"
May 3, 2008 - 10:56 ET by Jack BauerHey, my post on the Telegraph site finally went up at 3.09 GMT.
I think their server must have crashed by the response from amused annd/or angry Americans, as I posted it at 10 am.
No kidding...it is well and truly crashed
May 3, 2008 - 11:05 ET by BlondeWell...just goes to show you, we're not all sheep. I wish I could read some of those comments, though. Do the comments in the U.K. get devolve into vitriol (well, I'd imagine BDS isn't as common there) as they do here?
I swear, I posted a link last week from my local paper about a decomposed body found in a tree (how bizarre is that?) and within three comments BDS was in full swing. It's insane.
However....starting with a stupid statement like this Chris Matthews one...well, I'd expect full tilt insults within one or two comments.
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
Jack, I just put my second comment over there.
May 3, 2008 - 14:57 ET by R D HelmProbably won't post until tomorrow.
The list has grown to over 990. So far.
I did manage to get a link to this thread posted over there in an earlier comment. :-)
What the American people are looking for is somebody who can solve their problems. - Barack Obama, April 27, 2008
The Telegraph
May 3, 2008 - 11:03 ET by mooreusmcDoes the Telegraph still purport to get their information through that medium? Matthews has little influence over the garbage that drizzles out of his mouth, much less over anyone else.
Matthews has little
May 3, 2008 - 11:47 ET by motherbeltMatthews has little influence over the garbage that drizzles out of his mouth, much less over anyone else.
and the operative word there is "drizzles." LOL
power
May 3, 2008 - 12:10 ET by opnpt0Chris Matthews probably can't even bench 100 lbs....how powerful can he be?
Rush wasn't the first but he changed the face of broadcasting forever and changed peoples lives. How many pundits actually have an effect on people's lives...including other "top" conservative commentators.
THE TELEGRAPH LIST...
May 3, 2008 - 15:32 ET by danybhoyHow many pints did these muppets pound while coming up with this?
No Ann Coulter? She is waaaay more influencial then the 7 women they listed, COMBINED. Out of Rachel Maddow, Mary Matlin, Dee Dee Myers, Peggy Noonan, Arianna Huffington, Laura Ingraham, & Donna Brazile, only Laura & Arianna are close to Ann in this subgroup. The rest have their place, but not above Ann.
How the hell did Jon Leibowitz get into the Top 10? The man is a comic, nothing more, nothing less. He no funnier then Dennis Miller, & no more important. No offence Dennis, I love your work.
Chris Mathews at #2 is a sad statement. This guy is #3 in his timeslot, how on earth could a sober person rank this clown #2 overall? Not in this world is he more influencial then El-Rushbo, Hannity, O'Reilly, Beck, Savage, Levin, Ingraham, or Coulter. The only person from MSNBC that should be high on this list is BathTubBoy. Yeah, I know I rip him here every chance I get, but he is MSNBC's biggest gun, he does draw flack every time he shoots off his mouth, but he still gets his @$$ kicked in every ratings book. He should be happy to get on the list, as screwed up as it is.
In the end, we in America who follow the news media know the truth, & with all due respect to Carl Rove, El-Rushbo is #1. I know it, you know it, Rush knows it, & I gotta think Mr.Rove knows it.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
I agree about the women,
May 3, 2008 - 15:48 ET by motherbeltI agree about the women, except don't diminish Peggy Noonan. She has been around Washington a long time, and I believe still has a good deal of influence.
MOTHERBELT...
May 3, 2008 - 19:38 ET by danybhoyI thought about that in regards to Peggy Noonan, she is still highly thought of, & she should be. I just feel NOBODY draws the sort of reaction Ann does, nobody. She is 1 of the very few people who can sell books, she is 1 of the few willing to go into any forum & discuss the issues.
I have Laura & Arianna above Peggy because of their overall reach. Laura has a big time radio gig, she's sold more then a few books, & is a regular with O'Reilly. I put Arianna up there because The Huffington Post is huge. I'm no fan of the site, but it carries a ton of influence amongst lefties, it cannot be overlooked.
I will add something I just thought of while typing this out, Michelle Malkin is nowhere to be found. She is a player in this game, & I find it odd that some of those listed are barely visable & don't seem to make much of an impact as pundits. Hot Air is a great site & is huge in the fight over the border.
"Some of us are wise, some of us are otherwise" Mark Levin
irrelevant
May 3, 2008 - 20:13 ET by ort777You'll remember, they did a list of most conservative and most liberal (a link that seems to be dead, now) and they had Rudy #1, and Bill Clinton #1. Rudy? And do you really think Bill has such a huge impact on the libs now that he has changed the way everyone is voting over there on the left? No way! The libs list went like this: Bill, Algore, Mark Penn, Hillary, Nancy Pelosi, Obama. It made no mention of Rev. Wright, I might add.
I would say this list is a total joke and only made to get people to get ticked. I knew it would happen, left a comment and won't think anything beyond it. All it will do is reinforce the bloated ego that Hardboiled already has.