Wash Post's Chris Cillizza Definitively Declares: Obama Is 'Cool'; Romney Is 'Not Cool'
Washington Post political writer Chris Cillizza definitively declared on Tuesday's Hardball that for the 2012 race, Barack Obama is "cool" and Mitt Romney is "not cool." Host Chris Matthews, trying to prove his hipness, wondered aloud, "Can you dig it?"
Fellow Post writer Nia-Malika Henderson then attempted to explain what the "kids" these days are saying. After a clip of Obama on the Jimmy Fallon show, Cillizza proclaimed, "The one thing that I would point out that I think is fascinating about this race...[Obama] is cool. Mitt Romney is not cool."
Cillizza later attempted to soften his remark, insisting, "I don't mean it to say pejoratively that Mitt Romney isn't cool. Barack Obama is, but they are going to try and use that against him."
Matthews, whose cultural references often include movies from the '50s, dismissed Romney, "I mean, is that the least cool guy on the planet?"
Henderson gushed, "I think this cool factor, the kids would call it having swagger, is important to these young folks."
A transcript of the April 24th exchange, which aired at 5:43pm EDT, follows:
CHRIS CILLIZZA: The one thing that I would point out that I think is fascinating about this race. I was- He is- this is important: He is cool. Mitt Romney is not cool. That does not mean that-
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON: He's got swagger.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let's not lean against Romney.
CILLIZZA: It's an important dynamic though.
MATTHEWS: Just to disprove your theory, here's Mitt Romney up in Pennsylvania, the candidate running against him.
MITT ROMNEY: I fully extend the effort to extend the low interest rate for student loans. There was some concern that that would expire half way through the year and I support extending the temporary relief on interest rates for students. In part because of the extraordinarily, extraordinarily poor conditions in the job market.
MATTHEWS: Can you dig it? I knew that you could. I mean, is that the least cool guy on the planet?
HENDERSON: It's very different from- very different from President Obama.
MATTHEWS: That's not putting on a show, by the way.
HENDERSON: And very different from President Obama's testimony about his own, sort of, experience about student loans.
CILLIZZA: But in a way- in a way, Chris, this is the dynamic they're trying to draw. Look, I didn't- I don't mean it to say pejoratively that Mitt Romney isn't cool. Barack Obama is, but they are going to try and use that against him.
MATTHEWS: Could I let her pick up half her time? Can I let Nia have a-CILLIZZA: Yes. yes.
HENDERSON: I agree with Chris. I think this cool factor, the kids would call it having swagger, is important to these young folks.
MATTHEWS: Am I cool?
HENDERSON: I mean, they're not at the point where they're wearing t-shirts for Barack Obama anymore, but I do think they can identify, because he's the guy who fills out his brackets.
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Comments
That Obama is...
Submitted by bigdaddy on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 6:33pm.
...A Baddd Mutha (SHUT YO MOUF!)
But Ah'm Talkin' 'bout Baracko,
And We Can Dig It!!!....
LOL
Submitted by bobsmom on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 7:07pm.
you took the thought right out of my head. Soon as I read that, I'm thinking "Shaft? Are you kidding me?" Yeah spittle boy, I guess that's still "cool" in "I couldn't be a whiter boy if I tried land".
President Obama's testimony
Submitted by CarlosS on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 6:44pm.
Can I get an "Amen" to that Student Loan interest rate?
Airplane!...Mathews is hip wit da jive
Submitted by MidAmerica on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 6:58pm.
Jiveman #1: Sheeeet, man, that honkey mus' be messin' my old lady got to be runnin' col' upsihd down his head!
Golly, that white fellow should stay away from my wife or I will punch him.
Jiveman #2: Hey Holm, I can dig it! You know he ain't gonna lay no mo' big rap upon you man!
Yes, he is wrong for doing that.
Jiveman #1: I say hey sky, s'other say I won say I pray to J I get the same ol' same ol.
I knew a man in a similar predicament, and he ended up being sorry.
Jiveman #2: Knock yourself a pro slick. Gray matter back got perform' us' down I take TCBin, man'. Don't be naive Arthur.
Each of us faces a clear moral choice.
Jiveman #1: You know wha' they say: See a broad to get that bodiac lay'er down an' smack 'em yack 'em.
Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Together: Col' got to be! Yo! How true!
Together: Sh010039et!
Ah, he's cool. That's such a
Submitted by CM on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 6:59pm.
Ah, he's cool. That's such a great reason to vote for somebody.
Yeah, personally I am not
Submitted by tcm14 on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 7:06pm.
Yeah, personally I am not cool myself so I have no problem voting for Romney.
Hip to the Jive
Submitted by Fishkakes on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 11:27pm.
I don't want a President that's cool. I want an adult that accepts the responsibility to save this country from the Sociopath in Chief. Who with his genuine and gracious, loving wife will bring dignity back. Anne will bring the word lady back to First Lady.
Yeah
Submitted by panzerakc on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 4:06pm.
How'd that voting for "cool" in the last presidential election work for everybody?
Those of us
Submitted by bobsmom on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 7:11pm.
at least 30 years past give a sh!t, left "cool" in our rear view mirrors many moons ago. If this is all they've got to sell, folks, we need to start buying our "Obama" memorabilia now, they'll be collector's items for our grandchildren, and we'll be back to a country we can recognize.
like
Submitted by almostacowboy on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 9:32pm.
.
And half of them will not have a job in the foreseeable future.
Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 7:13pm.
They can thank their "hip" and "cool" Barry O for that.
And
Submitted by bobsmom on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 7:13pm.
I'd think they'd think he was even more "cool" if he filled out his jeans, better than he fills out his brackets.
And we all know "cool" is a
Submitted by mattm on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 9:01pm.
And we all know "cool" is a prerequisite for a president.
Cool as any
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 9:03pm.
used car salesman.
Cool like a
Submitted by Boudin on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 9:15pm.
Snake
Cool???
Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 9:25pm.
Mr. Cillizza, I am voting for President of the United States, not for President of (Fill in name) High School's Student Council.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Romney's not something else..
Submitted by almostacowboy on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 9:31pm.
Obama is - a moooslim!
Not really...
Submitted by JanineC on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 4:52am.
Obama is actually an atheist. The insider DNC operatives all know this..
Attention Liberal idiots
Submitted by LinTaylor on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 9:30pm.
This crap is exactly why you fail. You voted for Obama entirely because you thought of him as a "rockstar president", as if someone had asked you "Who would you cast in this movie?" instead of "Who do you want to be leader of the country for the next four years?" And you've paid for it very dearly, even though you refuse to admit it to anyone's faces.
Are you going to repeat the same mistake this year, backing the "rockstar" even after living through four years of his incompetent stumbling, broken promises, and smug arrogance? Or are you going to grow some (brains AND stones) and take a stand and back what you actually believe in instead of just an image?
Well, you got my attention...
Submitted by Jer on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 9:54pm.
"...take a stand and back what you actually believe in instead of just an image?"
But am I suppose to back Romney's positions before their flip or after their flop? I'm having difficulty in determining precisely what I should "actually believe in".
Jer
➚ Jer
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:05pm.
Must you go there? I don't like Rawmoney's flip-flops much either.
Good thing President Obama hasn't done any flip-flopping, huh?
Do you reckon he still believes babies should be slaughtered after being born?
Bazinga!!
Submitted by UpNorth on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:15pm.
For those who didn't know, the "Cool" president and his administration have declared that the war on terror is over. So glad, he's just so cool./sarc
Well, they've also recently
Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:21pm.
Well, they've also recently banned 'audible farting' in Afghanistan...............seems like it is disrespectful to those modern and up-to-date mooooooooooooooooslems!!! And I'm guessin' (Obamaspeak) that the goats and donkeys don't fart, and neither do those clean and classy moooooooooooooooslem men.
They fart
Submitted by cocodrie on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:24pm.
It's that dog and donkey meat in their diet.
Jesus Loves You so much He died for you
I find it ironic that the
Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:31pm.
I find it ironic that the moooooooooooooooooslems use their LEFT hand to, you know, clean up a little bit after, ummmmm......
digesting some dog and donkey meat.....................seems like our own LEFT dabbles in much the same activities!!!
And, yeah...........we don't want those American soldiers farting in the Holy Land, right??? Allah be praised, blessed be thy name Moooooooooooooooooohammed.
UpNorth, The arrogance and
Submitted by Liberallies on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:24pm.
UpNorth,
The arrogance and stupidity of our current President is so freaking dangerous!
I guess Obama single handly destroyed Hamas, Hezzbollah, Al Qaeda and the countless of well armed and organized terrorist organizations around the world, right?
The words and actions of this President as so incredibly harmful, my children deserve better than this wimpy Liberal who is quickly becoming the laughing stock of the world.
The saddest part is that you'll have Liberals say, "...but Obama has returned America's prestige to the world..." I will have them speak with my Spanish family, Italian friends, family living in Austria, etc.
Or, as one of our regulars said,have them watch recent
Submitted by UpNorth on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:48pm.
TV coverage of the spill-over of the "Arab Spring".
Or, point out to them that the "cool won" managed to accumulate more debt in 3+ years than the country did since it's founding.
As for Hamas, Hezbollah, the Haqqani Network and the rest, he didn't do anything to them, he sold out to them.
Jer, Like many Conservatives
Submitted by Liberallies on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:20pm.
Jer,
Like many Conservatives I agree that Mitt has flipped and flopped in many of his views....
My goodness man, Liberals better not attack him this, your glass house will be easily destroyed with rocks.
Obama is a huge flip-flopper too. Yet, Liberals don't care that Obama flip-flops, only when Mitt does it. LOL
Paying off $16 trillion would be kinda' cool.
Submitted by NeoKong on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:00pm.
Maybe Mr. Freeze can find some time for that in between his celebrity appearances.
Oh yea, Obama's real cool. Here's who's in his camp. .
Submitted by Gary Hall on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:09pm.
In fact . . I bet that there's a real need for a list here:
Here's one:
Sean Penn - wishing horrible suffering death on others (anyone have the original sin?)
Here's another one:
Bill Maher - on his view of women
I'd be we could come up with a list of hundreds of typical Obama supporters. Come to think of it, even Stossel's street interviews of the ignorance of folks would be telling.
(;~> gary
Well If Anyone Would Know...
Submitted by Bighead227 on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:17pm.
If anyone knows cool its these two ladykillers...
so embarrassing
I know that Boy Baraka
Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:26pm.
I know that Boy Baraka considers himself to be 'cool', and so do his fawning peons in the MSM media - but I've never bought into it, much less most of the other hogwash said about him. The guy is basically COLD - in his heart and soul and mindset. Hell, if the guy can get rid of his 'typical white grandmother', and lie through his purple lips about anything and everything, I'd even classify him as 'stone-cold'!!! And given his past drug use (is it still 'past'???), I'd call him 'stoned-cold'.....................but not 'cool'.
What, exactly, makes him 'cool', other than these queebies in the StateRun Media saying so??? The guy is so self-absorbed, egotistical, and arrogant - I don't think I could last 13 minutes with him before I'd bitch-slap his ugly face and tell him to STFU!!!
Cold - yep good description
Submitted by Radical1979 on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:30pm.
As far as the cool factor, maybe to a gay guy? We've all seen him in the mom jeans, on the bike, etc. Cool is something this guy in NOT.
I dunno, Ms. Lovely and
Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:36pm.
I dunno, Ms. Lovely and Classy Rad - I don't think that one guy that Boy Baraka used to hook up with in the limosine (his name is Larry Sinclair, right??), for a night of blow and blow, thinks he's particularly 'cool'...................and we don't really know what a couple of other 'partners' think about Boy Barry either, because both of these young 'black' men were murdered within a week of each other, right before the election.
Aaaayyyyy!
Submitted by IrateNate on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:27pm.
A Kenyan Marxist Fonzie - could Obama BE any cooler?
Sadly, there will be many an
Submitted by Liberallies on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:30pm.
Sadly, there will be many an American who would vote for a President based on who the main stream media says is cool or not cool.
I will never forget 2007 and 2008 when countless of Liberal friends and work collegues AND some Republicans were awed struck by such empty rhetoric as, "We are the ones we've been waiting for!!", "Hope and Change!" "Yes We Can!". Etc., etc. I will never forget watchin an Obama speech, I think it was April 2008, my wife who is not as politically inclined as I am sat down with me and without me saying one word she said, "how easy so many Americans are fooled by a Presidential candidate who sounds no different than the radical dictators of Latin America!" My wife is Mexican.
There's an old poker adage
Submitted by Bighead227 on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:37pm.
There's an old poker adage that says if you look around the table and can't figure out who the sucker is, it's likely to be you. Well...
MATTHEWS: Can you dig it? I knew that you could. I mean, is that the least cool guy on the planet?
Um, no Chris. That would be you.
Ps And if you ever need reminded, just watch a rerun of this segment.
I take it Fallon's house band didn't demean guest Obama...
Submitted by krendler on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 10:47pm.
like they did guest Bachmann (playing "Lyin' A$$ B*tch" as she walked on stage).
Then again, Bachmann's a woman, a conservative, and white. So, in the words of Obama toady Cillizza, I'm sure such disgraceful, sophomoric conduct is "cool."
Hardball is impressive*
Submitted by cajun2 on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 11:03pm.
What other "news" show gives such intellectual and substantive debate about the 2012 campaign? Oh wait, all of the LSM sounds like these two idiots.
Nevermind
The debate of who's cool and not cool
Submitted by djwolf12 on Tue, 04/24/2012 - 11:33pm.
Honestly, if your whole life revolved around Chris Matthews' show, would you be cool? Uh, I'd say that would make you a big fat loser.
Obama is funny too as most
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 12:04am.
Obama is funny too as most retards are.
Actually, Obama is a DORK
Submitted by Andante on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 12:06am.
http://realmanmag.com/isobamaadork-2.html
-------------------------------------
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." --Martin Luther King, Jr.
How would Chris C. or Chris
Submitted by d1carter on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 1:01am.
How would Chris C. or Chris M. have a clue who is cool?
OK, let me break this down
Submitted by killa37 on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 1:27am.
OK, let me break this down into the simplist and most easy-to-understand terms. We have the Leghumper,who wouldn't know 'cool' unless he forgot to wear his Boy Baraka parka in chilly weather......and then we have this other twerpy queebie wimp Christine Thrill-zilla, who probably hung out in the side halls of high school, with his hand down his pants, playing with himself whenever the 'cool man on campus' came walking by!!!
So these two wanna-be's are going to tell US who is 'cool'??? Get a friggin' life, you morons.............you guys aren't even worth the useless words that spew out of your useless mouths!!!!
excuse me??
Submitted by JanineC on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 4:44am.
"he's the guy that fills out his brackets"?? OMG! Are these people for real? Nobody wants a cool President....we want a competent, patriotic President with integrity and who upholds the Constitution. We don't need or want cool.."can you dig it, man?" Ugh