NRO Blog: Chris Matthews Wasn't Playing 'Hardball' With Mrs. Edwards Before Debate

Over at The Hillary Spot on NRO, a great spot for keeping up with the presidential campaign, Jim Geraghty found that Chris Matthews wasn't exactly playing "Hardball" before the Democratic debate. But he did imply that Bush was a little racist because he was faster to arrive on the scene at Virginia Tech than in New Orleans after Katrina. (Question to Chris: Do you think no blacks were gunned down at Virginia Tech?) Geraghty thought Matthews sounded like a DNC press aide:

Chris Matthews' first question to Elizabeth Edwards on Hardball: "What's the difference between having a Democratic President and a Republican President?"

Then, Matthews turns to the crowd of largely African-American college students behind him: "Do you folks think Hurricane Katrina was handled well?" The crowd's reaction at the University is exactly as you would expect: "NOOOOOO!!!"

"Did you notice that President Bush went to Virginia Tech almost immediately?" "YEAAHHH."

"Did you notice that President Bush didn't go to New Orleans for a while?" "YEAAAHH!"

Matthews' question to Mrs. Edwards: "Why?" Unsurprisingly she says she has no idea why.

That's "hardball"? The DNC couldn't have scripted that any better.