You want a clear picture of just how in the tank America's media are for Barack Obama?
On Sunday, Chris Matthews revealed that eleven out of twelve regulars on the syndicated program bearing his name say Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won't take control and drive the political debate in the next six months leading to Election Day (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: We put it to the Matthews Meter, our regulars including Katty, Kelly and Joe. In these next six months, will Mitt Romney take control and drive this political debate as we've been talking about? Well, ironically, eleven say, “No” – he will not grab control of this debate. And three of you guys are involved in this. Kelly, you first. If Romney has the issue – jobs, a businessman - why can't he grab the wheel and say, “I'm going to talk about my expertise and Obama’s going have to listen?”
That’s a pretty absurd question coming from a member of the media that controls the political debate far more than the candidates do. If these folks want Obama's hands on the steering wheel, they’ll just give him better coverage and trash his opponent like they did in 2008.
Not surprisingly, NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell didn’t see it that way:
KELLY O’DONNELL, NBC NEWS CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: He’ll be talking about it, but I think when you have an incumbent president, that person has so much control over the news cycle and all of the trappings of the presidency he can use effectively to be the bigger voice in the room. That’s my take.
Especially if everyone in the media allows Obama to say whatever he wants with not just total impunity but also fawning praise.
Yet there was a surprise in this segment because Time magazine’s Joe Klein pointed out how stupid this question was:
MATTHEWS: Who runs the show?
JOE KLEIN, TIME MAGAZINE: Both do. I mean, that's the problem with this question is that we're going to have…
MATTHEWS: Well, I like tough questions.
KLEIN: It's not a tough question. I mean, you just didn't give us the third option.
MATTHEWS: What is this third option?
KLEIN: The third option is that sometimes Obama will, sometimes Reagan, Romney - did I almost say Reagan? - Romney will.
Not if Matthews, O’Donnell, and all the other Obama-lovers in the media have their way.
For the record, assuming Klein was the one dissenter as it appeared, those that said Romney won't control the debate are:
- David Brooks, New York Times
- Gloria Borger, CNN
- Helene Cooper, New York Times (not pictured)
- Andrea Mitchell, NBC News
- Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News
- Howard Fineman, Huffington Post
- Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal (not pictured)
- Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune
- Andrew Sullivan, The Atlantic
- Katty Kay, BBC
- John Heilemann, New York magazine
Isn't that special?
