Billed as a roundtable, it played more like a group therapy session for distraught Dems on the verge. Obama's polls dropping. An inchoate sense this might all be slipping away. Chris Matthews and his guests for the show-ending "Politics Fix" on this evening's Hardball were united in bemoaning Barack's plight. The host himself was the ultimate downer, analogizing Obama's campaign to that of . . . Michael Dukakis.
Matthews fellow sufferers were Jeff Johnson, host of The Truth on BET, and Salon.com editor Joan Walsh.
View video here.
Excerpts from the sigh-in:
JEFF JOHNSON: Starting from coming back from Europe, the Obama campaign didn't have the energy. McCain has done a miraculously better job of messaging than he'd been doing before. And lastly I think this last piece, with Pastor Warren at Saddleback, was incredibly more beneficial for McCain, the candidate, than it was for Obama.
JOAN WALSH: Yes, absolutely. I totally agree with Jeff. I think Obama is off his game and McCain is on it . . . Obama said he was going to swing back but really what he's saying is "please don't attack my patriotism." That's not being aggressive. And finally, I was really disappointed with his going to Saddleback, but also his performance there . . . They don't really seem to have a plan to counteract [McCain's attacks].
. . .
JOHNSON: The Obama campaign has not been able to counter the way that they need to . . . The Obama campaign has to find a better message than the one that they're using.
That's when Matthews made the unkindest cut of all.
CHRIS MATTHEWS: You know, I've seen this campaign before: I think it was 1988. We'll be right back with the roundtable. It's what happened to Dukakis. You know, he wouldn't support the Pledge of Allegiance in the classroom. What's he up to? What's his problem with the flag?
Is Hardball heading into hide-the-sharp-objects territory?
