Hardball

We're not looking to give Bill Clinton a hard time on a day when he's undergone heart surgery.  But our forbearance doesn't extend to Tom Brokaw when he misstates history . . . On this evening's Hardball, responding to Chris Matthews' question as to what motivates Clinton nowadays, Brokaw surmised that he is trying to improve his place in history given that, as president, impeachment proceedings…

According to Chris Matthews, the fact that racists have during the history of the nation invoked the rights of the states to perpetuate slavery or segregation immediately renders all proponents of states' rights -- a pillar of federalism and the American Constitution -- racist.While Matthews and his Hardball guests on Tuesday cited names like Jim Crow and John Calhoun and compared them to Texas…

Hardball host Chris Matthews on Wednesday ranted that "clowns" and "hyenas" like Sean Hannity "don't care" about the awful things global warming will do to the planet. The Fox News host on Monday highlighted the winter storms that the D.C. area has been suffering and then mocked Al Gore. After quoting similar remarks by Republicans Jim DeMint and Mitch McConnell, Matthews frothed, "It isn't…

Chris Matthews Monday went on a twelve minute attack on former Alaska governor Sarah Palin that should make his fellow MSNBCers and the liberal blogosphere quite happy.Here's how Monday's "Hardball" began:Can a palm reader be president? What do we think of kids in school who write stuff on their hands to get through a test? What do we think of a would-be political leader who does it to look like…

Ordinarily, one wouldn't take much notice of a gallon jug losing only a drop or two of water a day. But if you came back a year later and saw it half-empty, that would get your attention. Such is the case with the steep ratings declines at CNN and MSNBC. A year ago, they already trailed Fox News badly -- so badly that Fox's audience in a given hour of prime time was sometimes greater than CNN,…

Why let facts get in the way of a good liberal meme?Paul Farhi sure didn't when he panned Oscar-nominated movie "The Blind Side" during a special "Hardball on Hollywood" segment with Vanity Fair's Michael Wolff and host Chris Matthews on the February 2 program.The Washington Post media critic slammed the Best Picture-nominated drama -- based on a true story -- as just another movie in which the…

Chris Matthews demanded Republicans be punished for their, as he put it on Tuesday's Hardball, opposition to "everything that tries to solve the country's problems." During a discussion about White House strategy, Game Change co-author John Heilemann suggested to the MSNBC host that Barack Obama should make "Republicans pay for their intransigence," which prompted Matthews to question how best to…

Has the Obama administration compromised national security by leaking the fact that it's obtaining actionable intelligence from Umar Mutallab?  On this afternoon's Hardball, Justice Department correspondent Pete Williams reported the breaking news that Obama admin officials have told him that the Christmas Day bomber, Umar Mutallab, is providing actionable, fresh intelligence.Williams stated that…

The left is up in arms over the Supreme Court's recent decision in "Citizens United v. the Federal Elections Commission". But few voices have been louder than those emanating from the echo chamber at MSNBC. It seems that the cable network's talking heads feel that their parent company, General Electric, deserves a special exemption to what should be a blanket ban on unrestricted corporate…

Salon editor Joan Walsh said Sunday that MSNBC's Chris Matthews roots for Barack Obama.Appearing on CNN's "Reliable Sources," Walsh was asked by host Howard Kurtz to comment on Matthews' remark that he had forgotten the President was black during Wednesday's State of the Union address. "There's no such thing as post-racial, and so I disagree with Chris about that," said Walsh."But on the other…

[Update, 3:00 pm Eastern: Video added.] On HLN’s Joy Behar Show on Thursday, Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg gave a racial explanation for Chris Matthews’ recent “I forgot he was black” remark about President Obama. Goldberg cracked that “this has been quite a year for the white man.” Behar replied, “Traumatic,” and Goldberg continued it was “traumatic in many ways because...you have to think…

Comedian Jon Stewart Thursday mocked MSNBC's Chris Matthews for his absurd comment about having forgotten President Obama was black during the previous night's State of the Union address."If you watched the speech, and afterwards just wanted to have your mind blown, you gotta stick with Chris Matthews," teased the "Daily Show" host.After showing the video of Matthews' foolish remark, Stewart…

In 2008, she achieved a 100% liberal rating by the group Americans for Democratic Action. The same year she voted with conservatives just 4 percent of the time, according to the American Conservative Union. Her lifetime ACU rating is also in the single digits at a mere 9.06.So let's not tell Chris Matthews, shall we. [audio available here] The "Hardball" host today described the California…

UPDATE AT END OF POST: Video of Matthews clarifying this crazy comment. The tingle appears to be back for Chris Matthews, for shortly after Barack Obama finished his State of the Union address Wednesday, the "Hardball" host said he forgot the President was black.Speaking with fellow MSNBCers Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann, Matthews gushed, "You know, I was trying to think about who he was…