On at least four occasions, MSNBC's Chris Matthews mocked Sarah Palin for how he felt she'd do if she were ever on the hit television game show Jeopardy!.
In a delicious example of instant karma, the self-proclaimed brainiac got his chance to show America how smart he was in a special "Power Players" version of the show Monday, but came up quite short finishing dead last with the paltry sum of only $2,300 (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
For those that missed it, Matthews was matched up against CNN's Lizzie O'Leary and former Obama White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
Quite comically, the MSNBC anchor's first gaffe came when he couldn't even correctly request an answer to a question.
"Let's go back to, what is 'Crossword Clues E?' I mean, I'm sorry, let's go $200 for the category 'Crossword Clues E.'"
Matthews appeared to have his Joe Biden thinking cap on.
Host Alex Trebek finally read the answer, "At ____, soldier! Four letters."
"At ease, soldier," Matthews responded. "What is 'At ease, soldier?'"
Although the correct response was "Ease," host Trebek graciously accepted Matthews' offering.
A bit later, the answer to another question was, "Full name of the U2 pilot shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960."
Matthews responded, "Who is Gary Powers?"
Trebek prompted, "We need the full name."
Again channeling Biden, Matthews actually just repeated the same thing saying, "Who is Gary Powers?"
Trebek said, "No," and the audience burst out laughing. The full name of course was Francis Gary Powers.
And that's when things really got ugly for the arrogant Matthews.
Matthews responded, "What is a U.S. attorney?"
And this guy has the nerve to ridicule anyone. Where do you find "attorney" in the acronym "U.S.D.C.?"
Obviously, the correct response was district court.
Then, in the same category, another answer was, "In 1986, the Supreme Court ruled that the 'hostile environment' type of this can be sex discrimination."
Matthews responded, "What is a hostile workplace?" This brainiac thinks the same word can be in both the answer AND the question.
Of course, the correct response was sexual harassment.
And then the fun really began in the category "6-Letter World Capitals" with the answer, "St. Basil's Cathedral is there."
Readers are once again reminded the category was "6-Letter World Capitals."
Almost astonishingly, the pompous and holier-than-thou Matthews responded, "What is Istanbul?"
The correct response - containing six letters and not eight! - was Moscow.
As such, when Double Jeopardy! ended, Matthews had a whopping $4,600, almost $10,000 behind O'Leary and over $8,000 less than Gibbs.
As they all missed a very tough Final Jeopardy! question, the game concluded with Gibbs having $5,600, O'Leary $4,200, and Matthews pulling up the rear at only $2,300.
This from a man who on October 2, 2008, shortly before that evening's Vice Presidential debate, said of Palin:
"Is this [vice presidential debate] about her brain power?... Do you think cute will beat brains?...Do you think she’d do better on the questions on Jeopardy! or the interview they do during a half-time?...My suspicion is that she has the same lack of intellectual curiosity that the President of the United States has right now and that is scary!"
Then on January 12, 2010:
They find these empty vessels who know nothing about the world! Nothing about foreign policy! Who immediately begin to spout the neo-con line. I read her book — it’s full of that crap....It’s unbelievable how little this woman knows!...Don’t put her on Jeopardy!”
And again on November 2, 2010:
“Senator, do you think Sarah Palin is qualified to be President of the United States?...If she were on Jeopardy! right now and the topic was national government, American government generally defined, would she look like an imbecile, or would she look okay? Does she know anything?"
And finally on January 19, 2011:
“I’d like to see her on just a couple of episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy! or It’s Academic Mac McGarry to just see if she knows anything.”
Well, Chris, America just saw you on Jeopardy!, and you came in last with only $2,300 missing what most viewers likely thought were pretty easy questions.
What's that they say about people in glass houses?
Here are some more recent flubs by Matthews with most occurring on his very own program:
On Jeopardy, Chris Matthews Ludicrously Claims He Finds Facts First, Then Forms Opinion
MSNBC's Chris Matthews to Black Pastor: 'I Hope You Evolve'
Chris Matthews: Gay GOP Staffers Should Ask Bosses to Join Obama on Same-Sex Marriage
Chris Matthews Links Gay Marriage Opponents to Supporters of Slavery
Chris Matthews Falsely Claims Obama Bailed Out Ford
Chris Matthews Compares Mitt Romney to 'Wall Street' Villain Gordon Gekko
Chris Matthews Falsely Claims Unemployment Rate Now 'Lowest' Since 'Obama Took Office'
Chris Matthews Compares Obama Speech to Troops in Afghanistan to Henry V
Be advised: these are gaffes made by Matthews just this month.
