October 2007 - Posts
On Monday's "Hardball," host Chris Matthews offered his opinion on what Sen. Barack Obama needs to do tomorrow night at the Democratic Candidates Presidential Debate in Philadelphia. Matthews, a former speechwriter, thinks Obama can help himself against Sen. Hillary Clinton in the polls. Read his suggested speech.
Matthews spent 15 years in politics, working in the White House for four years under President Jimmy Carter as a Presidential speechwriter, as the top aide to Speaker of the House Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Jr. for six years and in the U.S. Senate for five years on the staffs of Senator Frank Moss (Utah) and Senator Edmund Muskie (Maine).
Lt. Gov. John Garamendi appeared Tuesday's "Hardball with Chris Matthews," saying he's "got some doubt about the value of President Bush coming out here" and "I just hope if he does come, he brings more than he brought to New Orleans."
CALIFORNIA LT. GOVERNOR JOHN GARAMENDI: I've got some doubt about the value of President Bush coming out here. How many times did he go to New York or to New Orleans and still, made promises but hasn't delivered. We have the Terminator out here, Gov. Schwarzenegger is doing a good job, and we'll see.
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST, 'HARDBALL:' Do you think it's public relations rather than action?
Garamendi: Of course it's public relations. The actions taking place by the hard working firefighters, the men and women and the police that are out there on the line, and the community that's pulling together to support watch other, that's where the action is taking place.
I know, okay, President Bush comes out, we'll be polite, but frankly, that's not the solution. How about sending our National Guard back from Iraq, so that we have those people available here to help us?
Matthews: Do you think the President's arrival will distract from the efforts to fight the fire?
Garamendi: Absolutely, no doubt about it. The President goes some place, you've got a huge entourage, you've got secret service all over and all the chaos that comes with whenever the President arrives, wherever the President happens to arrive.
But listen, what we really need are those firefighters, we need the equipment, we need, frankly, we need those troops back from Iraq. We'll get on here, whether he comes or not, that's not really the issue. I just hope if he does come, he brings more than he brought to New Orleans.
Watch the complete video of the interview.
"Hardball" host Chris Matthews gives his take on the day's top political headlines.
Hillary: Eat your carrots!
Sen. Hillary Clinton commented on overeating today by saying: “People now eat all day long. People walk down the street, they eat in their cars - they eat everywhere. I think we can use some carrots and maybe a few sticks to help people understand what they are doing to themselves." Eat your carrots, America!
Hillary’s “Help”
The Los Angeles Times reports today that Hillary has raised unprecedented amounts of money from poor Chinatown residents. “Dishwashers, waiters and others whose jobs and dilapidated home addresses seem to make them unpromising targets for political fundraisers are pouring $1,000 and $2,000 contributions into Clinton's campaign treasury." The report goes on to say that many of the donors, some of whom don't even vote, felt pressured to give because leaders in neighborhood associations told them to. While she shovels the money in one door, she shovels out the federal money in another.
GOP to Woodstock: Drop dead
Republicans in Congress have succeeded in killing an earmark proposed by Sen. Clinton and New York's Chuck Schumer. It would have provided $1 million for a Woodstock museum in upstate New York. Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl said, "With all the pressing needs facing our country today, from entitlement reform to children's health care to the war in Iraq, the idea that the federal government should fund a museum that celebrates a 38-year-old concert is simply absurd." And Mississippi's Trent Lott added, "They had a hippiefest there, and it just seems like a highly questionable place to be putting a million bucks, especially taxpayers' dollars." I say "Woodstock Nation" shouldn't be asking for pig's money.
Edwards: In his own league
Despite his Carolina roots, John Edwards is having a tough time in South Carolina. Even though he won that primary in 2004, he's now trailing Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. An American Research Group poll shows him down from 30% in May to just 7% now. Time Magazine reports that voters just don't see Edwards as one of them. One voter, who actually does support Edwards, told the magazine, "He's in a whole other league than me." Taking a jab at Edwards's penchant for expensive haircuts, he pointed to his own hair and added, "This 'uns $8."
Big bid for Rush letter
Remember Rush Limbaugh's "phony soldiers" comment? In the wake of that fight, Democratic senators sent a letter to the head of Clear Channel criticizing Limbaugh. Rush then took that letter and put it up on eBay, where today it sold for $2.1 million. The money goes to a charity that provides aid to the children of fallen soldiers.
Rivals show some respect
Finally, I wrote a piece today in the Boston Globe about something that I observed during our last presidential debate up in Michigan. "What grabbed me was how differently the candidates all behaved when the lights dimmed for CNBC and MSNBC commercials. They actually looked like they had come to enjoy one another's company."
"Hardball" host Chris Matthews gives his take on the day's top political headlines.
McCain rips Romney
The Republicans are finally going at it. Mitt Romney is delivering the canned claim that he speaks for "the Republican wing of the Republican party;" a line he stole from Howard Dean who said he was from the "Democratic wing of the Democratic party." Sen. John McCain was quick to nail him: "As you know, when he ran for office in Massachusetts, being a Republican wasn't much of a priority." Today McCain went further, suggesting that Romney is out to "con" the voter with his new image as a conservative.
Thompson targets Rudy
Come tonight, Rudy can expect to get a pummeling. Fred Thompson is set to give a speech on Rudy's home turf in which he'll say, "some think the way to beat the Democrats in November is to be more like them." That's according to released remarks. It's a not-so-thinly-veiled swipe at Giuliani.
Fred Thompson MIA
Meanwhile, where's Fred? The Associated Press reports that since our CNBC debate last week, Thompson has been entirely absent from the campaign trail. He even cancelled a fundraising breakfast in New Hampshire last week because of "scheduling conflicts." Maybe the big guy's hibernating.
Craig slams Romney
On the Larry Craig front, Matt Lauer's interview with the embattled senator airs tomorrow night on NBC's Dateline. But we already know one fascinating revelation: that Craig is directing at least some of his ire at Mitt Romney, the presidential candidate he had been boosting. You'll remember that Romney was quick to dump him after Craig's bathroom manners came to light. Craig tells Lauer that Romney "not only threw me under his campaign bus, he backed up and ran over me again."
Hillary gets hit
On the Democratic side, the Obamas are taking it to Hillary...and hard. When asked whether Hillary is a polarizing figure, Michelle told the Sunday Times of London she sure is.
Take a look at Chris and crew celebrating 10 years playing 'Hardball.'
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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| Copyright 2007 By Marty Katz / Copyright 2007 |
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Last night we had a great celebration here in Washington of ten years of 'Hardball.' We celebrated the wonders of the First Amendment and our freedom of the press which Americans of all political stripes treasure.
I told the crowd that it hasn't always been easy these past ten years, that politicians don't like to be criticized, that in one case their efforts to silence critics, and to cover up those efforts, got a senior Cheney aide caught up in criminality, indeed, in a conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice.
As my hero Eric Severaid once noted, we cannot always be right on the facts, though we must try to be; we cannot always be fair, but we must try to be. But we must always be independent.
"Hardball" host Chris Matthews gives his take on the day's top political headlines.
Craig staying in the Senate
Larry Craig looks like he's finished as a U.S. Senator - in 2009. After being denied a chance to change his guilty plea by that judge in Minnesota , Craig said "When my term has expired, I will retire and not seek reelection. I hope this provides the certainty Idaho needs and deserves." This means that Republicans will spend a full election year with Larry Craig actively engaged in their caucus.
Romney’s Mormon faith
Hard-nosed columnist Bob Novak, who proudly wears the mantle "Prince of Darkness," says that presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon, must talk about his faith soon or it's all over. Newsweek put the well-sculpted Mitt on the cover this week with a look at his candidacy and his faith. Novak reports today that, within the Romney campaign, "the consensus is that he must address the Mormon question with a speech deploring bias. Campaign sources say a speech has been written, though 90 percent of it could still be changed. It's not yet determined exactly what he will say or when he'll deliver a speech that could determine the political outcome in 2008." That's all according to Novak, who generally has a good inside feel for Republican politics, especially the intramural hatreds.
Ron Paul rakes it in
Elsewhere in the Republican presidential field, Ron Paul, the anti-war libertarian Texas doctor, reported raking in more than five million bucks for the third quarter. Instead of courting conservatives, maybe Republicans should worry about their libertarian friends, the ones who like less taxes and less government, but don't like their wars. That five million is almost as much as the well-known John McCain has raised.
Kissinger tells all
And now some gossip! Fifty years of journal writings by the late Arthur Schlesinger are out. Our friend Jonathan Alter at Newsweek had an early look and the best stuff is what Henry Kissinger told Schlesinger. Apparently, President Ford said to Kissinger about President Nixon, "Sometimes I wish I had never pardoned that son of a bitch." And Kissinger called Don Rumsfeld "the rottenest person he had known in government." Oh Henry! Ouch.
Brad Pitt’s political picks
And finally, Hollywood heart throb Brad Pitt tells Parade magazine that he has no desire to run for office, but he thinks George Clooney and Ben Affleck should. Well, Ben Affleck plays Hardball again next week, we'll see if he's got the bug to run.
"Hardball" host Chris Matthews gives his take on the day's top political headlines.
Teachers endorse Hillary
Today Sen. Hillary Clinton won the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teachers unions in the country. It's a big boost from a powerful voting block. The Obama campaign saw this one coming, after Obama backed merit-based pay for teachers, which the union strongly opposes.
McCain holds fire
On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain was all set to give a speech today at a military prep school, the Camden Military Academy in South Carolina, blasting Sen. Hillary Clinton for being two-faced on the Iraq War. The Associated Press reports that in prepared remarks emailed around, he was going to say, “The Democratic front-runner wants to have it both ways when it comes to foreign policy. On the one hand, the New York senator voted for the Iraq War. On the other hand, she now opposes it-sort of." But he didn't say that. The McCain campaign decided to skip the Hillary attacks altogether, saying the venue wasn't appropriate.
Rudy rising
Rudy Giuliani has moved into an effective tie with Mitt Romney in New Hampshire, according to a WMUR poll. Romney's support has fallen ten points since July; Giuliani's has increased by 4. Today Giuliani is out with a new radio ad running in that state. A new Washington Post-ABC poll has half of all Republicans saying Giuliani has the best shot of winning the general election.
Missing mayor
Now to Atlantic City, where the mayor, Bob Levy, has gone missing! No one has seen the guy for a full week now. Levy is under investigation for lying about his military service for financial gain specifically, that he lied about receiving a Combat Infantryman's Badge and about having post-traumatic stress disorder, all so that he'd be entitled to more money. Well, the mayor drove off in a Dodge Durango and literally has not been seen since. That's one theory of crisis management. When the going gets tough, just get going.
Gore movie: Partisan politics
There has been some British backlash to Al Gore. Get this. Gores's Oscar-winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" has been sent to every secondary school in England. But this week, a British judge said that the movie promotes "partisan political views Even though he intends to rule that the movie can still be shown, he says teacher's need to present it as a debatable argument, not simply fact.
Got something to say to Chris and crew on the occasion of their 10th anniversary? Send your message on this space, below.
Did you miss Chris Matthews on The Daily Show last night? CLICK HERE for a link (via the Comedy Central site) to his chat with Jon Stewart.
