January 2009 - Posts
by Chris Matthews
It's something new in Washington: There's been a divide in Washington between sort of the national capital and the neighborhoods here -- the neighborhoods in the Eighth Ward, the Seventh Ward, all round this city, some of the poorer wards. This is the first time I've seen a true integration of the city where people are coming from all over the city.
Somebody once said D.C. has come to Washington.
It's pretty impressive, and it's all because of Barack Obama. There's no doubt about it. People who felt out of it politically now feel like it‘s their country too.
We live in a time of wonders. The election of Barack Obama, the selection of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state—a time of wonders.
It's all new material for us commentators. And nobody's an expert at this. It is brand new. So all the questions we ask ourselves and ask each other are going to have to remain questions for days and months and years ahead.
On Tuesday January 20, 2009, MSNBC will present the historic inauguration of Barack Obama to the American public in an extraordinary fashion. In addition to broadcasting live from the nation’s capitol, MSNBC, in partnership with Screenvision, is hosting live viewings in movie theaters across the country.
Screenings will take place at select theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, Washington DC, Houston, Detroit, Phoenix, Tampa, Seattle, Denver, Orlando, St. Louis, San Diego, Hartford-New Haven, West Palm, Memphis, Louisville and Providence. To learn more, click here.
MSNBC.com also asks viewers to share their stories about their own preparations/feelings leading up to the Inauguration Day and submit any photos or videos of the big event if they are in attendance.
Please send submissions to FirstPerson@msnbc.com. To view previous submissions, click here.
On Thursday, Hardball's Chris Matthews, NBC's Harold Ford, Jr., and MSNBC political analyst Michelle Bernard reacted to Bill Cosby's comments on "Meet the Press" about the impact of Barack Obama becoming the first African-American president and gave their own.
Below is a transcript.
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST, 'HARDBALL:' What did you think of Bill Cosby? He's such a deep guy. I was taken.
HAROLD FORD, JR, NBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, listening to him had to move any American. I'm African-American. Knowing that I'm 38 years old, and I'm recently married. I'm in an interracial marriage. When I have my first child, and I can't wait, I look forward to looking him or her in the eye and being able to honestly say, there`s no office in America, political office, that you can't attain. Barack Obama made those words real.
For Bill Cosby and that generation -- I'll take this liberty here. Michelle Bernard and I have known each other for a long time. Our parents know each other. I know her siblings. For us to have this opportunity in a lifetime, and for them to be able to see it is a special moment for a group of Americans who are as proud of this country as any, and a special moment for, I dare say, those in a generation ahead of us. For Bill Cosby to say that, I think he captured the sentiment of a lot of African-Americans. It doesn't matter, a lot of older Americans.
MICHELLE BERNARD, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: I think all African-Americans, but, as we talked about on election night, to me, it was such an important moment, particularly for black men. He spoke to manhood -- you noticed that every person that Bill Cosby said he brought into the voting booth was a relative, and it was a man. Black men, particularly, have had it so difficult in this country. To be able to look at Bill Cosby -- he looked like he was on the verge of tears. It was a very emotional moment.
You and I talked before about Frederick Douglas' speech about what does July 4th mean to the American Negro? For me, November 4th was our July 4th. It was our Independence Day. It was just wonderful to watch Bill Cosby and know so many men, particularly of his generation, feel so happy and feel renewed.
MATTHEWS: I don't want to miss the forest from the trees. I want to talk about this the rest of the week a lot, whenever we can. We take a break and talk about -- we don't want to miss the forest for the trees. By the way, Douglas gave that speech at the Athaneum (ph), up in Nantucket.
To see Bill Cosby's comments about the Obama presidency on Meet the Press, watch below.
from the Associated Press
WASHINGTON - MSNBC political commentator Chris Matthews has told his colleagues he won't be leaving television to run for a U.S. Senate seat from Pennsylvania.
MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines says Matthews told the staff of his "Hardball" show Wednesday that he's not going to run for the seat against Republican Sen. Arlen Specter in 2010.
There's been speculation that Matthews would challenge Specter, and there have been published reports that Matthews has privately discussed the possibility.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
The 63-year-old Matthews is a Philadelphia native. He ran for a northeast Philadelphia congressional seat in 1974 but lost the Democratic primary.
Matthews also has worked as an aide on Capitol Hill.
To read the original article, click here.
