Chris Matthews
Sen. Barack Obama kicked off the Hardball College Tour Wednesday in West Chester University in Pennsylvania.
Below are some highlights from the broadcast:
Photo: Alex Brandon | AP
On bowling
Chris Matthews: One of the perks, senator, of being president of the United States is that you have your own bowling alley. Are you ready to bowl from day one?
Barack Obama: Obviously, I am not.
(Laughter)
Matthews: Ha!
Obama: But I figure there might be some bowlers here at West Chester. I just want to thank all of them for hosting us. This is a wonderful group. Thank you so much for having me.... And basketball I can play.
On whether or not he's tough enough
Matthews: That was the warm-up. How do we know that you're tough enough to take the heat from the right, right-wing radio and from the right-wing columnists, if you begin to pull our troops out of Iraq and they start screaming, "Who lost Iraq?" How do we know you're as tough as Dick Cheney to ignore public opinion and do what you believe in? Because he's certainly tough enough to do it.
Obama: Well, first of all, you don't ignore public opinion. You try to shape public opinion. And you try to shape it with the truth, not with false facts, not by shading intelligence reports.
And you know, in terms of my toughness, look, first of all, I come from Chicago. And you know, politics in Chicago, as it was once said, is not tiddlywinks. It's not beanbag. It's a tough town.
But what I've been able to do is to rise politically without compromising my ethics, without compromising my principles. I think during the course of this campaign, we're going up against a pretty tough political operation with the Clintons. Nobody's ever accused them of being soft. And so far, we're doing pretty well. And you know, I am very confident that when it comes to issues like Iraq, a war that I stood up against at a time when it would have been politically convenient to be for it, or at least to be silent, when it comes to tough issues like talking to leaders we don't like, something that defies some of the conventional wisdom in Washington but I feel very strongly about, then I'm going to stick to my guns and try to persuade the American people that we need to go in a new direction and fundamentally break with the failed policies of the past seven-and-a-half years.
CONTINUED >>
Pennsylvania holds its presidential primary on April 22. That’s six weeks from now. That’s a long time to talk about something on Hardball. I want to get beyond the polls and the short-hand of James Carville’s line that “Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and Alabama in between.”
One thing I’ve started to do is get an e-mail relationship going with the local Democratic leaders around the state. I sent out this note to the all the county chairs. “How’s this presidential race look to you? I know it’s a long way ‘til April 22 but I’m checking around with the party people, especially with the “Hardball” watchers.”
Here’s what I received in return. I think it really adds to what we know about the contest right now.
**********************************************************************
“At this point Hillary Clinton would appear to be ahead. The race will be decided in the southeast suburbs. Philadelphia and Allegheny (includes Pittsburgh) along with the four southeast counties account for 65 % of the Democratic primary turnout statewide.”
“Conventional wisdom is that this is a state where Democratic primaries have been won by women but not by African-American candidates. But there has never been a well-financed high profile African-American candidate in a statewide Democratic primary.”
“Pennsylvania will be pivotal in November. If the Democratic primary becomes negative and divisive, it may become very difficult to carry in November. We can only hope that the candidates will keep it above board.”
“The Obama campaign is opening a county office this weekend and the Clinton campaign may send a major player soon. I’ve spent since January watching you guys on MSNBC. Now I get to watch as you cover Pennsylvania.”
“The overwhelming feeling among activists, our national convention delegates, and the rank and file in the neighborhoods as we circulated nominating petitions, is strong support for both candidates, even if they have a personal preference. Ideally, they’ll both be on the ticket, in either order. The biggest fear is that they’ll dirty each other up and make it easier for the Republican. But there is an extraordinary excitement and commitment right now to be unified after the convention.”
“Just incredible! On Wednesday, I received over forty phone calls and close to that again today from people wanting to get involved. On Thursday, the Monroe County Voter Registration Office had 200 people come in to change their registration.”
“The presidential race promises to be one of the most, if not the most, exciting ever. We are working hard to put a Democrat in the White House.
“Our issues are as follows:
1. Universal health care
2. The Iraq war – no more Colonialism!
3. We need to strengthen our Social Security
4. Improve Medicare and Medicaid
5. Many of our elderly are living on so little income.
“We have two excellent people running for President. Either would make a great President.”
“Remember to vote.”
“As you would imagine there is a lot of excitement among Democrats. I believe the Lehigh Valley will be a microcosm of the rest of the state. We have a great mix of urban, suburban, rural, union, small business, major industry, young and old.”
“The next few weeks will be like nothing I have ever seen. Should be fun.”
“Our registrations are way up. Lines are forming for Republicans and independents to change their registration to be able to vote in the April 22nd Democratic primary and the county party is hustling to get locations for rallies, policy speeches and dinners.”
“Although there is a 1.5 to 1 Republican edge in total registrations, the mood of the electorate has changed and new Democratic registrations far exceed Republican registrations, with over 1,000 newly-registered Democrats already this year.”
“Both campaigns are in the process of opening offices here at the moment. I think we’ll be the 6-week version of Iowa and New Hampshire!”
“We’re happy our “Late Primary” will actually mean something.”
“This election is becoming a double-edged sword. The local Democratic Party is attracting new people and many of them are Republican converts. My biggest complaint about politics stems from the fact that too many people are content to watch from the sidelines. To see so many new faces and so much excitement, I cannot help but be pleased. Conversely, the longer this primary process drags on, the tougher it will be to heal the wounds heading into the fall. It is my opinion that the DNC is missing the big picture with respect to the super delegates. Instead of being proactive and addressing it now, they are hoping the problem resolves itself.”
**********************************************************************
These are on-the-ground perspectives on the Democratic race for president in Pennsylvania. They tell me that Hillary Clinton is clearly ahead but that voters are hugely excited to hear from both candidates. This could be the most pivotal battle in Pennsylvania since Gettysburg!
Bill Clinton is at his best when his back’s to the wall. Beaten for re-election in Arkansas in 1980, given up for dead politically, he came roaring back in 1982. Knocked off-stride by the revelation of his Vietnam-era “draft letter” on the eve of the 1992 New Hampshire primary, he walked door to door handing out videotapes to voters. His message: I can’t get my message across through the media, so I’m doing it myself. (Of course, reporters like me, I was with the San Francisco Examiner, walked along with him. I have a picture of candidate Clinton greeting my young son that brisk Saturday morning before the primary). The emergence of the self-styled “Comeback Kid” was just around the corner. That Tuesday he would make the very best of an eight-point loss to declare himself the moral winner of the 1992 New Hampshire primary.
The same thing happened when President Clinton got into trouble in 1994. When the Democrats lost control of Congress, he buckled down, pulled in his sails, brought Dick Morris aboard and declared the era of big government was over. He also signed the Republican-drafted welfare bill, while ultimately hanging tough in defense of affirmative action.
Hillary Clinton has been equally at her best in bad times. In 1998, with Monica clouds overhead, she went up to New York and campaigned for senate candidate Chuck Schumer eight times, winning tremendous respect for sticking to her job, not just as First Lady, but as a vital national Democrat. I’ve said this the wrong way before. Let me say it right now: Hillary Clinton’s grace under pressure in those dreary months gave her a political lift she’d never enjoyed before. Her national approval numbers spiked from the mid-40s to just above the 70 mark in one poll. Her toughness in walking through fire had much to do with the strong invitation from New York Democrats, U.S .Congressman Charlie Rangel led the parade of welcome wagoners, to begin competing for a senate seat of her own.
This ability to look good under fire, and, let’s face it, look not quite so good when things are going swimmingly, seems to be an essential, even predictable pattern to the Clinton family’s political chronicle.
Look at Senator Clinton’s relentlessness in the brutal weekend before this year’s New Hampshire primary. Beaten by Obama in the Iowa caucuses, her poll numbers seemingly in full erosion, she kept at it, giving speech after speech in giant rooms, just as her husband had done back in ’92. And, unlike him, she came in first, winning a primary that many in her and Obama’s camp thought she would surely lose.
So here Senator Clinton comes again, her husband aboard and sharing in the challenge, plotting a comeback in Ohio, Texas and then on to Pennsylvania. Their Mapquest tells them what they have to do: win those states, wrap up as many superdelegates as possible, get the Florida and Michigan delegates counted. It’s a daunting ambition. That said, it is in this very terrain, uphill and hard slogging, that these two have performed, separately and together, at their lifetime best.
On Thursday's "Hardball," Chris Matthews gave a detailed explanation which clarified his comments made about Sen. Hillary Clinton during a recent appearance on "Morning Joe."
Below is a transcript of Matthew's explanation.
"We're in a time of a lot of frustration: Iraq, the lack of health care for working people, gas prices, the weakening economy. I come on “Hardball” every night and try to wrestle with these frustrations, and moments of change – we might soon have the first woman president, the first African-American president, or a man older than we've elected before – always with the hope, our uniquely American hope, that we can actually make things better, that we can make this greatest of countries not only survive, but, as William Faulkner once said, “prevail.”
In the midst of talking about all this, almost always without a script; almost always on tricky subjects of gender and race and right and left; what's in our country's interest; who I think is telling the truth and who I think isn't, I know that I'm dealing with sensitive feelings.
I have accepted all of this as part of the business I have chosen. This program, I am proud to say, is tough, fearless and, yes, blunt. I want people to react when I say something. I don't like saying things so carefully, so politically correctly, that no one thinks I even said something.
What I've always counted on, in all the wild, speeded-up conversations on “Hardball” and elsewhere on television, is my good heart. I have always felt that, no matter how tough I got, how direct, how provocative, how purposely provocative, people out there watching would know I was not out against them, that it was them I was rooting for; that while I was tough on individuals who sought to lead the country, I was not against the hopes we all have for a fair shake, in fact a better deal for people who've been held back before we came along.
Some people I respect, politically concerned people like you who watch this show so faithfully, people like me, who care about this country, think I've been disrespectful to Hillary Clinton, not as a candidate but as a woman. They point to something I said on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” the morning after the New Hampshire primary: that her election to the Senate and all that's come since was a result of her toughness but also the sympathy for her because her husband embarrassed her by the conduct that led to his impeachment, because he, in the words I used, "messed around."
The truth, of course, is finer, smarter, larger than that. Yes, Hillary Clinton won tremendous respect from the country for the way she handled those months in 1998. Her public approval numbers spiked from the mid-40s up to the 70s in one poll I looked at. Why? Because she stuck to her duty. She performed strongly as first lady. She did such a "wow" of a job campaigning for Senate candidates, especially Chuck Schumer of New York, that she was urged to run for a Senate seat there herself. She might well have gotten this far by another route and through different circumstances, but this is how it happened.
The rest is history: how Hillary went up to New York, listened to people's concerns and beat the odds as well as the Republicans to become a respected member of the U.S. Senate.
So did I say it right? Was it fair to say that Hillary Clinton, like any great politician, took advantage of a crisis to prove herself? Was her conduct in 1998 a key to starting her independent electoral career the following year? Yes. Was it fair to imply that Hillary's whole career depended on being a victim of an unfaithful husband? No. And that's what it sounded like I was saying and it hurt people who I'd like to think normally like what I say; in fact, like me.
As I said, I rely on my heart to guide me in the heated, fast-paced talk we have here on “Hardball,” a heart that bears only good will toward people trying to make it, especially those who haven't before. If my heart has not always controlled my words, on those occasions when I have not taken the time to says things right or have simply said the inappropriate thing, I will try to be clearer, smarter, more obviously in support of the right of women, all people, to full equality of respect and ambition.
So I get it. On the particular point: If I'd said that the only reason John McCain has come so far is that he got shot down over North Vietnam and captured by the enemy, I'd be brutally ignoring the courage and guts he showed in bearing up under his captivity. Saying Sen.Clinton got where she's got simply because her husband did what he did to her is just as callous, and, I can see now, came across just as nasty – worse yet, just as dismissive.
Finally, as if anyone doesn't know this: I love politics. I like politicians. I like and respect people with the guts to put their name and their very being out there for public approval so they can help lead our country. And that goes for Hillary and Barack and John and all the rest who are willing to fight to take on the toughest job in the world." Watch complete video
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.
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.
