Chris Matthews Highlights Lack Of GOP Guests On Other MSNBC Shows
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews had a pair of guests on last night, one from the right and one from the left, to rate Pres. Obama’s first 10 months in office.
The discussion was predictable, but Matthews’ ad-lib close, when he compared Hardball and “some of the other shows on this network” was not.
Matthews had Steve McMahon, a democratic strategist, and Kate Obenshain, Vice President of the Young Americans Foundation, for the discussion, which saw Matthews side with McMahon almost exclusively throughout the entire interview.
At the end, Matthews had this to say (h/t @HowardKurtz):
You know, Kate, people on the left who watch…let me just tell you, at Thanksgiving time with really a full heart, the reason people on the left sometimes ask me, ‘why do you have so many Republicans on the show, and some of the other shows on this network don’t have as many on like you,’ I bring you on so that people can see what Republicans are like. Kate, thank you very much for coming on, Kate Obenshain, and it’s great to have you on to remind everybody what a Republican looks like. Steve, thank you, you’ve been great tonight. I’m being a little sarcastic. You’ve been great tonight, Kate. You’ve made the point I wanted to make.
The awkward close seemed to jokingly touch on two points – the fact that some other shows on MSNBC feature far less Republicans and right-leaning guests than Hardball, and Matthews’ assertion that Obenshain’s arguments proved his point about how wrong those on the right really are. The first point seems to be aimed at hosts like Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz, whose shows feature far less debate and far more validation of their own ideas.
As for the other point, while Matthews was certainly a supporter of Pres. Obama during the 2008 campaign (the infamous ‘thrill up my leg’ comment), he has recently been critical of the Commander-in-Chief’s inaction as well. Still, he seems to give him the benefit of the doubt during this review segment.
Here’s the end of the interview last night:
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20 comments
icanbelieveit says: If I was a GOP hopeful I wouldn’t appear on MSNBC either. There are not enough viewers on this network to make it worth my time. I wonder who pays their energy bill? This network is emiting too much greenhouse gas based on its viewing audience numbers!
Remember when Douche Bag Matthews was going to run for the US Senate seat in Pennsylvania? He wouldn’t have got 10% of the vote had he run which is why he backed out. I cut him some slack because he has severe diabetes and having a late Mother that had the same affliction I cut him slack on being stupid due to the peaks and valleys one gets with this disease.
Pat Doherty says: In defense of Maddow and Schultz, they do occasionally entertain opposing views. Olbermann never does.
tjl says: @icanbelieveit: that’s a cute line. You win! You and your ilk stay in and watch more TV than people on the left do. Must be a lonely existence, but you win nonetheless. We concede. I’ll send you postcard and let you know what it’s like outside in that big and scary world. Tv and radio go to you. Congratulations.
@Chuck — thanks for giving the “douchebag” some slack. You’re a true gentleman. I’m sure your mother would be proud of you.
I think the thing that gets lost about Chris Matthews and the rest of the commentary on msnbc is that Matthews is the only one of the bunch that has actually worked in politics. He worked, if I remember correctly, on Jimmy Carter’s campaign and is well respected from those on the right. Well, the educated right… So I think there’s appeal for GOP guests who know that Matthews understands policy, policy making, and history. Unlike Oblermann, Maddow, Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh, etc. They are all just throwing grenades with no real understanding of what it’s like on the inside. I’m not going to put words in the mouths of his guests, but I image that has something to do with it.
m says: MSNBC has been incredibly critical of Obama. Quite the opposite of Fox News who pretty much defended Bush throughout his entire Presidency regardless of what topic and decision.
m says: Matthews is a debater. Having people on and having a “talking heads shout-fests” is what he loves doing. He likes listening to people’s views and then tell them in their faces what he likes and doesn’t like. That Matthews has Republicans on all the time on his show is a part of the show!
Olbermann is a newscaster. He’s not a debater. He only has 1 on 1 interviews. It’s a different format altogether. Throughout the one hour of Countdown there’s absolutely no shouting or yelling (except maybe an impersonation or if its a Special Comment). Olbermann hosts a generally very, very calm show.
shootfromthehip says: Hey “icanbelieveit” – MSNBC gets very respectable numbers. You have no idea what you are talking about.
And I am so sick of people saying Maddow doesn’t have guests from the right on. She does all the time. And she invites countless others, they are just too scared to show up because they know Rachel does her homework before a debate.
Jim R says: Matthews gets more Republicans on his show than Maddow because he more often lets them spew vacuous right wing nonsense than Rachel does unchallenged, although he did make mincemeat out of Michelle Bachman and her desire to have journalists investigate “anti-American” congress people.
I agreed with his closing point last night that it was instructive to just listen sometimes to the factless talking point rescitation of those on the right yearning for the good old days of Bush/Cheney.
straitshooter says: A few points to ponder for fellow MSNBC viewers:
• Morning Joe regularly takes shots at the liberal bent of the network.
• Chris Matthews has now made it clear he has heard the criticism and thinks it has some merit.
• The big names, like Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd, never appear on Ed, Olbermann or Maddow’s shows.
Is it possible the real journalists at NBC news hold their noses and their tongues with regard to the extreme views of the prime time lineup?
Jim Treacher says: MSNBC gets very respectable numbers… compared to CNN.
MikeLI631 says: “very respectable numbers” ?
It’s a good thing, they count their internal broadcasting of the network, during their broadcast day, because if they did NOT, their “very respectable numbers”, WOULD BE ZERO !
And I wouldn’t be surprised if their own control room, tunes out, during their insipid performances.
It’s NOT that they are a shill for Obama, et al, it’s that they are just a step up from “cable access”.
IMAGINE the amount of money they pump into their operation, daily, just to keep it afloat ???
ImNotBlue says: tjl says:
November 25, 2009 at 11:52 am
Matthews was a speech writer for Tip O’Neil. But as for being respected on both sides of the aisle… um… I’m not sure I buy that one.
But your point about having worked in politics before punditry is valid. But then again, if your standard is that only people who’ve worked in a particular can talk about it, well, we’ll have far less sports commentators and television critics (and bloggers) than we do now.
m says:
November 25, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Lie.
m says:
November 25, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Olbermann is a newscaster.
Where are all those Olbermann defenders who say, “His audience knows he’s giving his opinion”? M, would like to disagree with you.
KO is not a “newscaster” by any stretch. He’s a pundit, an activist, and a preacher… one who only puts forth HIS argument and mocks everything else. Not a “newscaster”… just an advocate with a big (not that big) microphone.
shootfromthehip says:
November 25, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Hey “icanbelieveit” – MSNBC gets very respectable numbers.
Respectable how? Remember, the left-wing lines currently are:
“The right watches more television, that’s why they get better numbers… the left is out doing other things.”
-or-
“FNC’s numbers are only big on cable, but really only have an impact on 1-2-3% of the population.”
So when you say “respectable numbers,” what exactly are you saying? Which talking point are you adapting/ignoring to get to that result?
And she invites countless others, they are just too scared to show up because they know Rachel does her homework before a debate.
How do you know that she invites others on? What is your evidence of this? Just because Maddow says it… that makes it true? Would you extend the same trust to (for example) Beck… if he said he invites a lot of liberals on, but they’re too scared to appear? What’s the proof?
Pavel1956 says: It’s Treacher FTW.
rmbltmbl says: Tingles really is the fair and balanced one now.. hmm..
chiefpayne says: Oh please. Matthews is the highest rated show on MSNBC…and HIS numbers stink.
Still, if I were a GOP hopeful and I had decided to go on this worthless network for some ridiculous reason, the ONLY one I would be willing to go on, per the number of viewers would be Olbermann…and that only if I thought I could stomach his insane rantings.
ANYONE would get a much bigger audience going on ANY FoxNews show rather than MSNBC. BTW, those who say that MSNBC has “respectable numbers’ need to check out the latest tally as of 18 November (note the HIGHEST numbers of any MSNBC show are almost HALF those of the LOWEST numbers of the lowest FoxNews show):
CABLE NEWS RACE NOV. 18, 2009
FOXNEWS HANNITY/PALIN 4,200,000
FOXNEWS O’REILLY 3,868,000
FOXNEWS BECK 2,512,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 2,383,000
FOXNEWS BAIER 2,235,000
FOXNEWS SHEP 1,980,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 1,041,000
CNNHN GRACE 1,036,000
MSNBC MADDOW 957,000
CNN KING 835,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 625,000
CNN COOPER 611,000
TERoshetar says: Ignoring the obvious bias, there is one compelling reason to NOT appear on Hardball – Matthews NEVER lets anybody (OK, maybe a few leftists) say more than a handful of words before interrupting. The only way I would advise a person to appear would be with a 20 second timer and the first time Matthews doesn’t let you get that far – walk out!
RJB26 says: Hold on let me get this straight. Only democrats leave the house and thats why msnbc barely has enough viewers to make keeping the doors open worthwhile. Who do you think it is going to work everyday, paying taxes, to keep the democrats welfare state running. we dont get paid based on how many babies we download. get a dvr if your out bravely facing the scary world everyday, then msnbc can get its numbers up a bit.
moogrogue says: It’s getting pretty bad…
“Facing Budget Cuts, MSNBC Replaces Keith Olbermann With Talking Point-Reciting Automaton”
tjl says: ImNot: my point wasn’t that JUST BECAUSE he worked in politics makes him the only voice of reason in punditry, but I think it makes him more valid than the other MSNBC anchors. Which NFL anchor would you rather teach you how to throw a football — Tory Aikman or Joe Buck?
@RJB: thanks for paying taxes. Really, you are actually paying for my internet, so thanks for that too! Keep working hard and I’ll keep getting my EBT card monthly… thaaaanks!!
ImNotBlue says: tjl says:
November 26, 2009 at 3:51 am
Well, for starters, I’m not asking Joe Buck for much… except how he gets hats on over that gigantic cranium of his.
As for your point… okay, as I said before, valid.
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