Chris Matthews On Leno, Admits Obama’s Handling Of Gulf Oil Spill ‘Scares’ Him

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by Frances Martel | 11:17 am, May 21st, 2010

» 28 comments

The days when Barack Obama only gave Chris Matthews tingles down his leg are long gone. Visiting Jay Leno in a more casual appearance than his daily Hardball stint allows, Matthews expressed his outrage with former vice president Dick Cheney and his ties with Halliburton, as well as BP’s failure to stop the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The surprise? Not only is he also not happy with the way the White House has handled the spill, he admits President Obama’s behavior on this issue “scares me.”

Matthews has been fairly vocal about his criticism of Cheney in the past, and continued his attack today, asking, “Why would an oil company give a guy 34 million bucks when he becomes vice president?” and accusing the Bush administration of writing energy policy for the last eight years “in the back rooms with Cheney and the oil companies.” An opinion he has been slightly more quiet on is his discomfort with the fact that President Obama has not assumed the level of ownership over the problem that he would like to see, as well as “not telling us the truth of what how much [oil] is down there”:

The President scares me. He’s been acting like, you know, a Vatican observer here. When is he going to actually do something? And I worry– I know that he doesn’t want to take ownership of it, I know the politics, because the minute he says ‘I’m in charge’ then he’s blamed. But somebody is going to have to take charge.

He also called the oil “the scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” gave a plug for his new campaign to find a Republican that disagrees with Rush Limbaugh on anything, and even got in a good jab at fellow guest Chelsea Handler.

Video below:

barack obama, BP, BP oil leak, Chris Matthews, Dick Cheney, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Oil Spill, Jay Leno, Tonight Show

Liberty – Not Redistribution

Chris Mathews has every right to say whatever the hell he wants to. He’s just a fool.
writer

Criticizing Obama? I didn’t know Chris was a racist.
dhg

I don’t want this to sound racist but if I was telling Obama how I felt about the administration’s response and attitude toward the oil spill I’d say “heck of a job brownie”.

As in zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

Chris is changing jobs, now he is a comedian. He has brain damage.
TylerDurden

This is flat-out racism from Chris. He should be removed from MSNBC!
writer

Wait till Olbermann hears about this. Chris has a stint on worst persons coming up.
MichelleF

I wonder if he has any idea how creepy his absolute obsession with Rush looks like to the outside world.
tws258

I don’t know what happened to Matthews. Somewhere along the way he decided that he has to out crazy everyone on MSNBC and developed Cheney tourettes.
writer

I think they refer to it as a ‘bromance’.
RazorsEdge

The Oil Spill should turn into a case study of how to identify a real lack of leadership. A real void. No one seems to want to own it. It’s been a month. Say it again, a month!

Why should a spill this large for this long continue to be a virtual ‘hot potato’? Too many chiefs worried about their jobs, liability, political standing, political leverage, and job approavals that sems to get in the way. I wished the Media would put on more pressure as in the 1st week of the spill to generate more effective action.

That’s a fundamental role of the Media in my mind.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Neal-Porter/58400732 Neal Porter

Not a fan of Cheney, not a fan of Obama, not a fan of Chris Matthews…but..while he did slightly slam Obama…hes all about Cheney. Cheney has been out of Office for 1.5 years. I’m so lost.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Neal-Porter/58400732 Neal Porter

Oh…and you know its bad when Kevin Costner is coming to save the day. Why is it, Kevin Costner is the man for the job? No one else wants to take initiative?! Well … GO COSTNER…if you build it, oil will flow.
MichelleF

Well … GO COSTNER…if you build it, oil will flow.

Haha, I don’t care who you are, that’s funny.
ImNotBlue

tws258 says:
May 21, 2010 at 11:46 am

I don’t know what happened to Matthews.

Oh, that’s easy. He decided he wanted to keep his job. He saw the writing on the wall… he saw what happened when he tried to disagree with Olbermann during the election… and he’s seen what happens to people who don’t tow the left-wing line that KO approves of. So, Matthews is just doing what he can do to keep his job.

I expect him to be let go, or “retire” eventually… then write a tell-all about his time at MSNBC, blasting KO. The question will really be, whether or not he mentions him by name… or just “hints” at it.
http://politicsofdestruction.com/ Bobomatic

His ratings suck so he hits up Leno for some air time
Ination

Bobomatic says:
May 21, 2010 at 12:25 pm
“His ratings suck so he hits up Leno for some air time”

People still watch Leno?
writer

NBC asked for Conan’s papers and he didn’t have them.
SteveMG

Let’s see, Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton 11 years ago and Halliburton is to blame for this disaster? Even though we’re not sure what happened here. From the accounts I’ve read, it seems that methane gas under pressure leaked up through the pipeline, the backup systems then failed to shutdown the rig, and the gas exploded and caught fire.

And Halliburton, by itself, is to blame? Because somehow the cementing process wasn’t done properly? We think. Maybe. Although the evidence seems to indicate a series of failures. Maybe.

But all this means Cheney is responsible? Because Halliburton may have contributed to the neglect that caused this terrible disaster? A neglect that Cheney had absolutely nothing to do with since he left the company over a decade ago.

Amazing. Matthews correctly condemns Limbaugh and Beck for this type of guilt-by-association and then he does the same damned thing he condemns.

Nuts. We have nuts – Limbaugh and Beck and Olbermann and Matthews – giving us news nowadays.
TylerDurden

Ination says:
May 21, 2010 at 12:32 pm

Bobomatic says:
May 21, 2010 at 12:25 pm
“His ratings suck so he hits up Leno for some air time”

People still watch Leno?”

You are indeed an idiot- Leno leads in nighttime ratings- Do tell me? You are a lib, right?
felixw

Matthews could regain some credibility if he actually took these kind of stances more often. There was a time, long ago, when Matthews was tough on everybody (not just Republicans) and had an interesting show. That was when Hardball really was hardball. But once he got a tingle up his leg, and decided to be cheerleader for one party and smear-meister when dealing with the other, his show became very predictable. Why watch a host when you already know what he will say? If Matthews shows more signs of this willingness to think on his own, and not just mouth DNC talking points, I might start watching him more often.
MichelleF

felixw says:
May 21, 2010 at 2:32 pm
Matthews could regain some credibility if he actually took these kind of stances more often. There was a time, long ago, when Matthews was tough on everybody (not just Republicans) and had an interesting show.

I agree Felix. I used to watch him daily. The change happened with Iraq. He went completely looney after that. Now, I think he’s just trying to compete with Keith for who can be the most left wing. He’s become completely irrelevant.
TylerDurden

MichelleF says:
May 21, 2010 at 2:52 pm

I agree Felix. I used to watch him daily. The change happened with Iraq. ”

I don’t remember how he was then, but he was somewhat neutral when the Dem Convention was happening. Remember that blow out between him, KO and Scarborough?

Joe went after nutcase KO, and Chris had some words for KO, but once BHO was the nominee- all the thrills and tingles started to affect his legs.
TROLLING4LIBS

WOW have times., changed!
Chris Matthews interviews Glenn Beck in 2003, Matthews tells Beck” Your great, I listen to you all the time.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKXzn6BOw5g&sns=em
ChinaCat

Felixw has hit the nail on the head. Matthews was must-see TV during Monicagate. Big change since then.
Big Dumb Ape

The most laughable things about Matthews — where it’s now impossible to take him seriously — is the current commercial that MSNBC is running to promote his show. In it, he talks about how he plays hardball with ALL his guests. And he brags about the way he likes to get someone into a corner, in order to ask hard questions, to ultimately reveal the truth.

WOW! That sounds like a REAL journalist, no? Too bad I see those promo spots, and THEN I immediately picture the infamous clip in my head of him ALSO telling Joe Scarborough — on the air and regarding Obama — that “it’s my job now to make sure this President succeeds.”

Matthews, just retire already.
Everyone KNOWS what a joke you’ve become.
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Sunnyr

Whoa, CHRISSIE!! This is RACISM, straight up, dude! Just ask Janeane GodawfulHo. Why can’t you bear seeing a black man in the White House? You should be FIRED, Boycotted and ostricized for the remainder of your natural life. I am SHOCKED!