Chris Matthews: Was Obama Fiddling While Rome Burned?

Someone apparently designated this the weekend for liberal media types to come out against President Obama. And did they ever. On Sunday Paul Krugman and Tom Friedman had some harsh words for the president. In this week’s Newsweek former Salon Slate (duh!) head Jacob Weisberg has penned a piece titled ‘Obama’s Moral Cowardice.’ And in his column Sunday Frank Rich questioned whether Obama had “any feeling for what has happened to our country during the seven-and-a-half-year war whose “end” he was marking.” Ouch.

And then there was Chris Matthews on Sunday questioning whether the President had been fiddling while Rome burned.

Says Matthews: “He should have been focusing on the economy, instead he was focused on making history with health care.”

Howard Fineman concurs: “You get the sense he was reaching for history and taking the extra credit courses. This in an overacheiving guy, this is a guy whose chief of staff said ‘never let a crisis go to waste.'”

“Was he fiddling while Rome burned?” questioned Matthews. Whether or not he was, it certainly makes for a great attack ad tagline. Watch below.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!