The Village Idiot
By Nicole Belle Thursday Apr 10, 2008 2:22pm
I'm honestly not trying to be unkind, but that is quite clearly the intent and thrust of this Sunday's NY Times Magazine feature on Chris Matthews.
Cable political coverage has changed, however, and so has the sensibility that viewers -- particularly young ones -- expect from it. Matthews's bombast is radically at odds with the wry, antipolitical style fashioned by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert or the cutting and finely tuned cynicism of Matthews's MSNBC co-worker Keith Olbermann. These hosts betray none of the reverence for politics or the rituals of Washington that Matthews does. On the contrary, they appeal to the eye-rolling tendencies of a cooler, highly educated urban cohort of the electorate that mostly dismisses an exuberant political animal like Matthews as annoyingly antiquated, like the ranting uncle at the Thanksgiving table whom the kids have learned to tune out.
It is almost a cruel caricature: Matthews is prone to effusively repeating phrases in increasingly louder tones; the narcissistic yet self-conscious and uncool geek enthralled with Tim Russert and threatened by kewl kids Keith Olbermann and David Gregory. It's not the NBC News Division, it's high school all over again with grown men several decades past knowing better. Digby:
What really cracks me up in the article is the extent to which people who are just as bad as he is in their own ways try to distance themselves from him. Just as bad are those who go out on a limb to praise him --- because he's so good for them. He does have a TV show, after all, which makes him very important no matter how ridiculous he is:
Matthews is clearly an acquired taste, and some of his most devoted followers are Washington media figures and politicians. “The things people complain about I actually like,” says Roger Simon, the chief political columnist for the Politico news Web site and an occasional guest on “Hardball.” “His interruptions are invariably a reaction to something you just said, which indicates that he is, in fact, listening.” Simon calls Matthews “a major political force” whose shows are closely monitored by campaigns and journalists. “I know when I go on the show, I get comments, I get e-mails,” Simon told me. “He drives conversations.”
Never say that journalists think the story is all about them.
The underlying tone of the article is that Matthews may not be long for MSNBC. His contract is up next June and both he and the network are contemplating the future, and it doesn't sound like it's together.
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In another idiocy, Matthews critiqued Obama for asking for O.J. in a diner instead of accepting coffee. There's your deep political analysis.
david gregory... ? a "kewl kid"... ??
listen: anybody who shucks & jives on-stage w/karl rove is NO kewl kid...
get a freakin' grip... !!
Check out these idiots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw49mm-CmNo
They are taking over
I gave up watching Mathews over a year ago, as his program became shallower and shallower. He never met a crooked politician he didn't admire. The same applies to David Gregory. Except for a few heated questions during WH briefings, Gregory is too cozy with the Beltway crowd to have an effective program on MSNBC. May Gregory and Mathews ratings tank!
Chris is a suck-up to anything Republican. My God, he still asks Tom Delay to appear on his show. When interviewing certain Repugs, he pratically kisses their Butts. Let Chris go and give his spot to Shuster. And get rid of Tucker too. He's useless.
Terrible picture but it says it all about Matthews. Just one big mouth!
Matthews is important only to himself. We all know the bizarre things he has said about the various candidates. How they men might smell and how they look, their clothes, and who can forget that Obama sent a chill up Chris' leg.
He's loud and often times obnoxious. He interrupts his guests over and over. And his laugh is aggravating as hell. (only to be topped by Norah O' Donald's laugh)
So Chris Matthews, what's not to love? I'd say pretty much everything.
"His interruptions are invariably a reaction to something you just said.."
Huh?
After all, he could be interrupting people just to utter complete nonsequiturs, right?
Tweety Matthews is nothing more than a GENERAL ELECTRIC CORPORATE FART who is purposefully acting out the agenda that he is paid millions to do. He is a liar, a deceiver, a manipulator, and the source of greatest disinformation, propaganda, of all the cable news shows. He hyprocrisy relative to how he covers his repiglican man crushes versus democrats is as blantant as it is evil. Let's all remember how he talked about Gore when Gore was running for president against his man crush: the shit stain called Bush. He is nothing by a corporate pimp, a bombastic buffoon that should be frogged marched out of the protection of his corporate studios and right into prison for the conscious fraud that his commits against the American people all in order to get his millionaire repiglican/ corporate agenda enacted.
Your right Ruth, Meanwhile Bush stutters and stammers, and he's way macho!
Tweety is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Just like Tucker, just like Scarborough, and soon O' Reily and Hannity. They see the edge of the cliff coming and the only thing they can do is all they've ever done; inanely bellow louder in the hopes some one will pay attention. No one's paying attention to Matthews, and they are to K.O. and Maddow.
Tweety's just the last kid crying in the sandbox.
I don't watch any news on TV and haven't for a very long time. I see clips now and then and read transcripts of conversations from most shows. I don't like Chris Mathews but I am afraid that if he does leave MSNBC he will be replaced by someone from the world of Fascists Richwing Radio. Every time I have thought that maybe just maybe MSNBC was going to be an answer to FAUX and fight the lies with the truth they have disappointment.
Remember what Chris said after the infamous Mission Accomplished moment. He was all excited about the way bush looked in that flight suit. That had to be one of his weirdest moments.
His weekend show is actually quite good. Maybe a format that didn't require an ad break every three minutes might changes things a bit.
Everytime I see Russert, I want to gag. These old Belt-Wayers are totally clueless to the average American. After 2008, I hope they all show these dinosaurs the door.
That's one freakish cover photo! Very apropo for Tweety, however.
Yeah Patricia, he was practically drooling! He was so macho. Pathetic.
pissed off patricia @ 12:
Aw come on! How could you forget his Fred Thompson Aqua Velva smell moment. THAT was the freakiest thing I've ever heard.
They could keep him on if his show was billed as a comedy. That's how I see it - he is a clown and the dialogue is amusing. Watching the other 'journalists' suck up to him is pretty funny, too.
Two points: 1. It isn't a cruel caricature; it is a true portrayal. 2. He isn't listening; he's merely planning his next obnoxious response in his head. That part was a bit frustrating. I agree that most of the MSM are schlocky and aimed at the lowest common denominator. That is exactly why Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert attract audiences. People want something other than what they are getting and if the MSM won't give it to them, they'll opt for entertainment over infotainment.
I've never really had a taste for Matthews' brand of political questioning. Not only is he obnoxious and rude but he a clown as well. He reminds me of some of my uncles that I try to avoid at our family reunions.
pissed off patricia Says
Remember what Chris said after the infamous Mission Accomplished moment. He was all excited about the way bush looked in that flight suit. That had to be one of his weirdest moments
******************
let's remember too that what really excited Tweety was Bush's 'package' .. that's the real Tweety ...........
When they give reporters their own show, it just doesn't work for me. I don't like David Gregory having a show or Andrea Mitchell having a show. If they are reporters just let them report, not referee talk between people with opposing views
geneHUSSEIN214 @ 17:
Wasn't it Chris Mathews that said "we are all neocons now" when W strutted around that flight deck?
“He drives conversations.”
The only thing Matthews drives are his silly little man crushes.
peter @ 3:
They've taken over.
pissed off patricia @ 12:
I recall hearing about Matthews' reaction. Oddly enough, mine was the exact opposite. I watched Bush strut across that flight deck on the Lincoln and said, "Look! We have our very own Idi Amin!"
Like he is nearly as bad as joe "toe the line" scarborough. At least he doesn't contradict himself in the span of a few minutes on the same topic.
I don't watch tweety but I don't hate him either.
Just an FYI. If you want to quote something a commenter has said on a thread like this one. Just click on the three little blue words in the box of the comment you want to quote. It says in blue at the bottom of the box on the right side "Quote This Comment"
The comment will appear in your compose screen. Scroll down two spaces from the very end of the quote and type whatever response you would would like to say. If you aren't sure you did it right, you can click the "Preview" box to see how it will look. If it looks good, click "Submit Comment"
I'm only doing this because new people might not be up to speed on how to do all these magical things. I know it took me a while to figure it all out.
For all the attention that people like Tweety get on political blogs, I have to wonder how many Americans have any idea who he is or what he does, and I guess the answer is "not so much." Inside the Beltway he may be a big noise, but who else pays any attention at all to him or any of the Sunday morning talking heads?
RayC @ 23:
Yep, I just Googled that quote and his name. He said it.
Be as unkind as you like Nicolle, that phrase above that face is poetry.
Why do I have the feeling that he's gonna end up on FNC not too long after he's not picked up by NBC?
peter @ 3:
More geese than swans now live, more fools than wise.
Matthews admires McCain as a Vet and POW. He dismisses McCain's sexism and the racism of McCain's friends who refer to Obama as Tiger Woods. He claims to ask the tough questions, but his questions are just hot air. I hope MSNBC dumps him.
pissed off patricia @ 6:
I sometimes get the feeling that Chris Matthews is appealing to a certain right wing demographic of angry, barely closeted homosexuals. You know, the kind that caught hooking up in public restrooms, but stay married to women whom they seem to hate.
Now. I've got nothing against homosexuals... at all. But the fakes who pretend to be straight kind of creep me out. And tweety tries WAY too hard, in an kind of disturbing, and very disrespectful way. It just reeks of dishonesty. What is that old phrase?
'Thou dost protest too much?'
And that's another problem of Tweety's... he respects dishonesty. The more morally bankrupt a guest, or politician is, the more he verbally fellaciates (am I spelling that right?) that particular person. But they better be men. Tweety just LOVES men. I mean... A LOT.
Women... not so much. In fact, he seems to hate them with a passion. He certainly doesn't respect them.
If there's a channel for soft core gay porn, Tweety should on it. He certainly doesn't belong on a news show.
Matthews has such a gigantic ego that I don't know what it would do to him if he got canned. I think he would go into a major funk.
Chris has his wife on his show one time as his guest. He was a totally different person. He didn't interrupt her one single time. He didn't talk over her conversation. It was amazing to watch. My feeling was he knew if he did any of those things she would kick his ass when they got home.
Roger Simon's comments confirm that the Politico is staffed with half brained simpletons.
If only the politico was printed, then at least it would have some use: bird cage liner.
I wouldn't call Matthews a village idiot. He isn't a stupid man but he does have some entertaining aspects about him. He reminds me of the old court jester or fool that was always present in the court to provide entertainment for the King, his nobles and other guests.
For me it was the night of the Iowa primary, Keith O and Chris were talking to obama and had such man-crushes, that I was embarressed for both of them; and this was part of the inspiriation for Tina Fey rag on the CNN debates on SNL, weeks later. That same night, Chris kept warning "just you wait those clintons are gonna do something slick to mess this up" He went on and on. At times Chris knows what the Clintons are thinking and planning, or reacting to something; the man is off his rocker. Someone should shout HORESPISS; and then thake him off the stage.
He'd be much happier and more at home on Faux News. He can man-crush all over the place, since it will be full of Fred Thompson-types once the GOP loses the November election.
Of course, he's boning hard now for McCain. Is there no reich-winger that doesn't turn Matthews on?
antipolitical style fashioned by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert...
Okay, I'm dumb: I don't get how Stewart and Colbert are anti-political. Maybe...
...or the cutting and finely tuned cynicism of Matthews’s MSNBC co-worker Keith Olbermann.
Okay, I'm dumb again: If Olbermann were cynical (jaded?) then he wouldn't waste his time directing a righteous rant directly at the President... would he? (And what's with Olbermann being Matthews's co-worker? It's more like Olbermann has this ... co-worker ... let's see... "Matthews" Isn't it?
...an exuberant political animal like Matthews as annoyingly antiquated, like the ranting uncle at the Thanksgiving table whom the kids have learned to tune out.
But Olbermann "rants" so why isn't he being tuned out but rather being Tuned in???!!! No, there's something else about Matthews and the NYT is too busy trying to write cool text to put their finger on it.
it’s high school all over again with grown men several decades past knowing better
I got news for you, high school is real life too you know. The pressures you face as an pubescent teen done just magically vanish when you turn 20, 30 or 40. People know better sure, but it doesn't mean they don't repeat the same crap. They just use bigger words and there is less of a chance you get your teeth knocked out in the hallway between classes.
Racist with Moronic laugh ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiByp6233hI
Sounds a lot like this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujPGPvmMhhs
Patricia @ 6 & 12 nails it once again. Chris Matthews and David Gregory both repulse me. Time to get some different perspectives on those news shows - John Amato and Phil Donahue on a regular basis would be a great start. It was a pleasure to watch Donahue smack down that little twit Carlson a few days ago.
crap!!!!
it’s high school all over again with grown men several decades past knowing better
I got news for you, high school is real life too you know. The pressures you face as a pubescent teen don't just magically vanish when you turn 20, 30 or 40. People know better sure, but it doesn’t mean they don’t repeat the same crap. They just use bigger words and there is less of a chance you get your teeth knocked out in the hallway between classes.
I love "pissed off patricia", maybe because I am a Patricia too! She says everything I am thinking of saying so I become redundant in the end. POP, thanks for the instruction on the comment section. Wondered what that was for. Anyway, MSNBC needs to rid itself of Matthews. Rachel would be a solid replacement and Shuster is a top rate reporter. I am a Hillary supporter and am sick to death of Keith and his snarky comments against her each night. Wears thin. But there is something sick about the way Matthews acts. He definitely has issues and I think the network is aware of it. I mean, this guy is referred to as Tweety in the blogosphere. Pretty bad.
Braying donkey. No wait, trumpeting elephant.
Madison Ave Image makers are trying to overhaul Tweety. Probably won't help.
What bothers me the most about Matthews is that he is ALWAYS interrupting his guests and talking over them. Sometimes, though, I give him credit for re-asking his questions when a politician (as usual) avoids answering them and instead answer different (usually inane) questions he didn't ask. Very few, if any, MSM have the balls to do that.
P.D. @ 5:
they did get rid of Tucker but they gave his spot to David Gregory (Ugh). They just have to give this spot to Rachel Maddow. She had the second highest rating in cable news last Friday when she filled in for Olbermann. That should convince the big-wigs that she deserves the slot!
TF-MA @ 48:
"AAAAAHHHH!"
I dunno, he has his good moments.
He just annoys me is all.
His discourse is that of that guy in the office. You know, the seemingly idiotic one that changes the subject every 5 seconds and gets excited about nothing, stumbling all over himself in the process.
That guy. Or at least that's how he comes off to me.
SEEEEEEE YA! Such bias on TV should be OUTLAWED! If not outlawed it should be called a political contribution of some sort. Because it is cable and not over the air waves it is harder to regulate but it MUST HAPPEN IT MUST BE REGULATED. I wonder if the twing up his leg paralized his brain as well. Sort of like it did to Spitzer.
If Hardball is on the way out, I will miss that show. I would also miss Matthew's fast paced Sunday morning show. Chris Matthews thinks he's playing hardball, but he's anything but! I'm glad Tucker's show is off the air, but when are they going to take his body off the air? Tucker the man is what is offensive. Joe Scarborough is absolutely offensive. Neither of those two can go two sentences without making me want to scream. I realize Chris Matthews gets on a lot of nerves, but if MSNBC wants to improve viewer pleasure, remove Joe Scarborough and Tucker Carlson. Unlike those two retards, Chris Matthews does recognize the destruction of the Bush years. He sees the incompetency, hypocracy, corruption which is the Bush administration. Matthews needs to be taken with a grain of salt, and appreciated for the occasional spark of media conscience which he is truly in tune with! If a show time is opening up, I just hope MSNBC is smart enough to give it to David Shuster! Shuster and Olbermann are a two man powerhouse! They are of the caliber of James Risen of the NYT. These guys don't worry that if they offend Karl Rove, Karl would never bless them with another interview. They report the news, and the news doesn't control them!
Ash"Hussy"Williams @ 53:
Like when the spittle spews from the corner(s) of his mouth?
FastMovingCloud @ 51:
The trade off is she will become another IMC employee.
FastMovingCloud @ 51:
*barf*
I get nightmares of his dancing.
He's loved inside the beltway. They look at his 90%+ approval rating among a tiny out of touch elite and think it will translate into big ratings.
In Douglas Adams' "Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" books, he tells the story of a planet facing certain destruction. They have the resources to build giant spaceships that will bring their people to safety on a new, uninhabited planet. They fill the first spaceship with the really important people: the people who have the skills to lay down a civilization for the following spaceships.
Turns out there is no impending destruction. There is only one spaceship, and the people on it are not essential, rather they are the ones their fellow citizens think are a drag on society. In Adams' book they are telephone sanitizers and telemarketers and the like.
It would be great if we could do the same thing here with the Washington Elite. They are so self important that it wouldn't be hard to get them on board. Just tell Grover Norquist we need him on the new planet first so we can have a flat tax already up and running when the rest of get there. He'd get on board. Heritage Foundation? Cato Institute? Can't have civilization without think tanks. George Will? Fred Barnes? Kristol? Cokie? Of course, on the new planet we'll need a weekly round table of diverse, original voices. Matthews you can moderate. All you lobbyists: get in line. Rush, Sean, Glen - hurry, you'll miss the launch. Patrick McHenry, Douglas Feith,- gotta have you guys because...uh... just get on board.
Just a little dream of mine.
I find him impossible to watch. He is constantly interrupting his guests, cutting them off mid-sentence. Not to mention the distracting sheen of saliva on his lips as he's speaking. When Giuliani was in the race, he was such a huge kiss-ass to him, it was truly disgusting.
RayC @ 11:
Ray,
You really have to give Keith Olbermann a try. You won't be sorry. He is doing just what you hoped; fighting lies with the truth. The show is called "Countdown" and it's on at 8:00 PM eastern.
L.A. Confidential @ 57:
I meant MIC sorry. Not IMC
Pat J @ 47:
Happy to help and thank you for the sweet words.
Have a great weekend everyone! For now, I'm outta here. TGIF!
I read this article and kept wondering who put the hit out on him. I thought it went way out of bounds and took every opportunity to cast him in an unflattering light. It's a real shame too because matthews is the only show I spend any time watching on msnbc. I love how he catches people off guard and really goes after the guests in interviews. He doesn't play favorites and doesn't seem to work with a script or agenda. The rest of the programming is becoming near unwatchable.
Olbermann and Adams are these unfunny, daily show esque reach around athons where the guests and hosts are overly congratulatory with each other. So much outrage and bias on those shows, what happened to just reporting the news? Gregory was cool when he was the edgy white house press guy but his show is so bland and scripted I can't watch it for more than a couple minutes. MSNBC is turning into some one dimensional topical news of the minute network where all the shows run into each other and do the exact same thing aside from the different graphics and makeup. Irony and outrage is cool, we get it.
I find myself going to pbs and the newshour and the mclaughlin group for programming that's informational and in depth and actually entertaining.
When the Obama revolution sweeps in November, expect many of these relics to disappear from networks. Expect a shake up at fux snooze too.
Speaking of Russert, I saw Olbermann give Russert the ultimate diss when he showed a picture on countown of Keith standing next to a giant cardboard cutout of the cartoon character Peter Griffin from the show Family Guy. Olbermann commented:
"Look here's me with Tim Russert"
Dr. Acula @ 56:
Can't. Stop. Staring. At. Lips.
Guy with a McCain mancrush says what?
bns @ 64:
The edgy whitehouse press guy? You mean when he was cheering on MC Karl Rove at some asinine press dinner? If Edgy means in bed with the republican party, David Gregory is wayyy Edgy.
If you want bias, watch the Mclaughlin Group and see a bunch of rightwing extremists cheer the GOP every weekend, oh wait, you already do.
FastMovingCloud @ 61:
Olbermann is the best cable television show on today. It's required viewing for self-proclaimed progressives.
When you think about it he is a very sad, pathetic individual. John Stewart had him pegged last year when he was on pushing his stupid book about life being a campaign--how vapid and empty can Matthews be?
NBC should exercise its option now and get rid of Gregory, Scarborough, Abrams, and Matthews. They could put in Rachel Maddow, Phil Donahue, Ed Schultz--well, you get the idea.
Speaking of contracts, I'd love to know what they pay Scarborough per year because he is just AWFUL and soooooo boring.
seele @ 66:
LOL! Or should I say "Ahahaha! Ahahaha!"
i watch Matthews everyday and here are my notes:
- Chris has a drooling problem that gets very distracting.. eww
- Chris gets an idea in his head and harps on it over and over
- Chris cannot take a joke about himself (I bet this article has him in the fetal position)
- Chris takes any criticism of the media very personally to the point its ridiculous.
All that being said, I think his show often has some of the best political dialouge between guests. Matthews, IMHO, is 10X better and more entertaining than David Gregory. I think Gregory has been to one too many white house correspondants dinners. He is such a part of the washington establishment.
just check the 'depth' of the analysis below ...... this what tweety and msnbc is about ...
On the April 10 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, after reporting that Sen. Barack Obama "campaigned today in northern Indiana, shaking hands and chatting with people at a diner near South Bend," MSNBC correspondent David Shuster stated to host Chris Matthews: "Well, here's the other thing that we saw on the tape, Chris, is that, when Obama went in, he was offered coffee, and he said, 'I'll have orange juice.' " Matthews replied, "No," to which Shuster responded: "He did." Shuster continued: "And it's just one of those sort of weird things. You know, when the owner of the diner says, 'Here, have some coffee,' you say, 'Yes, thank you,' and, 'Oh, can I also please have some orange juice, in addition to this?' You don't just say, 'No, I'll take orange juice,' and then turn away and start shaking hands." Matthews added, "You don't ask for a substitute on the menu," and then said: "David, what a regular guy. You could do this. ... I mean, go to the diners." Matthews then began an interview with Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), an Obama supporter, by asking Casey: "Isn't that interesting, Senator Casey, that Barack Obama, your candidate, can walk before 15,000 people with complete calm and assurance, but he seems a little out of place in A) a bowling alley and B) a diner? What is the problem with your guy?"
Where's Sylvester the cat when you need him ?
seele @ 66:
You sure that's not dissing Peter Griffin?
seele @ 66:
Awesome!
Matthews never met a Republican cock he wouldn't slobber over. He also will forever be known for receiving beat downs from Olberman and Stewart. Matthews, soon be an entry in dictionaries everywhere (Douchebag: n See Chris Matthews).
MANCRUSH ALERT: MCCAIN IS ON MATTHEW'S SHOW 4/15/2008
I predict Matthews will have to run off stage halfway through the interview to rub one off because he has such a huge hardon for republican BS.
Ash"Hussy"Williams @ 58:
You mean his lap-dancing.
Our message to Matthews:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc9xhAM8WMU
I honestly don't even know what to say after reading that article. He does appear more...human, I mean how would we all act in front of a camera (I'm not talking about actually being what few on tv are, journalists and acting accordingly, that's a given, I'm talking about how we would literally act)? It is sad though that this country really doesn't have a media that is available on a mass scale. There are great journalists (Palast is a godsend) but they're only known to people who make an effort to find them and are interested in issues, not mindless partisan, inside the beltway conventional wisdom that ignores the opinions and wishes of the general public or, well, logic. There are few, if any, that have the guts to really challenge people in power, my guess is that if they did they'd be gone, like Donahue, who runs circles around Gregory, best known for a asking a tough question or two during White House press briefings. Ah, whatever, again, interesting and bewildering article.
Matthews is always eager and willing to give lip service to Republican nuts.
...'nuts' as in crazy republicans, not their balls or anything. Oh wait, he gives lip service to those also.
blue @ 73:
Yep, forget an analysis of NAFTA, the economy (maybe from an economist who doesn't drink from the Friedman trough, can they find just one left wing economist just once to analyze NAFTA and "free trade"?), healthcare, the war obviously. No, a question about freaking bowling and OJ. It makes you wonder, if Obama HAD taken the coffee would the economy have improved? If he bowled 250 would the troops start coming home? Would the economic policies we've forced on Iraqis been reversed? You never know...
FastMovingCloud @ 75:
Good point FastMovingCloud!
Pepper @ 83:
At times like this, I just want to kick Chris Matthews in the balls.
God I love that picture of him! Makes me HOT!
geneHUSSEIN214 @ 17:
Hye, I still think the "feeling running up my leg" comment about Obama's speech says volumes... none good!!!
Hee, hee, can't wait for that clown to get the axe.
Picture: Chris Matthews laughing and closing his eyes as this country is going down the shitter. Torture = Legal; War = pre-emptive; Investigations = unpatriotic; Support the Troops = empty rhetoric; Wake UP Chris. Stop laughing. Open Your Eyes.