Chris Matthews asks a real question
I don't know if you saw Hardball yesterday, I usually record it and then skip through to the Shuster reports, but this little exchange really caught my interest. I'm still thinking about it this morning.
Bush met with a number of "experts" on Iraq yesterday, (Wayne Downing, Barry McCaffrey, Michael Vickers, Amir Taheri, Fouad Ajami, and Raad Alkadiri,) and from McCaffrey's description it sounds like they really talked problems and strategy rather than just holding a photo op. So, about this meeting, Chris Matthews asked,
Neither McCaffrey or Downing offered any kind of comment at all, but that's a question I'd like answered.
(As an aside, Amir Taheri, an "expert" at this meeting, was the guy who recently propagated the completely false story that "Iran had passed a law requiring Jews to wear special identification.")
Bush met with a number of "experts" on Iraq yesterday, (Wayne Downing, Barry McCaffrey, Michael Vickers, Amir Taheri, Fouad Ajami, and Raad Alkadiri,) and from McCaffrey's description it sounds like they really talked problems and strategy rather than just holding a photo op. So, about this meeting, Chris Matthews asked,
MATTHEWS: Did he explain the presence of Karl Rove in the room?....
MATTHEWS: What was his political officer doing in the room?....
MATTHEWS: I thought he had taken the official statement from Josh Bolten, the new chief of staff at the White House, this guy is now doing politics only, no policy. So what the hell was he doing in a policy discussion? You’re smiling, General......
MATTHEWS: The reason I ask this and it has nothing to do about good or evil, Republican or Democrat, or the war which is so terrifying to the guys fighting it and their families -- it’s whether there is in fact a war component to the president’s campaign for Congress this year and whether they’re planning something. They’re going to do something over there to turn things around before November. But Karl Rove just sat there and watched apparently. General McCaffrey?
Neither McCaffrey or Downing offered any kind of comment at all, but that's a question I'd like answered.
(As an aside, Amir Taheri, an "expert" at this meeting, was the guy who recently propagated the completely false story that "Iran had passed a law requiring Jews to wear special identification.")
posted by mikevotes at
8:03 AM
5 Comments:
Wow I never knew the Taheri story was false, the media here exploited the story to a point where it was even in the local media markets. I can't believe how easily everyone took it in.
Keep up the informative writing, and I like the "picture of the day" in your blog.
Happy Writing
By
Anonymous, at 8:29 AM
Sometimes Matthews seems to get the problems with the administration (i.e., they fucking politicize everything) and he asks good questions and makes good points, as he did with the Rove question yesterday. Yet I find watching him is an exercise in frustration because he'll follow on point moments like that with pure drivel he spews that seems to come right off an RNC memo and/or has been dictated to him by Rove himself.
By
Reality-Based Educator, at 9:34 AM
Reality based,
He did yesterday, too. Neither guy answered this question and within less than a minute, Matthews was praising President Bush for his statements about Abu Ghraib.
And anon, Thanks.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 9:50 AM
I was more shocked by something else Matthews said to the two general last night....something along the lines of was the thinking of the marines who went in and shot 24 innocent Iraqis (women and children) that, hey, these familes knew that the IED was outside their homes, they were guilty.
I could not believe that...even the general disagreed with him.
By
JOS, at 10:19 AM
Yeah, the "walking through the minefield without getting blown up" section, that jumped out at me, too.
But perhaps it didn't stick in my mind the same way because that ugly side of Chris Matthews, that justifying side that often shows up, doesn't surprise me as much anymore.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 1:49 PM
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