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Talk about a case of false bravado! Just about everybody who watched the recent Comedy Central book interview (video) of Chris Matthews by Jon Stewart about Matthews' book, "Life's A Campaign," agrees that it was complete disaster for Matthews who exclaimed at one point, "This is the worst!" The opinion that Matthews came off horribly is almost universally shared by all observers whether conservative or liberal. However, Matthews himself is now claiming that everybody else is all wrong about that interview as you can see at the tail end of an Examiner.com article about the 10th year anniversary party for Hardball: On a...

Sticking and moving like a prize fighter, talk show host and author Laura Ingraham, outnumbered in a three against one fight, took out not only "Hardball" host Chris Matthews but his colleague David Shuster and NBC News political director Chuck Todd, as well. View video here. (courtesy NB contributor Mark Finkelstein)On Thursday night's "Hardball" Ingraham took Matthews to task for his outrageous claims about the Iraq war being about oil as she threw his past bias in his face: "What? What? Chris are, were you the one, the other night, correct me if I'm wrong, who said that we...

I have a question. On a number of occasions, Rush and other conservatives have said that following 9/11, liberals were bemoaning the fact that it didn't happen on Clinton's watch because then his handling of it would be his legacy. It would be a chance for him to look good. I've done countless Google searches and can find nothing. Can anyone point me to specific examples? Thanks.

On the Wednesday night edition of MSNBC's "Hardball" Chris Matthews and David Shuster continued to use the Larry Craig scandal to bury the GOP and while Matthews declared "the downfall of" Bush's party was "driven by every movement of the body politic" it was his colleague Shuster who outdid him when, after running down a litany of GOP troubles ranging from Craig to the resignation of Alberto Gonzales, charged:

Apparently Hardball host Chris Matthews has a bit of a problem keeping his lust in check on the air. On Friday evening's Hardball, Matthews was interviewing CNBC's Street Signs anchor, Erin Burnett, about the latest Wall Street news when suddenly he switched gears as you can see in this video. The official transcript isn't up yet on the MSNBC website but here is a transcription of the conversation as best I could understand it: MATTHEWS: Could you get a little closer to the camera?BURNETT: What is it? Is it (garbled) in strangely?MATTHEWS: Come in closer...no...come in...come in further...come in closer...really close.(Burnett leans...

On Capitol Hill, politicians hear only those who get loud enough to cause a ruckus on their turf. Many times, these are anti-war groups like Code Pink or 9/11 “truthers”. That’s why 40 Vets for Freedom members from across the country (with only four days notice) stormed the Hill on July 17 and refused to be silenced. Vets for Freedom (VFF) is a group of nearly 15,000 veterans -- 7,000 of whom are Iraq and Afghanistan vets and some that are currently deployed. One of the group’s key purposes, according to news reports, is to advocate that Republican leadership not...

Al Sharpton - in place of Chris Matthews - interviews Duncan Hunter on Hardball. You can handle it. ;)

Attn: Diane Feinstein, John Kerry, Joe Bieden

Hardball Turns Into DNC-TV Posted by Geoffrey Dickens on July 2, 2007 - 17:12. Chris Matthews, presumably away on vacation, handed the reigns of MSNBC's Hardball to Democratic activist Reverend Al Sharpton. The first two guests, in the first half-hour, of the Sharpton hosted July 2 episode, were Democrats - Howard Dean and Terry McAuliffe. The hot topic of the discussion with Dean was about how the John McCain campaign and the GOP, overall, were suffering in their fundraising efforts. The following "hardball" segment, with McAuliffe, featured the Hillary Clinton campaign chairman crowing about her fundraising success. After the McAuliffe segment, Sharpton, actually interviewed a Republican. Predictably, Sharpton's questions...

Ann Coulter appears on The O'Reilly Factor to clarify some of her comments on news shows and in her Best Selling Books. She mentions that Matthews was on the morning programs lying about what she said on his show the night before. John Edwards is using the appearance on Hardball the night before to raise money. Quote from Ann: "I'm more of a man than any liberal is" She certainly has more moxie then they do, and also will use quite "provacative" (according to BO) statements to counter the Liberals and show that Liberals can make threats against Conservatives with...

Fighting Intensifies, Republicans Under Attack As the bloody battle raged this week, many questioned whether Republicans have the resolve to stay the course. Few expected the enemy to strike with such ferocity, but Elizabeth Edwards (wife of Presidential hopeful Senator John Edwards (D-NC) did, live, on the television show "Hardball." Mrs. Edward's target, Ann Coulter, was stunned by the attack as were many conservatives. "She came at me like a crazed fat javelina," said Coulter. "It wasn't fair, I can easily kick her little girlie-man husband's ass, but she's sick with AIDS or cancer or something, what could I...

A veteran who attended the Ann Coulter taping of "Hardball" confronts Chris Matthews off-camera. Video

Hardball's studio is 1 and 1/2 blocks from Union Station at 400 North Capitol. Once agan, it's Tuesday, June 26, 2007, starting at 4pm. Click here for a Google map. You can use a link on the map above to get directions from your location to 400 North Capitol. FOX News is in the same office complex, so there's also a chance you could encounter real reporters like Brett Hume or Jim Angle. The Dubliner is around the corner and Capitol City Brewing is a block away. There's also several eateries inside Union Station. Anyone who wants a "Waitress Sandwich"...

Is Kucinich's bulldog going after Glenn Beck? Posted by Stephen Koff June 08, 2007 15:21PM Dennis Kucinich has consulted with a lawyer about radio talk host Glenn Beck's on-air comments knocking Kucinich's marriage. The lawyer has written to Beck's bosses. But beyond that, Kucinich so far will give no details. "That's true," he said today when asked whether he was discussing the matter with a lawyer. "A letter has been written to the executives of Clear Channel and Premiere and we're awaiting a response." Clear Channel is the parent of Premiere Radio Networks, which syndidates Beck's show on more than...

Yes he leans left. But MSNBC host Chris Matthews was manifestly offended by the Mexican audience at the Miss Universe pageant that booed Miss USA. The Mexicans were adding insult to injury, since the lovely and gracious Rachel Smith of Tennessee had earlier slipped onto her derrière during the evening gown segment of the competititon. Discussing the matter on this afternoon's Hardball with his panel of NBC political director Chuck Todd, Howard Fineman of Newsweek, and Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Tribune, Matthews unleashed on the Mexicans: That's about the worst PR I can think of for this Mexican immigration...

Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball," will moderate the May 3 GOP presidential debate at the Reagan Library, officials announced Tuesday. The same evening, Matthews will air a "Hardball" program from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum with analysis of the debate, the first debate of its kind in Ventura County. "Debates put presidential candidates on the same stage. That's the way voters like to see them, squaring off, testing their wits, competing with ideas," Matthews said in a news release. "It's an honor to be moderating the first Republican debate." The 10 candidates who have confirmed they will...

EARTH TO LAMAR:FRED LOOKING THE PART AIN'T ENOUGH (video) by Mia T, 4.3.07 Lamar Alexander on Hardball, pushing Fred Thompson for president confirms the obvious: Fred's top asset is his stage presence, followed closely by his presidential and other executive experience... on film. Fred's geography and ideology seal the deal for Lamar, the former being pure South and the latter, pure enough Right. "The power of the harasser, the abuser, the rapist depends above all on the silence of women." (Ursula K. LeGuin) VOTE SMART: A WARNING TO ALL WOMEN ABOUT HILLARY CLINTONby Mia T, 3.11.07A RESPONSE TO 'VOTE...

I came across Hardball tonight (I know, big mistake) and had to stop because they were discussing the fund raising totals that were announced today. I was curious to see what Chrissy would have to say about Romney's $23 million. He did not disappoint. Matthews claims that the $23 million in funds raised and Romney's low polling numbers means that all of Romney's donors are "rich, fat cats." Watch the video. (The comment comes at 8:15 on the "Romney, Clinton Rake It In" clip.) Lynn Sweet, of the Chicago Sun Times immediately spoke up and cautioned that no one knows...

Did anyone else see Hardball today when Chris Matthews got so worked up over the war that he said we aren't going to get into a contest with Iran over who the biggest S*** in the Middle East is and both his guests sort of went white and Matthews just sat there for a few seconds and pretended nothing happened and then tried to blame the Scooter Libby trial for his loss of control?

WASHINGTON - A federal judge strongly admonished an attorney for former ambassador Joseph Wilson for her appearance yesterday on MSNBC's program "Hardball" where she predicted a jury can find I Lewis "Scooter" Libby guilty of making false statements.

David Shuster Gets Spanked by Iraqi UN Ambassador on ‘Hardball’ Posted by Noel Sheppard on November 30, 2006 - 10:22. How often do you watch a show like MSNBC’s “Hardball” just hoping that one of the guests will spank the host when he makes an obvious misstatement, or is just being rude? Well, such occurred Wednesday when David Shuster, filling in for the vacationing Chris Matthews, tried to bully Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations Feisal IstrabadiRight from the get-go, it was apparent that Shuster had no intention of showing any respect whatsoever to this dignitary, which of course was...

Welcome back to Hardball, I'm Chris Matthews. Where do we draw the line between free speech and offensive speech? Joining me via satellite is Michael Richards, who played Kramer on the old Seinfeld show. Mr. Richards, welcome to the show.

Dear Mr. Moderator: Please don't remove this post from Breaking News. This post should stand as a repository of every one of Chris Matthews's acts of crass, intellectually dishonest, boorish, and/or distemperate behavior of this election cycle. I start this post with my impressions of Chris Matthews, his recent instances of belligerance, and all his fawning obsequiousness to his own self-image. I find it amazing that he is associated with the same network that once employed David Brinkley. After watching Matthews this campaign cycle, he has thrown away any pretense of fairness or anything approaching such. It is one thing...

The American Legion... MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE... 1608 "K" ST., N.W.... WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006... (202) 861-2700, Ext. 1312... Fax (202) 861-2785... Web Site: www.legion.org... Note: Please call or reply email if interested in receiving the official letterhead version of Commander Morin's letter.... American Legion Natl Cmdr Response to Chris Matthews of MSNBC November 1, 2006 Hardball w/ Chris Matthews 400 N. Capitol Street, NW Suite 850 Washington, DC 20001 Dear Mr. Matthews: I would like to set the record straight about your erroneous statement about me on yesterday’s broadcast. Regarding The American Legion’s reaction to Sen. Kerry’s outrageous comments about the...

MSNBC.com and MSNBC TV are partnering with HotSoup.com, a new Web site for political and public issue debate. HotSoup's "Hot Loop" by editor-in-chief Ron Fournier will be posted daily on MSNBC.com. Mr. Fournier, who broke a number of big political stories when he worked for the Associated Press, also will write a weekly analysis piece for MSNBC.com. The new feature can be found at Politics.MSNBC.com. Since going live Oct. 19, HotSoup has already attracted thousands of members some very high-powered politicians, including both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and her husband, former president Clinton. HotSoup.com co-founders Matthew Dowd, chief strategist...

When it comes to MSM outrage over pro-Republican TV ads, it's hard to top Chris Matthews. He pounded for days on the RNC ad about Harold Ford, Jr., accusing RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman of "cesspool" tactics and claiming the ad played to white fears of "losing white women to black guys."Matthews had a similar over-the-top reaction to an ad [see it here] running in NJ that uses a mobbed-up character to mock ethically-challenged Bob Menendez. Here's how Stephen Spruiell at National Review's Media Blog noted Matthews comments:"Well maybe because I've spent so much of my life in New Jersey... but...

by Mark Finkelstein October 16, 2006 - 17:58 Doth Chris Matthews protest too much? Interviewing James Baker on this afternoon's 'Hardball' about his new book on a life in politics, Matthews raised the risk a political party fracturing in the course of a presidential primary campaign: "How do you hold your party together when you have people, secular candidates like John McCain who's often in that [guest] chair, and Rudy Giuliani running against Brownback, and people like that, Frist and George Allen perhaps, who are real cultural conservatives?" Baker: "We hold it together the same way that you hold your...

view edit Posted by Mark Finkelstein on October 9, 2006 - 20:40. The show bills itself as 'Hardball.' But in surrounding himself with regulars who are either certified liberals or renegade Republicans, doesn't Chris Matthews prove himself to be a softy, unwilling or unable to take the high heat from true-blue Republican flamethrowers? Let me say something that might surprise some NewsBusters readers and dismay others. I like Matthews. Not that conservatives are the arbiters of patriotism, but I do consider Chris someone who loves his country and, as misguided as he may be on various policy issues - has...

by Mark Finkelstein September 28, 2006 - 18:01 What's worse: A. telling a story in which the n-word is liberally used, or B. driving through a black neighborhood, flaunting rifles and yelling racial epithets? I'm going with 'B.' So why did Chris Matthews devote the first half of this afternoon's "Hardball" to the n-word story, and not one second to the driving-through-the-black-neighborhood story? You don't suppose, do you, that it could have anything to do with the fact that 'A' concerns Republican George Allen, and 'B' his Dem challenger, James Webb? Matthews opened Hardball with an extended segment featuring Patricia...

One of Virginia's best-known political analysts said he had never personally heard Sen. George Allen use racial epithets, despite saying on television a day earlier that the senator "did use the n-word." Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said Tuesday in an e-mail to The Associated Press, "I didn't personally hear GFA (Allen's initials) say the n-word. "My conclusion is based on the very credible testimony I have heard for weeks, mainly from people I personally know and knew in the '70s," Sabato wrote. Sabato, a classmate of Allen's at the University of Virginia...

by Mark Finkelstein September 20, 2006 - 20:34 Chris Matthews sees W's favorables going up and the Dem generic congressional edge going down. He's ticked, and on tonight's Hardball he made clear his explanation for this revoltin' development: the MSM isn't churning out enough bad news from Iraq. Matthews first floated the idea during a segment with GOP strategist Ben Ginsburg and Dem counterpart Steve McMahon. I'll mention as an aside that McMahon strikes me as one of the more reasonable, straightforward Dem partisans. Quoth Chris: "Does it bother you gentlemen both that when you watch television now that the...

by Mark Finkelstein September 14, 2006 - 18:19 When Ben Cardin, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Maryland, appeared on this afternoon's Hardball, host Chris Matthews played a Cardin TV ad, most of which was taken up by Cardin informing voters that: "I always try to do what's right, what's in the best interest of Maryland families: taking on the drug companies, the oil companies, the insurance companies." Let's first note Cardin's daring admission that he tries to do 'what's right.' Controversial stuff. Actually, come to think of the track record of Maryland politicians when it comes to obeying...

by Mark Finkelstein September 13, 2006 - 19:59 Chris Matthews is as frustrated as an able-bodied seaman after six months without shore leave. After 12 long years in the desert of the congressional minority, Matthews clearly senses this is the year for the Dems to snatch back the Speaker's gavel. His frustration is borne of the fear that the Dems will squander the opportunity out of timidity - an unwillingness to attack President Bush on the war in Iraq. Things boiled over on this evening's Hardball. With guests Howard Fineman of Newsweek and Chuck Todd of the Hotline as witnesses...

by Mark Finkelstein September 12, 2006 - 20:16 What would you call someone who within the last six years has received a 100% rating from NARAL and Planned Parenthood and a 0% from the National Right-to-Life Committee? A 100% rating from the ACLU. A 0% rating from Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum. A 100% rating from the League of Conservation Voters and a 0% rating from the conservative Family Research Council? Oh, and someone who voted against George W. Bush for president in 2004, against the confirmation of Sam Alito to the Supreme Court, and who demands the withdrawal of US...

Since the revelation that Richard Armitage, a former high-ranking official in the State Department, was the source of the much-ballyhooed Valerie Plame "leak," many in the media have refused to touch the story with a ten-foot pole. This was quite a turnaround since before the Armitage involvement was known, many journalists believed the CIA leak story was one worth pursuing on a daily basis. Some even believed it could bring down the Bush White House, or at least end the careers of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. One of the biggest media figures boycotting the Plame story has been MSNBC...

by Mark Finkelstein August 11, 2006 - 21:47 It doesn't take much to offend liberals' exquisite sensitivities. The latest? Referring to Islamofascists as . . . Islamofascists. Chris Matthews got the ball rolling on this evening's Hardball. But Charlie Rangel upped the ante to the max, managing to impugn Christians and Jews in the bargain. Fortunately, GOP Congressman Dan Lungren had the guts to call Rangel on it. Matthews got things started by challenging Lungren: "Would you include Hezbollah in that group [of Islamofascists]? Would you include Hamas, they are they enemies of Israel. Are they also enemies of ours?...

I heard Brian Williams compare suicide bombers to US special forces. I was listening to Hugh Hewitt's Radio Show. He is on vaction, his host was someone nameed Jed or Jess I heard this man on other shows like Rush, Hannity etc. He said I am going to break when I come back I will tell you something that is unbelieveible and until I heard it I could not believe it. After the break he mad e a few comments on the Theorists already saying the Bob Threat was Bush engineered. Then said just hours Chris Matthews was talking to...

by Mark Finkelstein August 10, 2006 - 22:01 Hat tip to poster 'nutmeg' at Free Republic. Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News might have meant to praise the heroism and selflessness of our various service people. But he employed what was at best an incredibly awkward, at worst an inappropriate, offensive and simply wrong manner of doing it. On this evening's 7 PM ET edition of Hardball, Chris Matthews mused about the UK-born terrorists whose plot was foiled today: "Here we have maybe 24 people who have lived in London and England and the free world for all these years...

by Mark Finkelstein August 9, 2006 - 20:06 That didn't take long. Just yesterday, Ned Lamont was the netroot hero, the pride of MoveOn.org, the scourge of the GOP. Today, Dem nomination in hand, he began his run toward the center - with a little help from his MSM friends. On this evening's Hardball, Chris Matthews scoffed at the way that the RNC put Lamont's picture up on its website alongside Michael Moore, Mark Moulitsas of the Daily Kos, Howard Dean, and John Murtha. Well, let's see: Dean via his DFA organization openly campaigned for Lamont over Lieberman. Daily Kos...

by Mark Finkelstein August 4, 2006 - 21:39 John Fund of the good old Wall Street Journal talking up the impact of the blogs on the Dem Connecticut primary. Mega-blogger Markos Moulitsas Zúniga of the Daily Kos talking it down. The odd couple, guests on this evening's Hardball, engaged in some serious media gender-bending. Fund went first, and overflowed with praise for the role the blogs have played in the race: Fund: "I think [the blogs' impact has] been very significant. I offer a tip of the hat to them. They have taken the former vice-presidential candidate and created a...

by Mark Finkelstein July 28, 2006 - 13:48 Those poor MSMers. They can't stand Ann Coulter. And they know that every time they vilify Ann, it only serves to drive her fame and her book sales. But they just can't 'hep' themselves. They can't resist precisely the kind of mean-spirited barbs that make Ann's case and boost her bottom line. Chris Matthews was a splendid case in point on last evening's Hardball. Here are the very first words out of Matthews mouth to Ann: "The question I have is do you have a soul? Really." See what I mean? Seems...

Chrissy isn't letting her say a thing.

<p>It is axiomatic that the goal of the foreign policy of the United States should be the advancement of the interests of the United States and not of any other country, no matter how sympathetic, including Israel. That said, should it not give Chris Matthews pause that his pointed anti-neo-con spiel has become indistinguishable from the well-rehearsed Pat Buchanan line on the matter? In a weird twist, Dem hyper-partisan Bob Shrum, a supporter of Israel, was the odd man out on this evening's Hardball.</p>

This was the better part of the interview, I enjoyed it so I thought I'd share. Ann is asked to respond to the Plame/Wilson lawsuit, and about different parts in her book. Click image to view video

HEARD ON MELANIE MORGAN ANOTHER New York Times columnist disses Melanie! - July 9, 2006 NY Times columnist condemns Melanie - July 4, 2006. Transcript of Melanie's appearance on "Hardball" - from June 26, 2006. LIBERALS GO CRAZY OVER NY TIMES COMMENTS - Blogger upset with Melanie Morgan...read their "outrage".

by Mark Finkelstein July 7, 2006 Does Norah O'Donnell read NewsBusters? Could it be pure coincidence that on this evening's 'What'd You Say?' Hardball segment featuring the audio highlights of the week Norah just happened to select two items we had featured here and here? Who knows? In any case, Joe Scarborough took the occasion to apologize for being too mean to Democrats earlier in the show. For the record, the two soundbites featured were Joe Biden's Indian/7/11 slur, and Cindy Sheehan's pronouncement that she would rather live under Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez than George Bush. Panelist Tucker Carlson had...

by Mark Finkelstein July 5, 2006 As James Taranto suggested Monday in his WSJ 'Best of the Web' column, at some point you *can* question a person's patriotism. Cindy Sheehan surely passed that point long ago. But just in case there was any doubt, Sheehan made things clear this evening, flatly stating that she'd rather live under Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez than George Bush. Sheehan made her comments during a Hardball appearance, during which guest host Norah O'Donnell, sitting in for Chris Matthews, gave her a surprisingly rough ride. At one point, O'Donnell asked: "Why go stand by side by...

by Mark Finkelstein June 30, 2006 Just when you're ready to write Chris Matthews off as a hopeless liberal, he pulls something like he did tonight, criticizing the New York Times for its latest leak of an anti-terror program. Matthews' guests were the Rev. Al Sharpton and conservative radio talk show host Melanie Morgan. On the subject of the Times leak, Sharpton predictably proclaimed that the Gray Lady was "absolutely right," while Morgan sided with President Bush. That's when Matthews weighed in with his surprising pronouncement: "Melanie, on this issue, believe it or not, I'm with you. I think the...

by Mark Finkelstein June 29, 2006 As fellow NewsBuster Mithridate Ombud noted today, a San Francisco Chronicle columnist has flatly accused the Bush administration of anti-Semitism in its criticism of The New York Times for its latest leak of an anti-terror program. That this might be an emerging MSM theme is evidenced by a similar suggestion coming from Chris Matthews on this evening's Hardball. The Times rose to prominence under the ownership of, Arthur Ochs, a Jew. His descendants, notably including the Times' current publisher, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, continue to play a dominant role in the Times' affairs. So when...

by Mark Finkelstein June 28, 2006 Over the last couple days, I've received four emails from one liberal reader of these columns, repeatedly asking me why conservatives are so 'angry and mean-spirited'. I tried explaining that while anger is common to the human condition, in no way do conservatives have a monopoly on the emotion. To the contrary, I cited a recent study revealing that, even when controlling for relevant variables, Republicans tend to be happier than Democrats. Since I was unable to prove the proposition to the reader's satisfaction, I very much hope he was watching this evening's Hardball....