As difficult as it may be to remember the public has come to a certain level of objectivity from the news media. However in the very unique and passionate run up to the 2008 November presidential election, this level of objectivity has understandably been very hard for a great many journalists to maintain.
Still, though almost no journalist or media personality can claim to be completely blameless when it comes to spreading around a little bias, none has so unwittingly stepped outside the objectivity box as did MSNBC’s
Chris Matthews who this week on
Morning Joe launched into a rant so slanted in favor of
Barack Obama that the show’s co-host
Mika Brzezinski felt compelled to ask the MSNBC stalwart in no uncertain terms if he was endorsing the senator from Illinois. Mr. Matthews’ response was shockingly a resounding and indignant ‘no.’
So because he patently has a soft spot for one candidate in the 2008 general election, but flatly denied that to be the case, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews is the hypocrite of the week.
While ostensibly interviewing New Mexico Governor
Bill Richardson on
Morning Joe this past Monday, Chris Matthews launched into what can best be described as an impassioned, nearly two minute long diatribe about the emotions being stirred up all across America by Barack Obama’s candidacy and his disgust over what he described as the press corps’ investment in the ‘Clinton sitcom.’ Rather than ask a question of Gov. Richardson who was actually on the show to discuss his decision to endorse Barack Obama, Matthews read a quote from the
Washington Post that tacitly supported Sen. Obama’s presidential prospects.
That said, the issue that makes Chris Matthews a hypocrite has nothing to do with which candidate he prefers or that he has a preference at all, but instead with his refusal to admit the obvious—he supports Barack Obama.
Just in case there is any doubt about this assertion, let’s take a look at a timeline of comments Chris Matthews has made on air about Sen. Obama over the last year and a half or so.
October 21, 2006 – While discussing an issue of
Time Magazine featuring Barack Obama on the cover, Chris Matthews made the following statements on his MSNBC Hardball show:
"Barack Star! Could he actually go for it? Could the first-term senator from Illinois, son of Kansas and Kenya, mount the galloping horse of history and run for president now?"
"He [Barack Obama] seemed to bring back that excitement of the Democrats."
"This guy can stand before a crowd and make them feel magic."
January 9, 2008 – Evaluating Barack Obama’s loss to Sen.
Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, a choked up Matthews had this to say about a speech he heard Obama give days before:
"I heard him [Barack Obama] speak before hundreds of people at the Old Palace Theatre in Manchester. It was the best speech I've ever heard. ... And I'm tearing up, and I'm writing down notes, and I'm trying to keep track of this thing. ... His heart must've been broken last night."
February 12, 2008 – While talking about a Barack Obama speech, Chris Matthews gave the following ‘analysis’:
“I have to tell you, you know, it’s part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama’s speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don’t have that too often. No, seriously. It’s a dramatic event. He speaks about America in a way that has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the feeling we have about our country. And that is an objective assessment.”
March 13, 2008 –Matthews said of the senator’s writing in his best-selling book,
Dreams of My Father:
“It's almost like
Mark Twain. It's so American, it's so textured. It's so, almost sounding like great fiction because it reads like us. It's picturesque. Is that the right word? Picturesque? I think it's got that quality.”
March 18, 2008 -- Opining about Barack Obama’s speech on race in response to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy:
“A speech worthy of
Abraham Lincoln.”
“We’ll have much more on this momentous day and what I personally view as the best speech ever given on race in this country.”
Gee... it seems pretty clear Matthews thinks highly of Sen. Obama, does it not?
Coming on the heels of this brief history of statements, Chris Matthews’ unintentional endorsement of Barack Obama on Monday morning’s
Morning Joe shardly seems surprising.
What is curious, however, is that Matthews would expect that his denial of making such an endorsement wouldn't read transparent to the viewing public. Perhaps Matthews really can’t see the situation as such, but given that he’s such a smart guy, that hardly seems likely.
Listen, the 2008 race for the White House is interesting for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that, for the first time in America’s history, either a woman or an African-American will represent the Democratic Party in a general presidential election.
Adding even more intrigue to this election cycle is the knowledge that this election marks the first time since 1928 when neither an incumbent president nor an incumbent vice president is running for their party's nomination in the presidential election. With stakes this high, it only stands to reason that tensions are running on overdrive in all quarters, including the normally ‘objective’ mainstream media.
However, journalists are at the very least expected to maintain the illusion of objectivity at work, even if certain things they say or do might be construed as biased by some (usually those on the right side of the political spectrum unless, of course, you’re talking about Fox).
This week, a fired up, literally spitting mad Chris Matthews made plain his feelings about the man he thinks the Democratic Party should nominate at its convention in August, and then denied making an endorsement. Not because he clearly favors the candidate whose voice sends “a thrill” up his leg or because he has made that opinion known, but instead because when confronted about the issue, he answered ‘no’ with profound indignation, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews is our hypocrite of the week.
