Chris Matthews Admits: MSNBC Bosses Were "Basically Pro-War"

In a speech at Harvard's Institute of Politics on Monday, Chris Matthews admitted that MSNBC bosses were "basically pro-war during the war." The remark came in a larger discussion of top-down editorial control at the network — of which Matthews claimed there was none, citing the fact that many of his bosses supported Hillary Clinton while he has been very vocal for Obama.

His full statement, in response to a question whether MSNBC officially supports Obama (via Politico's Michael Calderone):

"Well, it's not official." (LAUGH) "Well, I don't think Joe Scarborough has. And I don't think Tucker Carlson did. And Keith does his thing. He does his thing--it's something and it's very successful. I do my thing. I don't think that's true. I think... my sense is that everybody that lives in New York is for Hillary. The people I work with--all my bosses--seem to be for Hillary. I just sense it. They don't actually say it, but there's no sense from the top I can tell you that it's pro-Obama.. by any means. That's not what I get. And it was basically pro-war during the war.. the bosses were. And I was up against that. And if there's anybody telling me to push Obama, I haven't heard it yet. And by the way, they're so fickle.... but there seems to be a New York thing about Hillary. Just the people from... it's like the Yankees and the Mets... it's their thing. You know? It's Hillary. You know? And I feel it. I find it. It's hard to figure sometimes. But I don't know who you are talking about. I know who you are talking about."

As revealed in the New York Times Magazine profile of Matthews by Mark Leibovich, Matthews idolizes NBC News Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert like an older brother:

Tim -- as in Russert, the inquisitive jackhammer host of "Meet the Press" -- is a particular obsession of Matthews's. Matthews craves Russert's approval like that of an older brother. He is often solicitous.

In her new book Right is Wrong, Arianna Huffington critiques the media for being too compliant with administration policy during the run-up to war, and she particularly lays into Russert, saying, among other things, that he helped pump up the terrorist panic:

Take Tim Russert, whose July 1, 2007, Meet the Press interview with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was about as priapic a display as you're ever likely to see outside of a porno film or the monkey cage at the zoo, with Russert desperately trying to get Chertoff to pump up the panic meter...You could almost hear the blood rushing to his loins--and the palpable sense of deflation when Chertoff refused to stroke his fantasy

Comments

[texascommonsense]

Pro-War or Pro-American? hmmmmmm which is it that you folks on this site find so insulting?

[Leper]

You.

[mari2JJ]

Actually we naturally object to an all out war based on a big lie, I mean a whale of a whopping lie. Sorry, we are all sort of nit-picky about using a lie as the predicate for a war that results in killing of so many GIs and also, the gross number of Iraqis that have been killed, maimed or displaced, all the while, bankrupting our country. You know, we prefer a "MORAL APPROACH" to starting a war, a modicum of honesty. We also hold our President and his administration totally responsible when they told big, whopping lies to get us into a war. We also object to the fact that emails have been destroyed that would have clarified the details about those lies. That so many definitive emails are missing shows this White house bunch clearly broke the law. Either this administration is grossly incompetent or they are a bunch of crooks. Oooops, now that I think of it, they are both!!!!

[KitChandler]

I agree, but don't forget the voice in the wilderness-PHIL DONAHUE. PHIL was the ONLY person on televison that was trying to inform the public of this coming debacle. But what happened? They cancelled his show. Now, PHIL is someone to whom we owe a debt of gratitude-perhaps a Nobel prize for peace.

Even today there's hardly anyone who tries to convey the truth about an issue without slanting it to comport with their biased convictions. I might add that KEITH OLBERMANN has consistently stood up[ like superman and for that we should all be proud.

But there are so many little minded, biased propornents of lies. Hannity, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Kristol, immediately come to mind.

[Waitaminute]

'BASICALLY FOR THE WAR"? These cable networks had the map of Irag all over their newsroom floors. In fact, they brought in all those warmongering ex- military officers. They pushed the war like a pimps push prostitutes, while war music (ramboish) played....­. dunt.. dunti... dunt dont dont. day in day out.

[Leper]

Hearing "the blood rushing to his loins" of Mr. PotatoHead. That's funny.

[ThinkLiberal]

Tweety is being slick. He's playing both sides of the field to hedge his bets. Now that it is obvious that McShame and the GOPerverts are going to be flushed down the toilet in the fall, he's now trying to maintain any semblance of relevance (if he had any to begin with). A**holes like him now see the writing on the wall, it's the beginning of the end of their long run of perverse debauchery. Thanks for nothing Tweety. Too little too late. Good riddance, when that day finally comes. And come it must.

[una4dable]

I have been an avid fan of Chris Matthews, but he seems wishy-washy all of a sudden. I don't get it, first Obama sends a chill up this mans leg and then today he goes on a rampage and says that his whole life he has seen someone come along and inspire people and then they get to know him and find out he is only a politician. Chris needs to make up his mind. I think he wants to date her now like Morning Joe.

Quick question, do any of you ever ask your self about this so-called WAR COVERAGE, in the footage do you ever see armed uniformed soldiers, or people with guns other than our soldiers. I just feel like those are our brothers and sisters over there fighting this war, our loved ones and we deserve to be treated with respect and told the truth. WHY ARE WE THERE? WHEN ARE THEY COMING HOME?

[Marlyn]

"WHY ARE WE THERE? WHEN ARE THEY COMING HOME?"

We are there in order to steal Iraqi oil, OIL (Operation Iraqi Liberation).
They will come home after the oil is gone.

The USA is building an embassy in Iraq that is 5 times the size of the Pentagon, to be the largest embassy IN THE WORLD! Oh yes, the USA plans to stay for 100 years (or more?).

[CanuckforObama]

Nothing hear that wasn't in Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent" 20 years ago. What is needed is PBS on steriods (i.e. greater public funding and greater viewship) or, a radically decentralized media.

[PaMike]

"The people I work with--all my bosses--seem to be for Hillary. I just sense it. They don't actually say it, but there's no sense from the top I can tell you that it's pro-Obama.­. by any means." Chris Matthews just "senses it". Boy oh boy I love when multimillionaire teevee pundits dig a story out. The work involved! Crystal ball gazing? no no my friends! Matthews senses it! Why does he still have a job?

[Kman2]

70%+ of the American 'public' was pro war in 2003. Not just the media bosses. It really didn't take a rocket surgeon Einstein to figure out the war was BS in 2003 with or without the media "bosses."
Just look at the UN rule for war: a country can go to war only with security council approval or had a direct attack against it. America had neither with Iraq. So what's your excuse for supporting an illegal war America? Don't blame just MSNBC.
Take some responsiblity America. get some gonads.

[awcbuddy8]

The UN also stole money from charities and called for war against North Korea in 1950. Americans made up 90% of the fighting force then too.

[2lib4oh]

"The UN stole money from charities and called for war against North Korea in
1950".
Is that some sort of lame excuse for ignoring the UN inspectors and IAE reports? This same weak reasoning is why we went to war in the first place.
When did America become so stupid?

[evalpor]

Has anyone else noticed what a sanctimonious asshole Keith Olberman has turned into? I think there was always a shade of self-righteousness to the guy, but in the past few months his sanctimony is off the charts. It's becoming very weird when a far-left-of-center liberal like myself finds that Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough have become the voices of (relative) reason at MSNBC.

[jplass]

shenanigans. Olbermann ought to be cocky as the only legitimate journalist on TV today

[awcbuddy8]

I'd look good on TV if I had liberal stooges kissing my butt for 45 minutes too.

[Stew118]

wow- pat buchanan and joe scarborough are saying the same things as sean hannity and rush limbaugh so you must be a hillary free-baser to be so loyal you think their ilk make sense...

[filmex]

If evalpor is a "far-left-­of-center" liberal then I'm a delicate water nymph.

The only people raging about Olbermann are Lieberman "Democrats" who are in the bag for Shrillary, and have been angry that Keith long ago called her out for her self-serving, destructive, divisive scorch-and-burn poison for what it is, when the rest of the pundits were daintily dancing around the topic.

Wrong on Iraq, wrong on Iran (waiting with Zionist Joe to "be able to obliterate them"), wrong about the gas tax, wrong about loaning her campaign more than the total she has made selling books and working in the Senate, while refusing to disclose the sources of Bill's money, which she is now freely spending. We get it. He "owes" her.

Get thee to a nunnery, Billary. You're fifteen minutes were up two months ago. And get that lying, finger waving husband of yours some professional help. I hear Dr. Drew is casting for Season Two of "Celibrity Rehab".

[Marlyn]

evalpor is LYING when he says "a far-left-of-center liberal like myself".

[RobtBrock]

MSNBC will rot in Hell for all eternity.

[VegasDem]

I completely disagree with this statement.

But, man, did it make me laugh out loud.

[raker]

Oh, I get it. Matthews is really a good German. It was his Nazi bosses who make him be a douchbag. So after Obama's elected and Democrats have the power, we're supposed to take Matthews back into the fold of civilized society. I say send him to the corn field with Russert. And send his lame little dry-erase board with him.

[tj44]

The Neo-cons--sold and or threatened the entire country into this trumped up war at a tremendous cost. All of the media...ca­ble, msm and print sold it hard. Fear and patriotism were the clubs used to beat us into submission. We were ALL guilty of this travesty..­..let's just not repeat our mistake. it is far too costly!!

[KOisGod]

Maybe now Mathews will duel that corn pipe sucking congressman from Georgia, what was his name?....

[hippybaby1970]

are you talking about ben jones who played cooter on dukes of hazzard?

[biglover]

Well now its official. I guess that's why we heard about Reverend Wright everyday 24/7 for two weeks. I didn't know it was the media's job to destroy candidates. I thought they were to report the news and we were to make up our minds.

What a bunch of whores.

[KOisGod]

Mathews will never recieve an anthrax letter