Chris Matthews Calls Osama Bin Laden "Obama" During Terror Discussion

Today on MSNBC's "Hardball," which aired live at 5pm, Chris Matthews was joined by Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd for a discussion about Charlie Black's comment that McCain would benefit from a terrorist attack. A weary-looking Matthews accidentally referred to the "Obama headquarters" when talking about Osama bin Laden. He instantly apologized and got a word of encouragement from Mitchell. In February, a picture of bin Laden popped up on "Hardball" during a mention of Obama, which Matthews apologized for later in the program.

Watch Tuesday's slip:

Comments

[mondobleu]

Well that's two days in a row because I just watched him do it again today 6/25/08 on Hardball talking about the tape that was put out by Bin Laden the friday before the 2004 election.
But of course he called him Obama.
Mathews didn't notice it and his two guests clamed up about it. Check it out

[Beamreach]

I'm starting to think he's working for McCain. This is getting to be a habit, or is it intentional association to discredit Senator Obama.

[Sctt859]

chris mathews just did it AGAIN

[VOTER]

He is not making any mistakes during his shows.

HE IS NOW THE WORST PERSON ON THE PUNDIT TELE AND THAT TAKES SOME

DOING!

[heather11483]

Get it together, Chris. You get a pass this time.

[rasthedestroyer]

Ok Mr. Matthews, honest mistake so you get a pass this time. Next time you lose your ghetto hard card. Now do your job.

[jayburd]

I don't see why this is even newsworthy. It was a slip of the tongue. He obviously deeply regreted it, so let's just move on.

[lvdragonlady]

Wakeup jay - chris is notorious for doing this kind of thing and then trying to justify it.........
If they can not get their info correct, stay the hell off of the television.

IMPEACH BUSH/CHENEY 08

[bongogirl]

SOMETIMES OUR TRUE THOUGHTS AND BELIEFS ARE ELICITED WHEN WE DO NOT WANT THEM TOO. I HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED THAT CHRIS MATTHEWS HAS AN AFFINITY TOWARDS OBAMA..

[pinkyboo]

If he has an "affinity" twords Obama why would he slip up and link him with OSAMA???

I really think he's just tired and the death of Russert has taken a toll.

[DocJerome]

Chris gets a pass, it was an obvious slip up. Carry on.

[VOTER]

Two days in a row?

IF HE REALLY WANTED TO BE MORE THOUGHTFUL HE WOULD ADDRESS

THE MAN AS SENATOR OBAMA.

Perhaps the word, "Senator" would clue him into his next word choice.

[pilgrim7]

Funny. My sister, an engineer who is currently working towards her Ph.D. in education, just recently sent me the wornout email about Osama and the $20 bill.

Actual excerpts from our email exchange:

Sis: "Oooo. This almost had me until the last folds reveal 'OSAMA.' I want to forward this to others, but I don't want to cast dispargement on the man!!!"

Me: "PS - Regarding OSAMA, did you mean OBAMA? :-) "

Sis: "HA! YES!

I meant Obama!!! See, I just proved it. That's the subliminal stuff that is bound to happen! Love ya!"


I've made the same mistake myself. So have others in my circle. It's really embarrassing, but I guess it's a common mistake considering most people weren't familiar with either name prior to both men's poplularity. The name-calling technique done by Fox to purposely link Obama to Osama is a different story, however.

Obama. Osama. Obama. Osama. Osama. Obama. A rose by any other name is still a rose IMHO.

[tasukibeth1]

Chris may sometimes be a tool, but it was clear that he was pretty shaken by his mistake. He could barely finish his sentence.

[greginwva]

I had a knee jerk reaction to it,but you could see as soon as it left his mouth how miserable he felt about the flub.

[Quilter]

I didn't see the show with the slip up. However, I was outraged by the terror attack subject. Mathews, Todd, & Mitchell all speaking as though, a terror attack would cause Americans to buckle at the knees and vote for McCain...What? They were essentially telling the world that the American presidential election is up for terrorist grabs...Come & get us! How sick & disgusting. Why does John McCain continue to get a clear pass from the MSM on terrorism? What has he done to protect us? Someone clue me in. Besides, if there is another debacle on the Republican watch...Why would we then be stupid enough to vote for another Republican!

[sapphirejenblue92]

It's clear this was a slip. You can see his disappointment with himself for making it and he apologized right after.

[westreal]

A simple mistake. You could tell that it pained him. Unlike those guys at Fox news who does this with glee.

[muadibe]

This is such nonsense. Why is this even an article here? It was obviously a mistake. Osama vs Obama. Why is it so difficult to imagine someone who, in the course of the workday may say these names multiple times, might slip up and say the wrong one?

With very few exceptions, MOST on-air journalists make all kinds of mistakes when they speak. I see it EVERY day on any news program I watch. None of us are perfect when we speak. Lets move on to something worth discussing.

[harriscrl3]

I notice that I think Chris was shock by that and it kind of put him off a bit that he did that. You could tell that was just an honest mistake.

Carol

[savertime]

Probably was a mistake; however, Matthews has made enough derogatory comments about Obama to leave just a little suspicion there. By now, anyone on the news should have the name Obama ingrained in his or her brain. Particularly a "journalist." It is hard to tell sometimes whether he is an opinionator or a journalist. I still have not forgotten is unprofessional comments about the democratic candidates back in January 2007; not to mention his ongoing, pathetic attacks and comments on the Clintons, for which he had to give a lame apology. When he screwed up his face and said "why would a black man think he could win the presidency, when they couldn't get Harold ......" (He cut off his comment, straightened up his face, and changed the subject.) I couldn't decide whether someone was speaking in his ear, or whether he caught a glimpse of himself on the monitor. Either way, his comment was telling as well as unprofessional.

[tinarm]

I watched his show, and for once I'm gonna give the guy a pass on this one. It was unintentional and he knew he screwed up the moment he said it. Give the guy a break on this one. Chris is one of the few reporters who actually tries to be fair, though at times he's not, he does at least try.