Joe Scarborough Vs. Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews On McCain's Gains In The Polls

***WATCH ROUND 2: SCARBOROUGH V. SHUSTER***

Monday night during MSNBC's convention coverage, Joe Scarborough was describing the surge John McCain has been experiencing in the polls over the last few weeks — but Keith Olbermann didn't want to hear it. Scarborough caught him mocking the suggestion, at which point the "Morning Joe" host rattled off a bunch of poll numbers defending his point and making the case that the McCain camp "has dug out of a grave" and "if this convention had been held two weeks ago, it would've been more of a coronation than a convention."

Olbermann and Chris Matthews scoffed at the suggestion that the race is close, with Matthews asking, "Are we done?"

Watch:

Comments

[judesuper]

Scarborough stinks. The best day was the day MSNBC took him off the evening show and put him where he belongs in the early morning. However, he needs one more move. OFF THE AIR!!! If he wants to play repub go to FOX so we don't have to see you any longer.

[luckyoldson]

Joe is nothing more than the "token" right wing hack for MSNBC.

[Assassin]

Keith is usually intelligent, and I agree with lots of his commentary, but he was being a petulant arse here. Poll after poll show McCain gaining on Obama, and KO seems to think that denial and sniping at co-workers will bring success in November. Behaving this way will just ensure 8 more years of Repiglican rule. This clip doesn't show much of what Scarborough was saying before the "shovel" comment, but it seems he was just describing the Republicans' approach, and (accurately) mentioning McCain's poll ascent. Olbermann showed a lack of class here, and was needlessly obnoxious.

[Also, I'm mystified that my original post on this was suppressed/deleted. It was tame compared to much of what's posted here.]

[freaktown]

polls are meaningless! if polls counted for anything michael dukakis would have been president!

[IowaKid]

I like KO and will continue to watch him. I'm also glad that Rachel got her own show finally.

[Ozarks]

British PM Disraeli said: There are liars, dam n liars and statisticians, Mark Twain said: Figures lie and Liars figure. If Disraeli and Twain were alive today I think they would have changed those to:
"There are liars , dam n liars and PoW's. -- and-- Figures lie and Pow's figure.

[apoyo]

So glad I watched the convention on C-SPAN instead, no prima donnas.

[kimofAZ]

CHRIS - EXCELLENT JOB!! I love how you handled the woman with her bogus claims about Obama. Now, why can't all journalists keep people honest. That's all we want...honesty and calling on people who claim something and can't back it up with truth.

Good Job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PWMarvin]

Liberals should unhook from KO’s train and move as far away as possible. He’s clearly a hater, bigot and a phony liberal. It is easy to criticize Bush and his administration, which KO is very good at. But that does not make him a liberal.

Where ever he goes he comes into conflict with his fellow workers because of his own inflated ego, which drives his hate driven politics.

During the brutal Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, KO was more concerned about the hyperbolic comments from a drunken Mel Gibson. KO constantly accuses people of anti-Semitism at the drop of a hat, but then blames Christians for our current war policy. Several months ago, as one example, on his show I saw one of the most offensive things I’ve seen for a while. He was making fun of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which, as Jimmy Carter correctly points out, are the most oppressed people on Earth – worthy of only FOX News where KO used to work.

[UltraClassic]

KeithO is a showman, he is always on the verge of busting out laughing. I don't think he believes half of the stuff he says. His recent behavior is making BillO look tame. He is just a ranting freak that feeds into the MoveOn / DailyKos crowd.

[RobinSeattle]

If you want palpable hate, tune in to Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage The "hater" tag is just a schoolyard level label idiots use to try to deflect any criticism of them anyway.

The bigot charge is so ludicrous it isn't worthy of addressing. You have no argument, so you flail with emotionally charged words as an transparent tactic to try to put liberals on the defensive.

As for blaming Christians for U.S. war policy, Bush believes he is guided by God and has been backed by the Christian Right from day one. So that is fair game. It is funny that those who make fun of victimhood then turn around and claim it when people start ripping their nonsense to shreds. Moreoever, any religion, is merely an idea. It is not an ethnic group nor is it anything someone is born with. It is a voluntarily assumed.

On the Palestinians, you mean the folks who chose Yasser Arafat as their leader, the mass murdering now late leader of El Fatah? You mean the people who support blowing up tour buses as a method of debating policy with the Israelis? Talk about people you don't want to be associated with!

The Israelis do have their own bigotry, especially in their treatment of Sephardic Jews, but the Palestinians have created many of their own problems. And you know what? McCain and the GOP do not have neither the brains nor the policy wherewithal to solve that.

[PimpOmega]

Now now, quit making generalizations about Palestinians, otherwise you're just being racist.

[PWMarvin]

I'm an atheist and I dislike Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage much more than KO. As you should have noticed, I slamed FOX News in my post.

I know that a disproportionately large percentage of Christians support our aggressive war policy, but obviously they aren't the main force behind our war policy as KO implied.

Read some real history to learn the truth about Israel's behavior. It can't be defended.

Bigotry still is bigotry, and I know a bigot when I see one. If you support an extremely bigoted policy, you are a bigot. KO's a bigot.

[meltingpot101]

Mostly I like Keith, I'm glad that he has focused more on Sean Hannity lately. But when he alters his voice in mockery of someone else, he turn's into Charlie Browns teacher for me.

[PJay1]

That was a great line by Chris: "shovel to shovel"

ROFLOL!!!!

[divergal]

Tom Brrrrokaww is too old for this stuff anymore. He used to be a good commentator, watcher of the political scene, but the cobwebs are just too thick anymore. Has anyone noticed an inability to pronounce arrrrzzzz?

Please, retire already. With dignity.
And Joe Scabs? Off to Palookaville!

[lovethesinner]

Dump Scabs.

[e-mail]
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[Big0725]

Don't forget Rachel Maddow on 9/8 at 9:00 PM.

[longislandlol]

Matthews is becoming sharper-- love the way he cut Buchanan off right after Michelle's speech--it was very telling-- Buchanan has sprung forth this blurry church and state smoke and mirrors game the repubs win southern evangelicals with--- and Buchanan went too far --then Chris stated that Thomas Jefferson made sure we didn't have to inject God in the political arena-- Chris cut him off and they went to a commercial-- Bravo Chris!!

[tasukibeth1]

I saw that...it was amazing. I didn't think Chris had it in him.

[PJay1]

I agree.
He also handled the puma person very well.
The more he kept his cool and asked for substantiation of her claims, the more she lost HER cool.

[tjntn]

I'm glad you pointed out Chris' comment. He really did chop Buchanan off. I wish I could have seen Buchanan during the commercial break!

Has anyone noticed Buchanan is getting louder and louder and I don't just mean in the Denver outdoor setting. I think he recognizes their side is losing and feels like he has to shout out his message now.

[Ozarks]

I hit the mute button when Buchanan's lips start moving

[Shaddup]

Joey Scabs is just annoying.

[Ozarks]

He has to do something to make up for that bucket head he carries around

[jannielee]

I agree. he's also stupid and rude. why they keep him on that valuable morning time slot is beyond me. I just can't watch him (or Buchannan) anymore. I have to switch to CNN.

[Nitsua]

Tom Brokaw said that Obama supporters "are so besotted by him, they won't admit that he has any challenges". Almost every Obama supporter I know cannot understand why he is not going to win with 90% of the vote. They say that the only people not voting for Obama are idiots and racists.

If there is a true Achilles heal (beyond the obvious), this is it. We will not get him elected if we cannot understand why others (Hillary supporters, McCain supporters, Evangelicals, white men, etc) will not vote for him. Calling people racist to bully or shame them into voting for Obama will backfire spectacularly.

When people are pulling the lever or pushing the button, and see that no one is looking over their shoulder, they will vote for the person and group they feel most comfortable with, and there is nothing more uncomfortable than being in a room with a bunch of people that think you are a racist.

[NotMcCain]

That's an odd spin from Brokaw.

Has he not noticed how besotted the VAST MAJORITY of the media is with McSame,, whom they keep (falsely) telling us is a "maverick"?

Olberman and (sometimes) Matthews simply represent a different point of view from the rest of them ( and Scarborough and Buchanan would fit right in with FOX, CNN, ABC--just to give a few examples).

Guess that's uncomfortable for Tom to see, now that he's a wealthy landowner in Montana.

[Nitsua]

I am an Obama supporter, and the idea that Obamaniacs think Olbermann and Mathews are just a different point of view is what scares me. No one on Fox, including Bill O, even approaches the partisan commentary supplied by Keith and Chris.The fact that you don't see this leads me to believe that you are one of those that think only idiots and racists won't vote for Obama. Olbermann is more in the tank for Obama than Tommy Heinsohn is for the Celtics.
Losing this election because we have become zealots would be a tragedy.

[BARRY08]

you are right - this is what will happen - people will end up voting for Obama
but will not tell anyone because they are scared to be considered traitors......

[HadEnoughCrap]

Another failed politician that thinks he knows everything. His knowledge didn't do him to well before he became a comentator.
These guys just love to talk about the polls even after the polls have been proven wrong time and time again.

[zacher2005]

so Olbermann a failed sports guy should shut his mouth too when he uses polls?

[BAM47]

I think the polls are a lot like the Educational Testing Service. They give a test to lots of kids in the US and then they give the same test to select kids in Japan. When the Japanese kids do better, they pass it on to politicians who then lambaste the teachers and schools. But the playing field is not level and no one seems to want to challenge them. Pollsters release data but no one ever examines whether they used a fair model to get their data. We all know that they are not calling anyone with a cell phone and many people use only cell phones....so they aren't being called. That alone should skew the data, but no one ever takes them on. Remember the pollsters were the ones telling us a year ago that Hillary was so far ahead that no one should bother. And they also said the same about Guliani. Shouldn't their feet be held to the fire for missing those?

[iblis]

Joe is right. Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Aug. 23-25, the first three-day period falling entirely after Obama's Saturday morning vice presidential announcement, shows 46% of national registered voters backing John McCain and 44% backing Obama. Obamaman and Chris "I get a thrill up my legs when I hear Obama speak" Matthews dont even pretend they are in the tank for Obama. Earlier Chris Matthews on the day Biden was picked as the VP, dismissed reports of Hillary supporters still not being happy, and on the first day of the democratic party convention he was surronded by Hillary fans saying they were going to vote for McCain.

[NotMcCain]

The problem with Gallup is they skew results when they do "likely" voter polls. That allows them to eliminate new voters--who are overwhelmingly Democratic.

It's no coincidence that they do this--or that the MSM never bothers to explain the trick.

[JeanPaulSatire]

The other problem is that we don't hold true 'national' elections in the US. Instead, we hold state-wide elections and award electoral votes based on those results. This is why a candidate can have more popular votes than his/her opponent and still lose the election.

So a 'national' poll has only slightly more value than a poll of Québécois with respect to predicting who will be elected US president in November.