Chris Matthews On Palin Book Deal: "What An Embarrassment"

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On "Hardball" tonight Chris Matthews sat down with Mike Allen of Politico and Jennifer Donahue of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics to discuss the news that Sarah Palin has signed a book deal. The panel agreed that it's part of Palin's attempt to rehabilitate her image after a disastrous series of interviews during the campaign trail, and Tina Fey's indelible impression of her on Saturday Night Live, gave the public a decidedly unflattering portrait of her.

However, Matthews seemed upset that she had even gotten a book deal in the first place. He opened the segment with this statement:

What is Sarah Palin up to? She's got this book deal; she's obviously not going to write it, they've already announced somebody she's going to collaborate on it. What an embarrassment. It's one of these "I told you" books that jocks do... Why do they do it like this? She can't write; we got a collaborator for her. What do you make of this?

Matthews also worried that a book would "rip the scab off" all the drama that has surrounded her family. Mike Allen agreed with Matthews but said that Palin wants to revisit all those issues in order to put her spin on it. Palin feels she hasn't gotten a fair shake in the media and this is way to correct the record.

While Palin will surely be able to get huge amounts of press when her book comes out, Matthews makes the good point that the questions that haunt you are not the ones that you give an honest if unpopular answer to, but the ones to which you should know the answer but don't. Matthews thinks these will be problems when Palin does press for her new book because she'll be asked questions like "How did you write this book? Did you write it by long hand, on a laptop? Or actually did you not write this?"

Matthews' ultimate advice to Palin is to play to her strengths giving speeches instead of "pretending to write a book."

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Comments

[Wileynight]

Let Palin "write" the book. As I said last year several times on Huffpo, give her enough rope and she will hang herself--which she promptly did. Now it seems she wants to hang herself in print. I'm looking forward to seeing how she will continue to hang herself after this book is published.

[dcjdjay]

Sarah Palin writing a book is about as credible as her daughter Bristol shilling for abstinence before marriage.

This entire clan is a national disgrace and a joke. They're beyond shameless. They make Bill Clinton look like Gandhi.

[452021]

So screamed Daily Kos readers Saturday in a post destined to fill your Sunday morning with a much-needed chuckle:
In the past few weeks, it has come to my personal attention that one cable or satellite company after another has been quietly moving MSNBC away from the news channel section of their lineup and into the premium section, or into the stratosphere of three and four digit channels.
As a result, when the ratings came out this week, it was no surprise to see how MSNBC is now a distant third behind CNN and FOX.
The hysterical conclusion:
If we don't do anything about this, we may lose MSNBC's liberal voice all together.
Oh the humanity.

[larmarch5]

If this is true, contact the FCC.

[scottyknows]

All the way to the bank, heh heh heh.

[cutesky]

No book...please, no book......we don't want no darn book!

[andersting]

Chris Matthews is schizophrenic when it comes to Sarah Palin. I think it depends on what head he's using to think with at the time. At times, he's in touch with reality and realizes Palin does not have the intellectual heft for the national stage. At other times, he acts like she is a serious and viable potential national candidate. If Sarah Palin were ugly, I don't think Matthews would acknowledge her (Palin's) existence. Chris at times is given to the sensational and loses his way as a serious journalist. The drool on his chin is usually an indicator. I like Chris, but I wish he'd stablilze regarding Palin.

[larmarch5]

True. His first evaluation of a woman's merit is her looks. He is sexist, tingly legs and all. He likes Palin's looks, disses her ambitions. He is shallow.

[ladyrefined2000]

hey , we all know chris has a problem with women.............

i just dont get it why he is so obsessed with palin.

who cares?????

it's all about his obsession with her..........not her.

[demigod]

God must want her to write this book, you know she lets God guide her through this life. I think I'm going to try that. I'll just do whatever the heck I feel like doing, say whatever I want to say, God must be guiding me, right ? All this time I've been trying to think for myself, sift fantasy from fact, understand implications, realize cause and effect - that's just too hard. I'll let God guide me, like Sarah does.

[Taiyo]

She wanted God to open a door just enough for her to find her way through it. Guess He told her that a book was her "door."

[glitz]

In Cairo, Egypt, the buses are loaded with people to the point they are hanging from the outside...there are no quotas, if you can get on..you do!! As the bus is moving, if people want to get off...they shout "in shah allah" and just jump. If they land in traffic, it's the will of God...if they land on top of a car, it's the will of God...if they make it, it's the will of God. Things are getting more and more similar here every day.

[kingmiller]

Sarah Palin is a non entity. Let's treat her like one, and she will go away.

[deeppeace]

Id|ots get book deals all the time. Let it go. There are more important things to attend to.

[Glocksf21]

I know what you mean, that Pelosi book was a joke!

[johncopeland]

I know what you mean as well. Wait until you read the book George Bush is writing entitled " How I ripped off America as President but wasn't impeached"!

[Cyclops0823]

for real...Obama got 2 or three. You must be right!!!

[rwext]

Schuster the other day on Carrie and now Chris on Sarah.... these two woman should pay these gusy for the PR

[Taughtology]

"That was 2003. Things look very different now."

Yeah, including Chris Matthews. Fair-weather friend, he

[plzchuteme]

I can't sing. Does this mean that I can "go platinum," by "collaborating" with someone who can? I could choose the songs. That should count for something.

[Kiwuck]

Good idea - but someone already did it, sorry. The were called Milli Vanilli

Why shouldn't Sarah Palin pretend to write a book? She's pretended to do everything else, so far

[DnDCfromChi-town]

Britney talentless Spears

[elr50]

She has pretended to be a governor , a beauty queen, a Christian, and a mother-none of which she did successfully.

The people of Alaska must be so proud-they should be totally embarrassed.

[TierraDelFuego]

Sarah, dahling, I want you to write the book. Tell us all about your personal family life. Tell the world the truth about how you and your unmarried teenage daughter were pregnant at the same time. It is very hard for the public to understand how you can be straight laced and and straight faced at the same time. You should move your entire family to Texas, no one would blink an eye.

[kelvinstinks]

I assume this will be a picture book since she can't read or write.

[Chi-townfool]

Joe the Plumber rote a book?