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

***SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO***

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."

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Comments

[NYC07]

Hey maybe next time she see Putin peeking over the horizon she could ask him for a Back Blurb for the book.

[scorpioleidy]

I can picture Tina Fey reading from this book on SNL: "Deep Thoughts ... with Sarah Palin." Should be enough material to lead right into the 2012 election ... (Thanks, SP!)

[mypicasso]

It will be priceless. I can't wait.

[scorpioleidy]

I can picture Tina Fey reading from this book on SNL: "Deep Thoughts ... with Sarah Palin." Should be enough material to lead right into the 2012 election ... (Thanks, SP!)

[seakitty]

I guess this book deal isn't giving Chris that tingly feeling running up his leg, unlike the two books that Obama wrote about Obama's favorite subject -- Obama!

[beaupritchard]

Still out there throwing mud ehhhh ...

Chris will be the new host for MTP. That should give you a tingle somewhere.

[PlatosAcademy]

For all 12 people that watch that show.

[AgentMacGyver]

At least the idea of Obama writing a book doesn't require a suspension of disbelief.

[DaisyDooks]

Ouch!

[motherforpeace]

Obama wrote his own books. She isn't writing the book. There the difference and a big one at that.

A person with a journalism degree not writing her own book......­.....reall­y, doesn't that strike even you as odd?

[seakitty]

Um, she is running a state you know. She can't be like Mr. Present, um or did I mean Mr. President?

[roshni]

Obama is the favorite subject for a lot of people, myself included.

[sonshine]

Only smart people make the legs tingle whatever or whomever they write about.

"Barack is bringing intelligent back"--Yeah!

[me again]

6 schools, 7 years to earn a Journalism degree....­...she can't write.....­Palin is like a Pete the Repeating parrot toy.

[flacon]

It took me 6 years and 4 colleges and I'll match my intellect with most people. Palin haters see no good in her, which is sad.

[roshni]

Figures!
BWAHAHA!

[mamala4]

No, it's accurate..­.at least she hasn't displayed any good....ju­st greed, narcissism and ignorance.

[Chaiyya]

What good?

[DaisyDooks]

You know that schitt sounds funny, don't you? Seriously. You opened yourself up to be flamed. Thanks for the laughs, though.

[NevaforLeadership]

No. It's not a matter of Palin haters. It's a matter of ensuring that this vacuous, right to life, creationist and her dogma never makes it anywhere near the White House.

[mh01]

I think she should call it "I hate Palin". She could fill the book with all the nastiness Matthews and his ilk have barraged her with.

With a follow up about how feminists have rose to the defense of a woman tormented with sexist, intolerant, anti-woman, ad hominem. It will be called "the crickets of hypocritical so-called feminists"

[motherforpeace]

Funny how the Republicans are screeching about how everyone is ganging up on Sarah Palin, when they were the worst with Hillary Clinton and even Michelle Obama....a wife of someone. Sarah Palin was even one that participated with Hillary Clinton.

We all see your false outrage.

[mypicasso]

False outrage, victimhood, hypocrisy, greed, not willing to take any responsibility and much much more. This is the republican party of today. I love it!

[mh01]

Actually, if you look back at my posts, I was pretty adamant about leaving the obama family alone.

But by all means, if you approve of the way the media treated Palin, that's fine, it just lumps you into the second category of women who didn't care about how another woman is treated, unless she supports a liberal agenda.

Come on, you don't see the utter disrespect for Palin? She hasn't even written a book to criticize, but Mathews is already piling on a non-existant book, showing he contempt for the very concept of Sarah Palin.

Its fine for him to do that, just don't call yourself a journalist.

[roshni]

Your grammar is pitiful. That should be "how feminists have risen..."

[mh01]

Well shoot, i guess that makes my whole point mute (moot) right?

I guess its easier to criticize a typo than to address the point.

[sonshine]

no, she should call it "The big guy up there loves me so the rest of you can point out all my shortcomings, lies, hypocrisy, failed policies, lies and lies all you want"

[mh01]

Name one of each.

Lie-
Hypocricy-
Failed policy-
Lie-
and lie-

Bet you can't.

[NevaforLeadership]

I have no idea what you are saying.

but "how feminists have RISEN to the...."

[mh01]

Looks like you know exactly what I was saying. Apparently you know so well what I was saying that you were able to correct a little typo.

Now that we are done with grammar school, care to make a point that matters? Or are you going with the "it matters enough to take a meaningless lazy shot at him, but not enough to try to develop a full blown point"

[granitepaw]

As usual Chris Matthews is biased and uninformed. Anyone who has done the least bit of research on Governor Palin knows that she is a very gifted writer to go along with her skills as a debater and speech-maker. If Chris had read documents such as her "State of the State" address to the legislature in alaska, which Governor Palin wrote, he would see excellent journalism. Of course Chris would not know what excellent journalism is at this point in his career. He is too embedded in the MSNBC lack of journalistic integrity.

Governor Palin's book will be a best-seller for years.

[continentalshelf]

so will Superman comics

[highd]

Sarah did you sign up to write this???

[Dogwithoutaleash]

If she is such a gifted writer, then why do they need to hire a collaborator? As far as debating skills, she is merely a "yapper". That hardly makes one a good debater.

[DaisyDooks]

C'mon now, give her some credit. She can read the h-e-l-l out of a teleprompter.

[AgentMacGyver]

LOL @ "skills as a debater" when she can't even do a softball interview without embarrassing herself .

[Phoebe917]

hilarious.

[JustLeftOfRight]

Memoir? Oh joy, I've been dying to know about the inner workings of Wasilla City Hall and the college party scene at Hawaii Pacific University, no wait a minute, Northern Idaho College, no wait a minute, University of Idaho, no wait a minute, Matanuska-Susitna College. Phew. Well at least she can straighten that out.

[nextpres08]

LOL!

[mypicasso]

I do not believe, even for a minute, that she ever got a college degree. She's too stupid, even if the colleges (6, 7, 8, 9, and counting) that she went to were mickey mouse schools.

[Ira7]

The Title:

"How I Galvanized Independents and Republicans To Help Elect the First Black President.­"

[NoBlinky]

"And Progressed the Nation, Also"

[WTF1956]

Since when is it the place of a select few to decide what books should or shouldn't be written? That's for the marketplace to decide.
That's odd I really don't ever remember anyone on the left worrying about the feelings of the Palin family, why now? Is he for real?

[continentalshelf]

psssst! it's always been a select few deciding which books get published. It's called major publishing houses. and they appeal to the public's base natures. that's why we get books like these. sssshhhhhh­h....

[mypicasso]

Yes, and we should get Manson's memoirs, along with many other criminals' memoirs while we're at it.

[WTF1956]

You make my point , Major Publishing Houses are part of the Marketing process, Biased liberal commentators are not. Thank You.

[DaisyDooks]

Thank you. Take them to school, continental.

[weatherwaxx]

You don't know much about marketing, do you?

[mypicasso]

Weatherwaxx,

I certainly hope you're not talking about me, because I am the Marketing Director of a large very successful software company?

[mypicasso]

I agree with Chris, Palin is an embarassement. If the book is well-written, people will think someone else wrote it and it'll be panned. If it's poorly written, she will continue to be heavily criticized. She will also be heavily criticized for giving her power over to Katie Couric. Her victimization regarding these interviews makes her look like a shmouk and reminds me of George W. feeling vicitimized by intellectuals calling people who read books "fancy".

If the book actually is released, she could alienate the media by continuing to criticize them. Not a smart thing when you just wrote a book. She'll continue to get a lot of bad press, which is all she deserves.

[weatherwaxx]

If it's well-written, the Palin groupies will say, see, she's smart!

If it uses decent English, everyone else will know that someone else wrote it.

Either way, I'm not going to buy it.

[mypicasso]

Thank you weatherwoxx, spoken like a true thinker!

[OpalSky42]

Her right-wing fans will say it's magnificent no matter what it's like. Having heard her speak on TV a number of times, my thought is that if she writes it herself, and she writes like she speaks, heaven help her poor copy editor!

[liveasequal]

Palin writting a book: Milli Vanilli on steroids. "Girl You Know Its True"

[motherforpeace]

You used a very important word here. "Victimized" This is what she is good at, making herself out to be the victim.

It is the very thing that Miss CA and her both have down pat. I want to rename it The Beauty Queen Syndrome. If you do something wrong and people catch you, play the victim. It is such a disservice to all the women who work hard every damn day in competitive fields where they are the minority..­...and do it without complaint of...."eve­ryone's picking on me."

I was always an Obama supporter, but as a woman, Hillary knew how to fight and fight hard and on the occassions where it was extreme, then spoke out, but pointedly and not the constant moaning and groaning like Palin. I a lot respect her for that.

For a woman who claims to be a gun-carrying bada**, it seems that Hillary is a lot tougher than her.

[eposter]

"What an embarrassment" could be said about Matthew's last book Life's A Campaign.

[jaslyn]

Shouldn't Palin read a book before she writes one?

[omobob]

Great retort!

[charitabledonation]

as CM would say, "HA!"

[DaisyDooks]

Ha!

[Polichick66]

Shannyn Moore was on Olbermann and she suggested some names for the book:

"The Audacity of Hype" and, because Palin apparently enjoys CS Lewis, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"

[Irishfly]

"The Lyin', The Witch, and the Wardrobe"

[scorpioleidy]

Love it!

[DaisyDooks]

Ha! I tell you, HP has some of the best cynical posters.

[NoBlinky]

Excellent. My favorite yet!

[Polichick66]

Yes!

[jeliz]

It doesn't matter. 21% is not enough to win elections. This is truly a greed driven endeavour. Let's exploit her popularity to milk some money from the rubes who will buy this drivel. Doesn't their Christian Bible say something about money being the root of all evil? Amazing how they all want to be rich, rich, rich.

[mh01]

sort of like bill and hillary writing books? And Obama?

[blackfriday1978]

I don't remember Bill, Hillary or Obama preaching religion. Putting God's name left, right, front and centre....

Oh right, Bill, Hillary and Obama are NOT beauty queens or any other GOP.