A Sublime Moment For Cable TV -- Chris Matthews interviewing Kevin James On Appeasement

Well, this might have been his finest hour. Chris Matthews I mean, confronting Kevin James in the presence of Mark Green on tonight's Hardball. The topic: what it means to compare appeasement, meaning Nazis and Neville Chamberlain in 1938-39 -- that exhausted neo-con trope -- to our current situation vis-à-vis Iran and etc. The exchange was pegged to Bush's political exploitation of Israel's 60th anniversary.

This moment was not sublime just because of what Chris said -- though that was plenty good. It was sublime because of the spur of the moment directorial judgment he made as Kevin began to rant. He decided to give this moron a great sweep of precious air time, not just seconds -- he gave him minutes. Unprecedented media roominess descended on this sound-bite fool as he tried to bluster his way out his self-constructed trap. Chris just kept repeating a simple question -- what did Neville Chamberlain actually do that constituted appeasement back in 1938-39? He just kept repeating that question.

Desperate Kevin huffed and puffed about Iran and terrorism and Obama until at last it became obvious: he had no idea. He knew nothing of history, nothing at all about the run up to WWII, the sequence of concessions, the Czechoslovakia deal -- he literally didn't know what he was talking about. The silent space hung 'round him as he shrank.

Let's give the cable hosts a break for a minute It can't be easy. Five nights a week for an hour -- and that's just the time you are on the air. You rush through whatever is in front of you, batting comments back and forth with guests like ping-pong balls -- it can't be easy to pick a revealing moment out of the flood and give it the attention it deserves. But Chris did it tonight. He transcended his medium. You have to see this exchange. It isn't just an insight into Kevin James personally -- it's the whole know-nothing culture of jingoistic absolute conviction he represents.

Click here for the clip.

Comments

[nyboomer]

The tendency in this world to forgive someone years of asininity in exchange for a few minutes of gotcha journalism amazes me. Matthews has spent years backing up the lose in chief and his incompetent administration. Now he shifts for a minute by letting a mental right wing midget hang himself in public and bluster that he truly enjoys the rope as it tightens around his neck. The idiot never saw the noose coming and when felt it tightening he adjusted it to better shut off his oxygen. That man is a quitessential right winger. Sound and fury signifying nothing or is it just plain old fashioned American ignorance?

[doug108]

It was a thing of beauty to see Matthews destroy this fool, and, by extension, every fool who has helped inject this distortion into the public debate. Bush and McCain pop readily to mind.

[longislandlol]

Brilliant analysis-- so many airheads that just act like attack dogs-- bravo-- Mr. Matthews-- and please run for higher Office Mr. Matthews; you are tough, smart, and have a knack for being a man of the people-- a voice of truth---

[booksnmore4you]

Kevin James is remarkably like Barney Fife here.

This deft insight is from The Andy Griffith Show, Season 3, Episode 23.

In it, Barney plays big shot like he's so smart about American history history until Andy, knowing, asks Barney, "What's the emancipation proclamation?"

Barney Fife's Kevin James-like reply is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5PVASQlJxA

[ObamaEdwards]

What I loved best about it was how it speaks volumes about the importance of education. This is a subject the GOP pretends to care about. But the Republican Party has done nothing to improve public education, and has gone a long way toward damaging what was already there. Today every parent who can afford it sends their kid to private school, because we all know how terrible public education has become. We need to build up our school again, and pay teachers a decent wage and give them great benefits and retirement. We need to urge parents to support public education, and get involved. Puffed up idiots like Kevin James only become successful because they are not challenged by smarter, more well read people like Chris Matthews. And, yes, I am watching Hardball from now on. Matthews rocks!!

[wm1066]

Maybe the idea of tripping these blowholes up will catch on and we will get an aggressive news program back. You know Chris M's ratings went up and the head office took notice.
Who is next? Anne?

[wm1066]

Maybe the idea of tripping these blowholes

[tel8034]

Kevin James is a prime example of what the neocons are really like ......... ALL HOT AIR WITH NO SUBSTANCE.

They cannot win an argument on its merits and truth, and prefer to rant and spew out misleading slogans and catch phrases.......... They believe the louder you scream and the more you repeat the latest Republican catch phrase of the day, that somehow the public will believe that they are actually smart and knowledgeable and actually right....... WHEN IN FACT THEY ARE WRONG ON ALL ACCOUNTS.

The republicans know that they cannot win the election if the ISSUES were the ONLY thing on the table, so true to form, they pull out the same old tired play book of slander, mis-truths, distortions, polarization, gender and racial biases.

People like Kevin James are the conduits that the Republicans use to spew their false and distorted messages.

Kudos to Chris Matthews for exposing the fact that Kevin James is just PLAIN DUMB and doesn't even know the details of what he is arguing about and defending, and that he is NOTHING BUT HOT STALE AIR.

[Grulg]

Oh exactly. I like Chris Mattews when he's standing for something. James there was an embarrassment.

[robXdion]

Don't forget how he embarrassed Super Bigot Pat Buchanan just the night before while the Buke veered from his usually sublime racists rants and just went all out.

[PerryWhite]

Kudos. It only took CNBC/MSNBC 10 years to find a guest less informed than Chris Mathews.

[MariaBuch]

It's so much more fun to watch the second time...when you know what Matthews is going to do to him.
He gave him just enoug rope to hang himself.
Now, the ante is up. Let's hope he, and others do more of this

[robiform]

I watched both the 5 PM and 7 PM editions of "Hardball" last night, because I thought that this was just an amazing moment in MSNBC's history. (Of course, the night before, Keith Olbermann had his best special comment ever which was pretty amazing, too!) For those of you who have seen the Hardball segment in question, didn't Kevin James remind you of Ann Coulter, with his constant yammering over the host and the other guests? As others have pointed out, this is a characteristic of the right-wing dipwads--just yell out the talking points and don't let anyone else put an opinion that's not the same as yours. Great work by Chris Matthews in exposing the ignorance of these idiots!

[mellene]

That's absolutely correct about a know-nothing but still they condemn what they don't know or understand. I'm beginning to wonder if you have to be uneducated in order to be a Republican.

[Oldchef]

I've gotta say I've been disappointed in Chris Matthews for quite some months. He, along with others, beat the Rev. Wright thing to death, was practically gushing about Rudy Giuliani in the early months until so much negative stuff came out that he couldn't ignore it any longer. He's had a man love thing with McCain, seems to have a hero worship thing and too inclined, like his buddy Tim Russert , to give McCain a pass on the "maverick" theme. All that being said, though, he is a student of history and politics and finally had his fill of bullshit last night with James. I was really glad to see him challenging one of these knee-jerk neocons finally, instead of just letting him bloviate like Pat Buchanan.

[iBgood]

I agree with you. It was a spontaneous shining moment for matthews. I respected him when he let it happen.

[ManofReason]

I actually caught this on the 5 o'clock show. That James guy came out seething and literally screaming about Obama, stating how 'THE TERRORISTS WILL BE EMBOLDENED' if he is elected president. 'OBAMA-HAMAS' and the same old tired Republican talking points. Nice job Mr. Matthews. Way to counter the cowboy rhetoric with factual knowledge that the source could not provide.

I would go out on a limb and say the President didn't know the answer either, his speechwriter provided it for him.

[tyrdofwaitin]

Great going Chris. This segment should be required viewing of Sen. Obama and all the Obama strategists. "Don't let the Republicans sling hash until that tell you what it's made of".

In my humble opinion, here are two things the Obama campaign can do to ensure winning in the fall:

1. As Michael Dukakis strongly recommended last evening ---- get the local precents in all 50 states humming now with voter registration, and

2. Operationalize the discourse: Appeasement? What's appeasement mean? Give me an example. Unless Uncle Joe or Cindy are close at hand, John McWayne's going to be as flustered as Kevin James was tonite. "Say Goodnight Gracie".

[jmpurser]

I've been running an interesting (to me) experiment lately. I ask right wingers how they know something that has them so worked up is actually true. I mean, there's no doubt they DO know. They'll tell you that right away and sneer at you for being so stupid that you don't know what "everybody knows". But then I ask them HOW they know. Show me. Give me a link. I can't find where that happened. Was there a study? How do you KNOW?

So far I haven't changed any minds. I also haven't found one single one who could tell me how he knew this fact he was so worked up over was anything but a fairy tale. Iraq had WMDs it was selling to the terrorists, Chavez is a dictator worse than Hitler, Obama demeaned white blue collar voters, Wright is a racist who hates America....

They're all quite certain they know all they need to know. And not one fact to be found.

Amazing.

And terrifying.

[arkgrfx61]

I've done that too...I've asked a right winger what good has this administration done - (this was 2 years ago - Thanksgiving)
Mind you, this is a good friend of my parents that I have known for the majority of my life.
It was a legitimate question and I wasn't being facetious or condescending (maybe my tone was; just a little) but I really wanted to know what someone from the "other side" thought.
Well, he proceeded to go off on me - basically saying I was rude, he would not dignify such a question with an answer, blah blah blah.
Me thinks he doth protest too much!

[Christian]

One must remember the bell curve and that 1/2 the population has an IQ under 100. add to that, many people are just to busy, disinterested, or set in their ways, to learn facts and study solutions. Which do you think the republicans tend to pander too?

[Khal]

I agree with your statement that many people are too busy, disinterested, or set in their ways to change their minds. I do not think that a person"s IQ necessarily makes them unable to change their minds, but it would make them easier to pander to. As a result, Obama has a much harder campaign ahead, as his arguments are more nuanced, and will require more than a bumper sticker slogan to explain. I think that after 8 years of ONLY bumper stickers, the American electorate is thirsty for these nuanced arguments (see the current Mississippi loss of a GOP seat they thought was very safe).

Part of the current problem is that too few people expose themselves to both sides of the argument. I listen to republican talk radio as well as Air America and Keith Olbermann. If you live in a republican conservative city, and get your news only from newpapers, you get only one side of the argument.

[chroipahtz]

If they're not interested, they shouldn't vote.

I was eligible to vote in '04, but I took a hard look a few days before the election and realized I just didn't know enough to try and assert my opinion. Integrity salvaged, and don't worry -- my vote for Kerry wouldn't have mattered in Texas anyway.

[jotunloki]

Including good old dubya

[peterg76]

Some people just can't handle reality.

[anelder]

Just to add my kudos for a great moment in television.

[RobertArend]

If comparisons are to be made, James proved himself to be more like Sgt. Shultz of that old "Hogan's Heroes" comedy: "I know nothing, nothing!"

Good for you, Chris Matthews. You do know history. Perhaps you will rehabilitate your journalistic integrity from this day forward to be always worthy of your face on TV. You let all of us see why sleazy talkradio is the perfect place for the face of Kevin James.

[66rock]

Chris, you are my hero of the day! I almost gave up on watching after the Rev Wright crap but this was actually TV at it's best. Calling the sound bite windbags on the facts. Hope it becomes a trend during this election season.

[silverball]

finally....chris "gotter dun"......thanx....

[Moose49]

Normally, Chris Matthews drives me bonkers but he was brilliant tonight.

[chefrasta]

Was LMAO at that idiot no that's to kind that dumbass Kevin James then reality hit me this man have people who actually listens to him.Chris was target tonight hopefully when John McCain does his show again he will be just as tenacious