A Big Slip of Chris Matthews' Quick Tongue

As is my habit, I'm just watching Chris Matthews' Hardball.

His first panel consisted of the regulars -- Andrea Mitchell, chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News, and Chuck Todd, political director for NBC News .

After Tim Russert's death, much was made of the fact that Chuck Todd had been Russert's pick, his boy, and maybe the young man would at some point long down the road have been Russert's choice to succeed him.

(One can imagine that Russert also was looking to his son, Luke, to have a starring role. After all, Luke, who, as the world now knows, just graduated from Boston College, already had his own sports radio show with Meet the Press regular James Carville.)

As I watched Matthews, Mitchell, and Todd dissect the slip-up du jour -- McCain aide Charlie Black's comments to a reporter from Fortune that a terrorist attack in the United States before election day would be "a big advantage" to McCain -- I have the weird sense that I'm watching a tryout; that these colleagues and presumably friends, are being evaluated by the network honchos as candidates for the same job; Russert's.

I sensed that they all knew it. Mitchell was dressed even more elegantly than usual, and stumbled over her words more than usual. Todd, the best, coolest analyzer of politics, seemed a bit off his game. And Chris Matthews audibly groaned when he slipped, meaning to say that a tape coming out of the Osama headquarters just before the election in 2004 had hurt Kerry and helped Bush -- but saying, instead, "Obama."

From the look on his open, expressive face, Matthews seemed to realize that calling Obama by the name of Osama -- during a show in which one segment was titled "Obama's religion problems." -- was a serious mistake.

Comments

[jakie]

CHRIS MATTHEWS IS PATHIC HE IS A REPUKE AND THE WAY HE TALKS YOU CAN TELL THEY COULD GET SOME ONE BETTER THEN HIM I QUIT LOOKING AT HIS SHOW A LONG TIME AGO GIVE MADDOX HIS SPOT

[bayman]

Matthews was SHOCKED --SHOCKED, I say -- when a guest suggested on Wednesday that DHS manipulated color-coded alerts for political purposes. Tom Ridge is on record as saying that was the case. It's not the first time Matthews has been stunned by a suggestion of what the public commonly knows. He'd be horribly inappropriate as host of MTP.

[tyrdofwaitin]

I love Chris and what he does so well, but I don't think I'd like him on MTP. I like Chuck too, but I find him a little bland and boring as a personality. My picks are. Gwen Ifill, Rachel Maddow or Arianna Huffington. Any one would be DYNOMITE!

[biographer]

I'm Carol Felsenthal; I think that Chuck Todd is as incisive and articulate as anyone; the problem is that he seems almost stern, like an old man's young man, the guy who's a generation or so younger but seems older by temperament than the big mouths like Olbermann and Matthews. I've always enjoyed watching him for the information and analysis he imparts but at the same time he always seemed more suited to print, in which he has had a great run, including editor in chief of Hotline.

[booksnmore4you]

Matthews is clearly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but its good her corrected himself immediately.

[longislandlol]

It's Todd-- he's got the right stuff-- you need glibness, manners, smarts, good clothes, smooth looks, etc.. it's Todd-

[howard6117]

The more I've watched Matthews, the less I've liked him. The 'feeling going up my leg' comment by Matthews gave me a feeling in my stomach- that was about the last I could take of him. To compare him to Anne Coulter though,is a bit unfair; her injury is intentional. Mitchell, eh! A designer suit should put her over the top?! Matthews' and Mitchell's career resumes' are long enough that had either not been already slated to succeed, they shouldn't. To those who may argue Russert's bosses hadn't considered a successor with such a permature death, I remind you that we are talking about a profession that files obituaries of the living. Todd, because he is so polite and professional, might just be the velvet fist to replace Russert.

[Raymondf]

Can't stand Chris Matthews, but cut him some slack,everyone makes missteps even Obama and McCain. Chris is only human just like the rest of us.

[Ides]

Matthews made the same mistake a few months ago and responded in the exact same way. Andrea Mitchell always stumbles on Meet the Press and Hardball, it's just how she talks. Chuck Todd is always well-dressed to the point that Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews were taking light jabs at him on election night at 3:00 am (remember when he loosened his tie and everyone started cheering behind the cameras?)

Some peoples' cynicism knows no bounds.

[danproft]

Chris Matthews is no better than Ann Coulter. He's a carnival barker and a bully. He's a hysteric and a demagogue masquerading as a journalist. It would be an affront to the legacy Tim Russert took such great care to build for a smarmy, psuedo-intellect, pretend journalist like Matthews to be his successor.

Chuck Todd, on the other hand, would be a good selection. Very sharp. Not the same force of personality as Russert but a guy who knows both electoral politics and issues...better positioned and equipped to provide the kind of tough but fair interview that was Russert's calling card.

[mom2sons]

Chris won't get the job! He interrupts way too much!

[wizened]

I didn't see it but anyone can make a slip of the tongue, its not like he's Anne Coulter.

[onceler]

this doesn't quite seem like a complete post. put up the video, the look on his face about 1.8 sec. after he said it is pretty priceless. he went all ashen. he just blurted out "Obama headquarters", which doesn't even follow from meaning to say "Osama headquaters". what the hell would 'Osama headquaters' be? he should have been meaning to say Al Qaeda headquaters, right? where is this guy's brain at?

[fairwitness]

Terminal glibness has it's drawbacks. And when you are compelled to talk as fast as humanly possible while shouting over several other shouters, spinning and dancing so as not to offend your corporate masters or alienate your target demographic, you are liable to say some very stupid and thoughtless things.

Every night.

[brijit]

And you, of course, have never had a slip of the tongue. People who pretend to make this slip when they really are trying to but Obama down are despicable but no one really thinks that that is what Chris wes doing.

[NuttyProf]

Todd is too genial, too good to take MTP (and i mean that in a nice way).

[ConcernedCtzn]

I disagree. I think he would make every effort to be a moderator that Tim would be proud of. That would mean being cordial, but tough.