Howard Fineman Discusses Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney On 'Hardball' (VIDEO)

HuffPost's Howard Fineman appeared Thursday on MSNBC's 'Hardball with Chris Matthews' to discuss Mitt Romney's announcement that he is running for president.

Fineman explained that as Romney was making his announcement, most of the media was more concerned with Sarah Palin's bus tour. "Most of the press corps was spending the time behind the risers trying to figure out where Sarah Palin was going, and what she was saying," said Fineman.

"These announcements now are empty pageants, okay," explained Fineman. "History has kind of passed this kind of pageantry by. But even by the standards of that, this was a non-event event here today."

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Comments

[zachmeister]

08:42 PM on 06/03/2011

Why liberals should stop hating and start liking Palin, a lot!
http://zeropointfourdotnet.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/a-surprise-heroine-for-the-left/

[Nat Irvin]

10:28 AM on 06/03/2011

Romney will not be the president of THESE united states....and its a very simple reason why. he cannot be honest with himself and the general public...in fact, he is a very decent man, is basically a mainstream kind of republican...but in order to be the republican candidate, he has to become someone other than himself and that's impossible to do when you are running for the highest office....he is trying to be somebody other than himself...if he were honest, he might have a chance...but in either case, he will not be President of the United States...

[Deli]

09:41 AM on 06/03/2011

Chris rips Romney's physical appearance? That is juvenile, off-base, and pointless. Yet he drools of the Palin even being able to walk. Get consistent, man.

So Palin, no mandates? Why then why do you support forced sonograms for women seeking abortions?

[Collective Numbness]

09:23 AM on 06/03/2011

Romney is Reaganesque. Obama is Carteresque.

[DennyCrane]

09:12 AM on 06/03/2011

The announcements are pretty silly, but nothing tops Newt Gingrich announcing that he's going to announce. And look how well his campaign has been going.

[tcnsrq]

09:09 AM on 06/03/2011

only 11 comments on this article....Mitt is old news. Tired.

[camelias and sweet tea]

07:45 AM on 06/03/2011

These formal announcements have become such B.S., further proof here. They played games by announcing to be announcing a big announcement and by time they make the announcement it is sooo boring.

[craig asia]

06:50 AM on 06/03/2011

It was a nice analogy that they used when talking about Sarah P being like a fan taunting a man throwing a free throw. Howard's line was also excellent.
I agree that Romney should just tell her to either run or sit down. Why is she there?
Politics are very strange in the US right now.

[Ohene]

04:41 AM on 06/03/2011

"Obama has failed America"? Is this the message Romney has for America?

No sir! Barack Obama has SAVED America. Every thinking person knows this, only the fools refuse to accept this fact.

If this is Romney's message to America, then he has NO NEW vision for America. It is members of his GOP who have failed America. They continue to recycle the same old worn out ideology: tax cuts for the wealthy.

[emma richmond]

02:33 AM on 06/03/2011

Mitt Romney want to Challenge the President, he first better look in the mirror at himself and he will find out that he's the one who failed America, Mitt have been a busy boy, people should investigate these candidates, the MEDIA want tell you things they sit on the stories, he and his Partner Bain Bankrupt 5 Companies one went Belly Up, this is no Propagranda there is so much you have do your own Research, he hired undocument immigrates from Guatemala to work his 2 1/2 Acre Residence and after they finished, they was sent over to his 5 son Homes to work and he don't believe in Amnest. ABOUT TWO WKS. AGO HE ATTACK THE PRESIDENT AND ACCUSED HIM OF THROWING ISRAEL UNDER THE BUS, ROMNEY THREW PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THIS COUNTRY UNDER THE BUS. IN 2007 ROMNEY AND HIS PARTNER BAIN STARTED CREATING JOBS OVER IN IRAN, AND TOHRAN WHILE AT TH SAME TIME DOING BUSINESS WITH ISRAEL, THEY WAS PLAYING BOTHSIDES, with the Iranian REGIME IN 2007 GO TO ROMNEY BANKRUPT AND ROMNWY LAUNCHES MITT. 3.0. Romney threw his people under the bus by laying off Private Sector Workers off for Profit. Romney filed the first Bankrupt in 2002. There are more: http://aztlan..net/russell_pearce_felon_son.htm Do your own Reseach we did. We are tired of everything come they mouth Obama this and that, when the are the Biggest Corrupt Crook.

[ballstein]

01:07 AM on 06/03/2011

The BP propaganda commercial at the beginning of the video is too perfect.

[Ponderus]

01:06 AM on 06/03/2011

Howard, Chris, and the rest are the new Village People.

[soundping]

01:00 AM on 06/03/2011

The US Constitution just isn't American enough for some political mercenary Baggers.

[jdmn17]

12:33 AM on 06/03/2011

Want to bet there'll be some payback coming her way? I loved the condescending "Good for him" like the beauty queen telling the ugly duckling she's glad she's going to the prom. Watch you back SP, Mitt has the big boys behind him and you might want to remember what the second team did to you last winter, anytime they want they can take you down and your tour is just giving them more fuel to add to the embers

[Paolo7219]

02:44 AM on 06/03/2011

Did you notice that Palin referred to Romney as "Former Governor"? Imho, this is a bad move for SP. Sarah Palin is the LAST person who should be discussing someone's tenure as governor. Think the Baggers will call her on it? Think the Baggers will ask the question, "Hey Sarah, what about YOUR term as governor? You know the one. The term as governor where you QUIT after two years?"....Nah, not gonna happen.

[dontomas]

12:28 AM on 06/03/2011

This take from Palin on mandates is so unrealistic, we all have state mandates and so does Alaska, I am sure she passed a few mandates. The requirment to have auto insurance, to not violate laws, to pay taxes if owed and on and on. Her statement that any mandate from government is not good for freedom loving people like her involves only the issues of Medicare and other issues important to her ultra right wing base. Besides, who cares what she thinks she is not a candidate, she is not a governor, she is just a private citizen like me.

[janalyce]

09:18 AM on 06/03/2011

She's a celebrity. In America today, no one ranks higher than a celebrity.

A celebrity can be dumb as a bucket of rocks, but as long as they can deliver eyeballs to any network, the network will feature them. Palin delivers eyeballs.....from both the right, where her adorers think she's the female Messiah, to the left, where people like us laugh our heads off at her.

She delivers ratings. And that means money to the media. And money trumps civic responsibilty every time.