Chris Matthews Backpedaling Non-Apology 'I'm VERY Proud I Did It'

[tomm2thumbs]

Run time: 01:17 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iwJDAV-qZQ   Posted on YouTube: January 28, 2010 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: January 28, 2010 By DU Member: tomm2thumbs Views on DU: 2435

 
Matthews responds to his own 'You know, I forgot he was black tonight...' comment from earlier in the evening...

Transcript:

Rachel: Hardball's Chris Matthews...

Chris: - and can I say one more point.

I think something that I'd mentioned earlier tonight, and I'm VERY proud I did it. And I hope I can say it the right way. You know, this country's been... and I grew up in a country that was driven apart by race, right until the 60's. You couldn't have a black member of the United States cabinet. There were no black cabinet members in the Kennedy administration.

Uh, it has been such a big part of our life in big cities, this sort of ethnic debate/ethnic fighting... and then to see a President of the United States who is African-American... I was thinking tonight, 'this isn't even an issue tonight'.

How far we've come in just a year where it was a campaign issue in some parts of the country, it was talked about as something that would hurt him, and it wasn't in the room tonight. You could feel it wasn't there tonight - and that takes leadership on his part to get us beyond these divisions. Really 'national leadership', and I felt it wonderfully tonight, so it was almost like an epiphany, and I hope it's true. I hope what I saw is true. That we've gotten beyond it - at least, well, in the 'presidential level' I think. It's still going to be out there in American life, but I think he's done something wonderful. I think he's taken us beyond black and white in our politics. Wonderfully so in just a year. I think.

Rachel: Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Hardball...

Chris: And I'm lovin' it.

Rachel:... who is both fun to talk to and a big thinker on these things and willing to talk to talk about stuff that's hard to talk about sometimes on TV.

Chris: It is.

__________

breaking news: Matthews awards 'Best White Speech By A Black Man' Award to Obama

clip of his earlier comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMxVakssDdI

[tularetom]

1. Rachel wasn't buying it

She said all the right things at the end but her expression told a different story.

[tomm2thumbs]

2. is 'suchatwat' a word? Cuz he is one.

backpeddling isn't pretty - especially when one is riding their unicycle in the nude. Apparently he has learned the 'non-apology, apology' from too many politicians floating through his door and tries to wing it with the best of 'em.

[Syrinx]

3. I don't think Chris Matthews is racist at all

And the reaction to his comment last night here on DU is pretty silly. Chris is obviously in love with the sound of his own voice, as anyone who has ever watched his show knows. And he obviously lacks an internal censor. That is, he often speaks without thinking much first. His original comment was kind of clumsy, obviously, but pretty much the opposite of racist. He was simply talking about how, after so much had been made in the media about having the first black president, that he (Matthews) and so much of the country simply see him (Obama) as the president. Period. He's not the black president. He's not the white president. He's just the damn president. Of all the things to get outraged about in this world, this country, at this time, the supposed racism of Chris Matthews is very low on the list. If you want to talk about Pat Buchanan on the other hand...

[jefferson_dem]

9. +1.

I totally agree with you.

[Bosso 63]

11. Me too.

[StopTheNeoCons]

17. +2

[peoli]

20. +3

[PatSeg]

24. That's the way I saw it as well

Matthews often speaks without engaging his brain first. I knew what he meant, but he expressed it poorly, hardly the first time for Matthews.

[Loudmxr]

4. He wasn't thinking and he told the truth. I love it when people do that.

I must say I have to agree with Chris. Maybe its because I live in Los Angeles County the most diverse place on the planet. But more than occasionally I forget about race.

Then there are times when I remember it. I am prejudiced. I am a bigot. We all are. Anyone who denies it is lying. We all have to stomp out that bigotry in our minds to make this a better world. And I am doing my part to make that happen. :hi:

[Kahuna]

12. Here here!!! We all have bigoted thoughts. But it is easy enough to

denouce them to ourselves instead of letting them fester and grow. :toast:

[TicketyBoo]

5. I understand that

his heart was in the right place. He just kind of stuck his foot in his mouth about it.

Chris was expressing a pride in the progress of attitudes about race in this country which allowed for the election of Barack Obama and acceptance of him as our president. It was a clumsy expression of that pride.

[spicegal]

6. I understand what CM was trying to say, and certainly in no way think he's a racist.

However, it came across as rather odd and awkward. I was cheering for Obama (and before the speech literally praying for him). It was a great speech, and the color of his skin was the last thing on my mind.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. The fact that he brought the subject up at all

belies his belief that things are post-racial. Did he ever comment about forgetting that Clinton, the self-described purported "first Black President", was White?

[stlsaxman]

14. One key word that Matthews DIDN'T say was "almost". Inclusion of that single word would have said

volumes about his views. Yes- it's a nuance... but it's a major difference and one that endears me to him for talking about it.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. It's irrelevent.

The fact that he focused on the President's race at all, no matter how "nuanced", is why so many agree that we aren't and won't ever be "post-racial" for a long time.

Tweety's blurted out remark, to many of us who ARE AAs, essentially verified that deep down and in the sub-conscience of too many in this country, there exists some standard of decorum and/or oratory that = "White", which is set as the "norm"... And since most of Obama's SOTU speech seemed to have garnered kudos by viewers, then he obviously wasn't "talking Black", which is not considered by people like him as the "norm" or "universal" in terms of acceptance of the content of the speech. This is like Biden's idiotic "clean and articulate" comment.

This is the same sort of pathological brain-washing that this society has put on the citizens of this counntry that has lead to similar complaints of Black children claiming that "studying is acting White".

[spiritual_gunfighter]

8. He is an idiot

and I think he is going to say something one day that gets him fired. I was just as pissed when he said earlier in the evening that the senate could pass the health care bill through reconciliation. Didn't he berate Alan Grayson last week for saying the exact same thing?

I can't stand this guy.

[Kahuna]

10. Oh brother. Is this the latest "progressive" poutrage? Give me a break. nt

[big david]

13. i use to watch this guy

then i realized that like most shills he is capable of saying anything without foresight or substance.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

15. I Loathe Tweety....I cannot even listen to him never mind ever watching his puss!

[BennyD]

16. I think CM is an idiot. n/t

[Blue State Bandit]

18. OMG! Could we save the righteous indignation...

for racists please? Love him or hate him, Matthews was doing what Obama had challenged the country to do in his speech on race in the primaries.

As matter of fact, I thought it had to be said out loud as well. I signifies another brick falling from the wall we call racism.

[Don Draper]

19. Chris Mathews may be annoying, but he is not a racist

His words just came out the wrong way. He should have clarified himself, but there is no indication that he is a racist or prejudiced against black people at all.

[butterfly77]

22. When Tweety was making his comments about..

the President's race this is what most blacks mean about some in this country and in particular the republicon party and not excluding some Dems too but,the main problem the President has had is that they can't just look at him as being a man they like to put all of their false sterotypes on him and then say blacks are using the race card when they call them out on it.

As we see with the ACORN/watergate O'keefe and company,they still think that a pimp looks,dresses and acts like they did in the 70's and that this is what all black people do. Anything that relates to black people they use and they think black people can't see it. Look at the republicon response last night, blacks on full display when we never see it.

Glenn beck and Slannity now regularly have audiences full of black republiCONs,who they use to tell white AMerica who blacks are. Blacks are just like every other race but after all of these years some can't see that.

Tweety,mike Barnicle and others think that the pubic can't see what they are doing. They try to tell everyone that it has nothing to do with race but,just look at the teabaggers they really want to say NIGGER but,DICK ARMEY and the crew tell them to tone it down.

They seem to think that they are the majority in this country they are not just pissing off most blacks excluding Slannity's audience who think that they talk for most blacks just like the media thinks Sharpton,Jesse or others speak for all blacks. Do all whites speak for all whites?


What they fail to realize is that they are pissing off Hispanics,Arabs,Asians and many others just because you don't hear them doesn't mean they aren't listening. Now, these teabaggers claim they want a revolution do they really know who they will be fightin.

This country is multicultural there are many of mixed race will they be killing their own families just because they don't like that there is a black man in the whitehouse. These people are so stupid they would rather have a dumbass like Bush than someone who is trying to do the right thing no matter what his color..


Now,what do they think all other races think when they see them acting as if only caucasians are smart enough for every job they deem as important. Many,of all races look at who is running our country and say " How did these dumb bastards get into office" Something I say everyday.

[Umbral]

23. I don't buy it, Mathews goes out of his way to point out Obama's race in those MSNBC promos...

"We're talking politics now" Race is prominent component is his current man-crush - it's just another example of Mathews and his obsession with political power. How much longer will MSNBC be willing to let this guy's twisted psyche unravel on camera?

[tomm2thumbs]

25. very true - his one hour amnesia comment was pretty useless given his own chatter on it

he obviously just said too much, and went into damage control almost immediately once he heard what slipped through his lips. Slips are an eye-opening thing.

[vanbean]

26. I bought it. I don't think he was backpedaling at all.