The Left's Cynicism Knows No Bounds
Chris Matthews seems to have a compulsion to show what a jerk he is:
MSNBC's Hardball host Chris Matthews suggested last night that the high point of President Bush's State of the Union Address - the emotional hug between grateful Iraqi voter Safia Taleb al-Suhail and Janet Norwood, mother of a Marine who died liberating her country - was staged by the White House.
The cynical host apparently first voiced his skepticism during a commercial break. His comments were immediately seized upon by Hardball guest, MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan when the show returned:
BUCHANAN: Well, I heard you talking, Chris. And I was a communications director. That was not a rehearsed moment.
I think Janet – that was one of the most moving things I have seen at a State of the Union address. That woman is Middle America. Her husband, I thought, was tremendously moving when he reached across and shook hands. There was nothing – there was nothing rehearsed about that. [END OF EXCERPT]
Matthews rolled a clip of the hug again, then accused Buchanan of "acting naive" for insisting that the hug wasn't staged. The exchange went like this:
BUCHANAN: I think we are too cynical in this.
MATTHEWS: She embraced the Iraqi woman.
BUCHANAN: I think we are too cynical.
MATTHEWS: You mean these things aren`t staged?
BUCHANAN: I mean, obviously, she was up there. Somebody got that letter and said, Mr. President, there's a wonderful example of the heroism and sacrifice in Iraq and how an American family treated it. Let's show the country this vignette.
And they put her there, but you looked at him shaking hands with the Marine. That was very natural and normal. That was not rehearsed.
MATTHEWS: The reason it would come to some people's thought that it might be partially rehearsed, in a sense, [is] that there's a selection process now for filling that balcony seating. So many of the people are seated up there because they represent a particular ethnic group or somebody who is in play politically or some symbolic group that they are trying to grab politically.
MATTHEWS: This is done so often, Pat. You are acting so naive about this.
Because Bill Clinton was phonier than a three dollar bill, and people like Matthews thought it was wonderful, they just assume that George Bush has to be as well, and the thing that angers them is that they think he hit a home run with it. They can't allow for the possibility that "The Hug" was spontaneous and genuine.
It was real according to Mr. and Mrs. Norwood:
The mother of a Marine who died liberating Iraq and who provided the emotional high point of Wednesday night's State of the Union Address when she hugged a grateful Iraqi voter sitting in the gallery, denied Thursday morning that the unforgettable episode had been staged, as several left-leaning commentators have alleged.
Appearing with her husband, Bill, on ABC's Good Morning America, Janet Norwood, mother of Sgt. Byron Norwood, was asked by host Diane Sawyer whether the embrace was pre-planned. The exchange went like this:
SAWYER: It was such a moving moment for everyone, including clearly the president, in the room last night. Safia al-Suhail, whose father had been killed under Saddam, and who had held up her finger with ink on it to show she had voted for the first time in her life, was sitting in front of you.
First, did you know she would be there? And did you know you were going to lean over [and hug her]?
MRS. NORWOOD: No. We had no idea who was going to be there. We met as we went in the door [to the gallery]. She turned around and introduced herself. I asked her if her finger was purple and she held it up and showed me that it was. And I just grabbed her finger.
It would have made our son so proud to see the success of elections in Iraq.
MR. NORWOOD: We didn't know about her dad until something was mentioned. But it certainly enhanced our opinion of her. She was a very, very fine person.
MRS. NORWOOD: She thanked us for our son's sacrifice and made sure we knew that the people of Iraq were grateful for the sacrifices that were made, not just by our son, but by all of them.
SAWYER: And what did you say to her?
MRS. NORWOOD: I just told her how happy we were that the elections were successful and told her that our son would have been pleased.
MR. NORWOOD: Byron really believed that the Iraqi people deserved a chance to take ownership of the concept of freedom. And they certainly proved that they can do that now. So he would have been very pleased.
Will that be good enough for Chris Matthews? Of course not. The Norwoods are "red" state people, and as such might just as well be from outer space as far as "blue"sters like the Hardballer are concerned. They don't understand "realness." And really, they can't afford to indulge in it, because whenever a lib does so Americans end up seeing the ugliness of a Ward Churchill, a Ted Kennedy, a Barbara Boxer, or a Janeane Garofalo, the latter of whom went on MSNBC's After Hours and equated the "Inked Finger" show of solidarity with Iraqi voters with the Nazi salute.
I can think of a number of finger gestures to respond with, but perhaps it's best to let Arthur Chrenkoff's retort suffice:
Garfofalo's own idea of solidarity with the Iraqi people is fighting tooth and nail to keep Saddam in power. Had her efforts succeeded, the January 2005 election would have returned a 99.8% vote of confidence in the Great Leader.
Keep on practicing that salute, Janeane; it suits you well, sister.
MSNBC's Hardball host Chris Matthews suggested last night that the high point of President Bush's State of the Union Address - the emotional hug between grateful Iraqi voter Safia Taleb al-Suhail and Janet Norwood, mother of a Marine who died liberating her country - was staged by the White House.
The cynical host apparently first voiced his skepticism during a commercial break. His comments were immediately seized upon by Hardball guest, MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan when the show returned:
BUCHANAN: Well, I heard you talking, Chris. And I was a communications director. That was not a rehearsed moment.
I think Janet – that was one of the most moving things I have seen at a State of the Union address. That woman is Middle America. Her husband, I thought, was tremendously moving when he reached across and shook hands. There was nothing – there was nothing rehearsed about that. [END OF EXCERPT]
Matthews rolled a clip of the hug again, then accused Buchanan of "acting naive" for insisting that the hug wasn't staged. The exchange went like this:
BUCHANAN: I think we are too cynical in this.
MATTHEWS: She embraced the Iraqi woman.
BUCHANAN: I think we are too cynical.
MATTHEWS: You mean these things aren`t staged?
BUCHANAN: I mean, obviously, she was up there. Somebody got that letter and said, Mr. President, there's a wonderful example of the heroism and sacrifice in Iraq and how an American family treated it. Let's show the country this vignette.
And they put her there, but you looked at him shaking hands with the Marine. That was very natural and normal. That was not rehearsed.
MATTHEWS: The reason it would come to some people's thought that it might be partially rehearsed, in a sense, [is] that there's a selection process now for filling that balcony seating. So many of the people are seated up there because they represent a particular ethnic group or somebody who is in play politically or some symbolic group that they are trying to grab politically.
MATTHEWS: This is done so often, Pat. You are acting so naive about this.
Because Bill Clinton was phonier than a three dollar bill, and people like Matthews thought it was wonderful, they just assume that George Bush has to be as well, and the thing that angers them is that they think he hit a home run with it. They can't allow for the possibility that "The Hug" was spontaneous and genuine.
It was real according to Mr. and Mrs. Norwood:
The mother of a Marine who died liberating Iraq and who provided the emotional high point of Wednesday night's State of the Union Address when she hugged a grateful Iraqi voter sitting in the gallery, denied Thursday morning that the unforgettable episode had been staged, as several left-leaning commentators have alleged.
Appearing with her husband, Bill, on ABC's Good Morning America, Janet Norwood, mother of Sgt. Byron Norwood, was asked by host Diane Sawyer whether the embrace was pre-planned. The exchange went like this:
SAWYER: It was such a moving moment for everyone, including clearly the president, in the room last night. Safia al-Suhail, whose father had been killed under Saddam, and who had held up her finger with ink on it to show she had voted for the first time in her life, was sitting in front of you.
First, did you know she would be there? And did you know you were going to lean over [and hug her]?
MRS. NORWOOD: No. We had no idea who was going to be there. We met as we went in the door [to the gallery]. She turned around and introduced herself. I asked her if her finger was purple and she held it up and showed me that it was. And I just grabbed her finger.
It would have made our son so proud to see the success of elections in Iraq.
MR. NORWOOD: We didn't know about her dad until something was mentioned. But it certainly enhanced our opinion of her. She was a very, very fine person.
MRS. NORWOOD: She thanked us for our son's sacrifice and made sure we knew that the people of Iraq were grateful for the sacrifices that were made, not just by our son, but by all of them.
SAWYER: And what did you say to her?
MRS. NORWOOD: I just told her how happy we were that the elections were successful and told her that our son would have been pleased.
MR. NORWOOD: Byron really believed that the Iraqi people deserved a chance to take ownership of the concept of freedom. And they certainly proved that they can do that now. So he would have been very pleased.
Will that be good enough for Chris Matthews? Of course not. The Norwoods are "red" state people, and as such might just as well be from outer space as far as "blue"sters like the Hardballer are concerned. They don't understand "realness." And really, they can't afford to indulge in it, because whenever a lib does so Americans end up seeing the ugliness of a Ward Churchill, a Ted Kennedy, a Barbara Boxer, or a Janeane Garofalo, the latter of whom went on MSNBC's After Hours and equated the "Inked Finger" show of solidarity with Iraqi voters with the Nazi salute.
I can think of a number of finger gestures to respond with, but perhaps it's best to let Arthur Chrenkoff's retort suffice:
Garfofalo's own idea of solidarity with the Iraqi people is fighting tooth and nail to keep Saddam in power. Had her efforts succeeded, the January 2005 election would have returned a 99.8% vote of confidence in the Great Leader.
Keep on practicing that salute, Janeane; it suits you well, sister.
posted by JASmius at 11:38 AM
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