Thought Theater

Good news comrades. Chris Matthews has made the journey to the dark side...at least according to Faux News and a number of the loyal "Repeat-Agains" in wingnut world.

Matthews, while attending an event celebrating the tenth year of Hardball, his MSNBC program, is reported to have remarked that the Bush administration had finally been "caught in their criminality".

For me, Matthews is a mixed bag...sometimes I appreciate his candor and other times it's all too apparent that he has an axe to grind. Regardless, the fact that Faux News decided to weigh in on "fair and balanced" reporting is priceless.

Knowing as much, I may actually have to pay more attention to Matthews in the future. Poor Fox News...they must feel like the last man aboard the SS George W. Bush. That could be a dangerous place to be for people who still think the world is flat.

From The New York Post:

October 6, 2007 -- So, should viewers of Tuesday's Republican presidential debate expect an exchange of views between the candidates - or between the candidates and one of the event's moderators?

It's a fair question, given the jaw-dropping comments Thursday evening from MSNBC blowhard - and scheduled debate moderator - Chris Matthews.

He compared this White House's behavior with another one, saying, "Spiro Agnew was not an American hero."

Of the vice president, Matthews said, "God help us if we had Cheney during the Cuban missile crisis. We'd all be under a parking lot."

By engaging in this sort of intemperate rhetoric, Matthews has effectively disqualified himself as an "honest broker" for this coming debate.

NBC needs to replace him as a debate moderator immediately. The job - by definition - requires an attempt to display objectivity going into an event.

Given Matthews' outrageous rhetoric - and if MSNBC doesn't haul him off the debate forthwith - the GOP candidates would be well within their rights to stay home, too.

Otherwise, viewers should just change the channel.

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Frankly, I think the Post is making a mistake in calling for GOP candidates to stay home or for viewers to change the channel. I think it will only send more viewers to their TV sets...and I think Matthews may have more credibility that the Post may realize.

If this trend continues, we may not be able to find a moderator for any of the debates. After all, these poor candidates are fragile little flowers who shouldn't be put to the test by a partisan pundit with an opinion...that would be cruel, wouldn't it?

I suspect voters are feeling increasingly insulted when networks, newspapers, and internet pundits tell them what to think and what to watch. In the end, aren't the debates supposed to get candidates to share their positions with the voting public? If not, what purpose do they serve?

The following video is a segment from Faux News where they discuss the "appalling" impartiality of MSNBC and Chris Matthews.

H/T to Cliff Schecter