Senator Watson's performance on MSNBC hurts Obama

I dont think that was all that bad (3.00 / 1)

Just correct.

The vast majority of people dont know what Obama has accomplished.

(Quite frankly neither do I)

But that is OK. He brings hope, change and charisma which is all you need in a presidential election. And he has it all.

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by: johncoby @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 09:24:16 AM CST

great ethic buckaroo (0.00 / 0)

nice to see you jumping on board with hacks like matthews when it's convenient

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by: billydanielus @ Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 01:26:18 AM CST

[ Parent ]

holy schnikeys (0.00 / 0)

That was one of the funniest and most painful things I've ever seen.  The craziest part was the Clinton supporter bailed him out!! When your opponent is melting under the spotlights, you don't throw them an umbrella.

Someone needs to teach him the old "I'm sorry, I can't hear anything in this earpiece".  He would have been far better off staring blankly at the camera and acting like he couldn't hear anything.

That clip has REALLY long legs.

It actually got a lot better near the end, but the first 45 seconds were pure agony to watch. I wanted to yell out answers to the screen to try and help.

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by: colin @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 09:27:28 AM CST

Matthews is a jerk (3.00 / 1)

I'm a Hillary supporter but Matthews was over-the-top and wrong in his rudeness.  MSNBC has been awful this primary season with its tackiness.  They are making Fox News look professional.

I have nothing but respect for Kirk Watson and have known him for over 20 years.  I will vote for him no matter what office he runs for and would hire him in a heartbeat if I needed a lawyer.

Chris Matthews, on the other hand, is what's wrong with American politics -- the nastiness and the tacky insults.  Sad to say that I've seen some of that on this board.  Let's act more like Kirk and less like Matthews.

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by: TeamTexas @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 10:18:31 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Mattews is a jerk (3.00 / 1)

When the blogs refer to him as "tweety" it's not just the color of his dyed hair. It's because of his hot air, full of himself manner. Plus he's a lightweight on facts as well.

Plenty of us would be caught off guard by that attack dog, no matter how prepared we were.

But at least Watson can laugh at him self:

Postcards from the Lege blog 2/20/08
Watson: was it just a bad dream?
(snip)
Watson said his strikeout on Mathews' repeated query on Obama's legislative accomplishments brought to mind the joke about the deer caught in a truck's headlights. The punchline has the frozen deer saying: "Lord. Lord. Ford!"

Reminded that Mathews said on the air that Watson obviously had nothing to say, Watson laughed. "Can you imagine Kirk Watson with nothing to say? And you wonder why I think it was just a dream."

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by: sonia @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 10:31:31 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Proves Watson Has Class (3.00 / 1)

Great response by Kirk.

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by: TeamTexas @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 10:51:29 AM CST

[ Parent ]

matthews is a beast (0.00 / 0)

On one hand, he doesn't let politicians just slide by with b.s. without making them look foolish, but on the other hand he can be brutal and distract from the real debate on the issues and make it more about him than the topic at hand.

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by: colin @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 11:13:13 AM CST

[ Parent ]

OK (3.00 / 1)

Yes, Senator Watson made a mistake. One he'll learn from, I'm sure, as will others. But this doesn't change any number of things (including Obama's wins last night), so Texas Clinton supporters should be wary of celebrating a Pyrrhic victory -- especially at the expense of one of our best Democrats in the Legislature.

Matthews was a hack before this, against Clinton. Clinton supporters were rightfully upset about his being a hack. Matthews was a hack last night, against Watson. I'm going to be impressed with the Clinton supporter who is not hypocritical.

I've called out gasbags like Matthews and Russert before, and I do so now. Stunt journalism is pathetic.  

Now, a very great man once said that some people rob you with a fountain pen.

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by: Phillip Martin @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 10:55:46 AM CST

Pink Lady (0.00 / 0)

Eileen at ITPT called Matthews a "blowhole" just as he's always been. No wonder I respect her so.

Now, a very great man once said that some people rob you with a fountain pen.

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by: Phillip Martin @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 11:29:55 AM CST

[ Parent ]

isn't that (0.00 / 0)

the kind of behavior you shun on this blog?  You should be consistent in condemning personal attacks on public figures.  Now, as a Clinton supporter and someone who is disappointed in the entire MSNBC treatment of her this election cycle, I think Mathews has been terrible.  But I don't see how you can criticize him last night.  He asked Kirk a plain and simple question, one that should have been a softball, no a wiffleball, for any prepared surrogate.  When Kirk tried to redirect away from teh question, he pressed him (in an abrasive manner, yes).  This exchange seemed entirely rooted in substance to me, unlike previous MSNBC attacks on Clinton such as calling her daughter a prostitute.

Again, as a Clinton supporter, I don't take this as any kind of "victory."  Victory is won at the ballot box and things have been pretty grim on that front lately.  I'm actually quite saddened that the best choice for President is getting buried by a tsunami wave of platitude.

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 17:01:31 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I don't like Matthews (0.00 / 0)

but all he did was ask him to name one legislative accomplishment?

Matthews is a complete hack and I would love to see him fired but it seems like a legit question.

Gotcha journalism, however, is no good. But because of people's questions about Obama's substance, this seems like a legitimate question to me.

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by: David Mauro @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:08:15 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I would bet that 80% of Clinton's endorsers couldn't name any her legislative achievements either (0.00 / 0)

I'll be honest and say the only legislation-wise from any of the candidates that ran that I can name are McCain's immigration, campaign funding and anti-torture legislation, Ron Paul's votes against budgets and all that, and Kucinich's support for troops out immediately cut the funding legislation.  Oh and Hillary and Edwards voted for the authorization to use force in Iraq

Knowledge of the candidates legislation achievements, votes, and failures is uncommon with the exception of Senator McCain, and even with him it's only two or the items.

"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."- James A. Baldwin

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by: Timothy @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 12:21:52 PM CST

80% (3.00 / 1)

of voters are probably uninformed, you're right.  But these voters don't get the opportunity to go on national t.v. and shill for their candidate.  Kirk Watson is a public figure and should have known to do his research.  It's not like the question was hard -- shouldn't a surrogate at least know some basic information about his/her candidate?  I know Kirk only endorsed Obama a week ago (after supporting Edwards), but this interview is symbolic in representing how light on substance the recent wave of obamamentum really is.  I doubt Kirk Watson endorsed Obama out of any deeply felt conviction, he probably just saw the wave of momentum and decided to ride it.

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 16:48:56 PM CST

[ Parent ]

DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU (0.00 / 0)

Go here.  Pick what you like and be ready to spout on cue.  
.  

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by: Grand Moff Texan @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 13:10:53 PM CST

Get Ready for November Obama Supporters (3.00 / 1)

If, as it appears, Barack wins the primary then we all better be ready to rattle off something the man has done during his brief tenure in office.  

I said it before, with Hillary we know her negatives...there are not many surprises the Repubs can shock us with.  Barack, on the other hand, has enjoyed this honeymoon over the last 60 days that will end the moment he is the nominee...the attacks will be plentiful, impactful and in some cases valid.  

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by: Yosef @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 13:36:12 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Watson (0.00 / 0)

Watson is a great senator.  I've heard him speak in small group settings a couple of times, and have been very impressed.  

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by: Sicembears @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 13:33:23 PM CST

Watson is a good senator (0.00 / 0)

on state issues when compared to the rest of the lot.  But he has plenty of history in Austin of acting in non-progressive ways -- consider his leadership of CAMPO over the last year.

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 16:50:30 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Missing Molly Ivins (0.00 / 0)

I felt sorry for the good Senator, but couldn't help thinking that Molly Ivins would have loved it! Matthews has no clue about the culture of the Texas Senate. He's made such misjudgements before. Olbermann tried to pull him back into reality.

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by: pmct @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 15:58:20 PM CST

huh? (0.00 / 0)

what does Mathews' question have to do with the culture of the Texas Senate?  I'm not aware that Obama served in that august body.

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 16:52:14 PM CST

[ Parent ]

huh? (0.00 / 0)

what does Mathews' question have to do with the culture of the Texas Senate?  I'm not aware that Obama served in that august body.

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 16:52:14 PM CST

[ Parent ]

jeez (0.00 / 0)

sorry about the double posts.  the mouse on this computer has a sticky button.

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 17:03:58 PM CST

Obama's legislative experience (0.00 / 0)

An overview Obama's record in the Illinois Senate:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepa...

For his Senate record - see

http://obama.senate.gov/

see the links under "On the Issues"

you can also search Library of Congress THOMAS for other bills he has sponsored

http://thomas.loc.gov/

and for committee reports etc.  

Since many freshmen Senators get to do very little (the nature of the Senate - he has been remarkably active - and his backgound in Illinois is certainly goverment experience.  Actually - work on the State level is the best training one can have - since you are in much closer contact to constituents and their needs.

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by: Deoliver47 @ Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 18:40:57 PM CST

Look At His Voting Record - They're Not Limited On That... (0.00 / 0)

Look At His Voting Record - They're Not Limited On Voting in the Senate.

Hillary was very junior when she was on the Armed Services Committee and accomplished a lot.

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by: Sean123 @ Sat Feb 23, 2008 at 08:27:19 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Making Hillary Look Great? (0.00 / 0)

He did't have to make Hillary look great, because she is great as it is.

You can tell that Obama was borrowing positions all throughout the debate from Clinton.  Whenever she spoke first, he is like I agree, but I would add two things, which if you listened you will see it's the same thing she just said.  Also, when he spoke first, and she responded, he wanted a chance to respond to use the same reasons that she just spoke of.

This goes to show that he is always borrowing and recycling from other individuals.  And then he is supposed to be a candidate for change?

Come on now.

I'm not attacking the guy, I'm just pointing out the obvious.

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by: Sean123 @ Sat Feb 23, 2008 at 08:23:43 AM CST