Thanks to the power of TiVo, I can share what passes for reporting on MSNBC, particularly the professional detachment </sarcasm> shown in this exchange between Campbell Brown and Chris Matthews.
Matthews: Campbell, I just saw the president tonight. It was almost like somebody said to him as they were developing this speech weeks ago, "stick to your strengths, Mr. President. 9/11 is still your baby. People trust you. They think of you as a man who came back from that horror and led us back to self-confidence. Talk about it a lot tonight."
Letting the "9/11 is still your baby" slide, did it escape Matthew's attention that most Americans don't trust him? I suppose he must be blinded by all that shining nobility. And Brown's response? It's hard to say which was worse...the question or the answer.
Brown said:
Yeah, and I think... we're here in Sanctuary Hall, Chris, which is as you know essentially the spin room after the speech. And I think that that was one of the things that struck me. Umm..is that Democrats seemed relieved in a sense that he focused so much not on terrorism but brought up issues like healthcare and energy because that's where they think they have much more of a fair fight. They do not want to fight him on terrorism. It's been a loser for them all along. And the fact that he is now focusing on those issues gave Democrats some maneuvering room. They are more than willing to take him on on healthcare...the same with energy...that is much more of a level playing field for them than terrorism and 9/11. Anytime he brings up 9/11, as you know, that is been far more where the president's strength lies and where he connects with the American people.
Apparently neither Brown nor Matthews realized that Brown's answer completely contradicted the premise of the question. Neither here nor there...it's too bad you can't type in tone, because the contempt in Brown's voice when talking about the Democrats was palpable. Beyond that, she's full of it. Like Matthews, she ignores the fact that the American people don't approve of the job he's doing on terrorism, Iraq, healthcare, energy...anything. They continue to portray him as the strong, popular, wartime president.
And the standing ovation the Democrats gave when he talked about his failed Social Security plan?
Matthews: Were you struck by the fact that the Democrats, at least a lot of them did on camera, actually guffawed, actually laughed out loud I guess is the simple way of putting it when the president admitted that he had blown it on Social Security reform. They seemed to really enjoy that admission.
Brown: I know. And that's one of the things that I think was also striking. Was how clearly the lines were drawn coming into this. I mean it's been a couple of years since I covered the president day to day but I was there in the very beginning when he talked to change the tone. And for him to come full circle and to come back to that and to see how divided they still are. I mean, it was so clear in the sense that the Democrats had already laid out where they were going into this. The spinning started well before this speech.
The Democrats quite clearly enjoyed the moment. It was certainly the highlight of the speech for me. That aside, Brown's response is ridiculous. She absolves Bush of any responsibility for partisan divide and essentially blames the Democrats for it.
Fair and balanced strikes again.