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THE PRESS ROOM: The former Senate hopeful opts to control the conversation instead
An occasional series of articles exploring how political campaigns are playing out in the media.
Chris Matthews had to think he made the right decision Tuesday evening. It wasn’t so long ago—before he signed a new contract with MSNBC, before the Specter party-switch, before the Sestak challenge—that Matthews was thinking of running for the Pennsylvania Senate seat himself. But he always maintained that he loved his job, that he didn’t want to give up the joy of sitting before a camera every night, espousing his views and grilling politicians.
He sure seemed more comfortable hosting Hardball on Tuesday than he ever would have been on the campaign trail. And boy, did he have the ultimate get: all three of the major candidates in the most high-profile Senate race in the country, the very same race he almost entered.
Hours after Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7) officially declared his Senate candidacy, Arlen Specter, Pat Toomey and Sestak all came before Matthews. It should surprise no one surprise that they mostly stuck to their talking points—when Matthews let them.
“I think it’s pretty clear that the only thing that’s important to Arlen Specter is his own political survivor,” said Toomey, the Republican who Specter fled by switching parties earlier this year. “This is a guy who’s made a career out of being on both sides of as many issues as he can.”
Specter kept up the attack on Sestak.
“He’s AWOL, been absent without leave,” Specter said. “If he were still in the Navy he’d be court-martialed, now he wants to be promoted.”
And Sestak said voters don’t care about the party establishment backing Specter.
“We’re pretty independent-minded, nobody is asking us, ‘who endorsed you, who do you know?’” he said. “They want to know, ‘are you going work for us?’”
But if there was a winner, it wasn’t any of the three candidates. It was, undoubtedly, Matthews. He controlled the conversation at every turn. He pressed Toomey on whether he thought abortion providers should be jailed and whether Sarah Palin would be a better Vice President than Joe Biden.
“You sound a little unsure of your party loyalty,” he told Toomey.
He talked obscure political history with Specter, professed his love for Churchill and told the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Democrat, “I voted for you back in ’67 for mayor.”
He pressed Sestak on his fundraising ability, but said “I salute your guts in making this race a real race for the people of Pennsylvania.”
At last year’s Democratic National Convention in Denver, while Matthews was working the room, this reporter asked him what his calculus would be in deciding whether or not to run for Senate. Clearly unused to being the interviewee, Matthews stumbled over his own words before quite curtly putting his hand over the notepad taking down his words. “I don’t have an answer, I haven’t gone through that,” he said.
But Tuesday evening, at every commercial break, it was Matthews with a wide, ear-to-ear smile. He had to think he made the right decision.
August 4, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Tags: Arlen Specter, Chris Matthews, Joe Sestak, Pat Toomey, The Press Room
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Specter, Sestak & Toomey all on Hardball tonight at 7PM… | GrassrootsPA
Aug 4th, 2009
[...] PA2010: Hardball Recap… [...]
David Diano
Aug 4th, 2009
Toomey seemed to be enjoying himself. Though Matthews was trying to pin him down as a ultra conservative, despite Toomey claiming to be moderate. Matthews should have used Nate Silver’s rating that showed only 4 house members are more conservative than Toomey.
Specter was smart bringing up Reagan and Winston Churchill as party-switchers. That really caught Matthews off guard.
Sestak got tucked in at the end of the hour. He was at his most phony explaining why Clinton won’t be campaigning for him. Total BS. Anyone who believes Sestak wouldn’t kill for some Clinton campaigning isn’t smart enough to work a voting booth.
Then Sestak said, “I prefer running alone.” LOL! That’s like when McCain was behind in the polls and said he preferred it. What candidate wants to be behind?
Matthews really pressed this point, considering how hard Sestak worked for Hillary, that the Clintons “owed” Sestak. Actually, it’s the other way around, because Clinton came out to help Joe in 2006 and a lot of Joe’s early money came from the Clinton-wing. So, Joe campaigning for Hillary settled that debt (and was likely opportunity to get an appointment and leave congress).
Back in 2006, I had heard that the reason Sestak left his White House NSC job was because Clinton fired him (with a yell-filled dressing down) and there was no love lost between them.
Whatever the reason, Sestak has ZERO leverage in the Democratic party, particularly in Pennsylvania. He’s about to get hit with a significant knee-capping by the party (if it hasn’t happened already) that will have his campaign scrambling and off balance, just as Joe is coming out of the gate.
Lee Levan
Aug 5th, 2009
21 of the 28 lines from our resident hater, David, are criticizing Sestak. 5 are about Toomey and a measly 2 are praising Specter. Is there any wonder that he seems to be exorcising a personal grudge? We should run a betting pool to see when he will be able to write a pro Specter message without a negative comment about Sestak. I know Sestak was an admiral, but that doesn’t justify swiftboating him.
Julia
Aug 5th, 2009
I resent when people try to water down ‘swiftboating’ to include any criticism of any politician who ever served in the military.
Lee, I think using ‘swift boat’ on a hair trigger lowers the discourse. And I know that it insults leaders like John Kerry and Max Cleland, who actually did suffer swift boat attacks.
Just my two cents.
TIM HOWE
Aug 5th, 2009
oh christ – anyone who thought that Matthews actually would run for Senate is a true sucker.
stop being so0 star struck by a total ass cable bully who has only been viewed by 1 out of 1500 americans.
btw…id bet 10 to 1 that Joe beats Spectre… just wait till william jefferson clinton comes to pa to campaign for him….hubba-hubba!
TIM HOWE
Aug 5th, 2009
btw…its utter silliness to pretend that the clintons dont love sestak…thats so incredibly rediculolus….where do you nuts get this stuff?
Joe Eastman
Aug 6th, 2009
Joe Sestak was a Clinton Admiral. On oneof the photos Sestak loves toshow is him as a member of the National Security Council staff talking with Clinton in the Oval Office. As a retired Navy man myself, I’d love to know the true story as to why Sestak was relieved from his dutues within 24 hours of a new Chief of Nval Operations, Admiral Mike MUllen, taking command. In my 38 year association with the Navy, I have NEVER seen someone so senior relieved so quickly. There’s something that smells bad about Sestak’s explanation