‘I’m so glad we had that storm last week’
MSNBC windbag Chris Matthews said the unthinkable on election night — he’s happy Hurricane Sandy happened.
“I’m so glad we had that storm last week because I think the storm was one of those things,” the prattling pundit said on air Tuesday while trying to tie President Obama’s re-election to his handling of the hurricane.
Matthews’ galling gaffe visibly shocked co-anchor Rachel Maddow, prompting him to try to reel it back, to no avail.
“No, politically, I should say — not in terms of hurting people,” Matthews, 66, blubbered. “The storm brought in possibilities for good politics.”
Wait — did he just say “good politics”?
The “Hardball” host, who pulls in around $5 million a year and lives in the tony DC suburb of Chevy Chase, Md., didn’t experience the unforgiving wrath of Sandy, which carved a huge swath of devastation through the tri-state area and was responsible for more than 110 deaths — at least 41 in New York City.
Damages from the storm are expected to be in the billions of dollars.
Matthews’ comments immediately triggered a barrage of angry tweets.
“Did you say you are happy about sandy hitting?” tweeted @gfdimos. “I already think you are a doorknob. this would confirm that u r a dipsh--t.”
@SteveCox cited Hurricane Sandy’s death toll in slamming Matthews. “Chris Matthews should be fired . . . Over 100 died in the US/millions hurting.”
“Chris Matthews is thrilled about Hurricane Sandy, if it helped Obama get elected,” tweeted @cassyfiano. “Sick, sick, sick, sick.”
On “Hardball” last night, Matthews blamed his comment on an election night that apparently kept him up past his bedtime.
“I was on for 10 hours straight . . . until 3 in the morning and I said something terrible,” he told viewers. “I could say it was because I was tired, but I wasn’t thinking of the horrible mess the storm has made.
“I was too focused on who would win and who would lose, and I left out the number one job of a broadcaster — to think of the real lives of people, whose dreams have been hurt and, in some cases, destroyed.”
It wasn’t the first time this campaign season that Matthews, a staunch Obama supporter, has shocked viewers.
Matthews appeared to have a meltdown following the first debate between the president and Mitt Romney — when a lifeless Obama was trounced by his feisty challenger.
“I don’t know what [Obama] was doing out there. He had his head down,” said a distraught Matthews, nearly in tears. “He was enduring the debate rather than fighting it. Romney came out with a campaign.”
Source
Chris Matthews has sense apologized for his hurricane Sandy comments.
OP: Come on Matthews! I understand your thinking but still!
MSNBC windbag Chris Matthews said the unthinkable on election night — he’s happy Hurricane Sandy happened.
“I’m so glad we had that storm last week because I think the storm was one of those things,” the prattling pundit said on air Tuesday while trying to tie President Obama’s re-election to his handling of the hurricane.
Matthews’ galling gaffe visibly shocked co-anchor Rachel Maddow, prompting him to try to reel it back, to no avail.
“No, politically, I should say — not in terms of hurting people,” Matthews, 66, blubbered. “The storm brought in possibilities for good politics.”
Wait — did he just say “good politics”?
The “Hardball” host, who pulls in around $5 million a year and lives in the tony DC suburb of Chevy Chase, Md., didn’t experience the unforgiving wrath of Sandy, which carved a huge swath of devastation through the tri-state area and was responsible for more than 110 deaths — at least 41 in New York City.
Damages from the storm are expected to be in the billions of dollars.
Matthews’ comments immediately triggered a barrage of angry tweets.
“Did you say you are happy about sandy hitting?” tweeted @gfdimos. “I already think you are a doorknob. this would confirm that u r a dipsh--t.”
@SteveCox cited Hurricane Sandy’s death toll in slamming Matthews. “Chris Matthews should be fired . . . Over 100 died in the US/millions hurting.”
“Chris Matthews is thrilled about Hurricane Sandy, if it helped Obama get elected,” tweeted @cassyfiano. “Sick, sick, sick, sick.”
On “Hardball” last night, Matthews blamed his comment on an election night that apparently kept him up past his bedtime.
“I was on for 10 hours straight . . . until 3 in the morning and I said something terrible,” he told viewers. “I could say it was because I was tired, but I wasn’t thinking of the horrible mess the storm has made.
“I was too focused on who would win and who would lose, and I left out the number one job of a broadcaster — to think of the real lives of people, whose dreams have been hurt and, in some cases, destroyed.”
It wasn’t the first time this campaign season that Matthews, a staunch Obama supporter, has shocked viewers.
Matthews appeared to have a meltdown following the first debate between the president and Mitt Romney — when a lifeless Obama was trounced by his feisty challenger.
“I don’t know what [Obama] was doing out there. He had his head down,” said a distraught Matthews, nearly in tears. “He was enduring the debate rather than fighting it. Romney came out with a campaign.”
Source
Chris Matthews has sense apologized for his hurricane Sandy comments.
OP: Come on Matthews! I understand your thinking but still!
To be fair I do understand what he was trying to get across. It's something that I've heard said a lot in New York City over the past few days, even before the election. I do think that in the long run, it might have a good impact in terms of talking about climate change and disaster management/preparedness.
But there's been a lot of suffering in this region, people are still suffering (my mother just got through a snowstorm with no heat and no gas in her car so she couldn't even leave), and he definitely phrased it in the least sensitive way possible.
Edited at 2012-11-08 09:40 pm (UTC)
I just think it's too impolitic to say such things.
Edited at 2012-11-08 10:23 pm (UTC)
Yeah, I'm really glad.
You know, I have migraines every now and then, and as a result, I often go through whole nights without sleep. And strangely enough, I manage to go the rest of the day without saying something COMPLETELY FUCKING INSENSITIVE. Lack of sleep doesn't mean lack of goddamn empathy.
This article also doesn't point out that while he did say he was sleep deprived, he also made it clear that still didn't excuse what he said. Tweety has said plenty of stupid shit, and this is the first time I can think of him calling himself out so forcefully.
I hope things get better for you and your family soon. I live in CT and I work for a utility company, and last week sucked. My company has even started sending people to NJ to help now that things are wrapped up here. I even heard today that you guys have power plants and substations that have been taken offline because they were flooded by salt water that has done SERIOUS damage that is going to cost a lot of money (and take time) to fix. It's a HUGE mess, and I think a lot of people STILL don't get how bad it was.
That's why I included another article that contained his apology.
But frankly, my brain stopped working when Bill-O started in on his racist rants that night so idc about Tweety sticking his foot in his mouth.
WHAT?
Haha, I'm listening to a clip from Carl Rove saying that The Democrats were successful in suppressing the vote, LOLOL.
“I was on for 10 hours straight . . . until 3 in the morning and I said something terrible,” he told viewers. “I could say it was because I was tired, but I wasn’t thinking of the horrible mess the storm has made.
“I was too focused on who would win and who would lose, and I left out the number one job of a broadcaster — to think of the real lives of people, whose dreams have been hurt and, in some cases, destroyed.”
It's goo he admitted it. Now, dial it back, and be awesomely aggressive like you usually are.