Hardball with Chris Matthews

This show is great fun for two reasons. first of all, it is always neat to see which side of the bed Matthews woke up on today. The guy must be bi-polar, as he is never consistent on any two days on the same issue. The second reason to watch this show is to count how many times spittle will erupt from Chris's mouth.

As with most political talk shows, this one never delves into the real issues but goes for topics sure to attract viewers...like weather or not Cindy McCain bakes her own cookies, or if Michele Obama really is proud of America.

A total waste of time for those hungry for real news talk.

He's really stayed too long. Conversation seems to go over his head sometimes. We are regular msnbc watchers but have started switching channel when his show starts. Wish they would give the time slot to someone else.

Chris Matthews seems to put down his guests when they are not in complete lockstep with him. He immediately interrupts them with "I hear ya", or "uh-huh" meaning he's no longer listening to what they have to say. He usually has interesting and knowledgeable guests that he loves to talk over and try to show his superior intelligence. He filibusters trying to make his point and then asks them to agree with what he said. Most of the time he makes little sense or tries to make a point that seems to be meaningless. A good example is his love affair with Obama that is unbelievable but understandable because he loves to talk in circles and so does Obama. Matthews has indicated that he would like to be the Washington news bureau chief as well as anchor "Meet the Press". Based upon his commentary and conduct on "Hardball" NBC cannot possibly consider him to be a replacement for Tim Russert with all of his biases and his inability to listen to opposing viewpoints.

Putting the obvious political bent of the show aside, is it informative or at least watchable ? The answer is usually no. Someone commented that the host must be bi-polar and after thinking about it I have to agree. Matthews runs so hot and cold from minute to minute you can almost see the smoke rising from his ears. The word disjointed comes to mind. As of this writing there are several other liberal shows on the same network and I suggest any one of them. This one stays around for the same reason the 82 year old blind janitor is still working at your grade school you attended as a child, nobody has the heart to tell him it's time to pack up and go home.

I don't know that I'm completely qualified to review this show, I'm not sure I've ever been able to make it all the way through. They usually hit on the hot topic of the day. And they interview knowledgeable folks, even if they seem to trot out too familiar faces too often. But does Chris Mathews ever really shut up?? It seems just when one of the guests is about to get to the heart of the matter, Chris cuts them off mid-sentence with his own take. Now I know there's a danger of losing viewers with long-winded guests running on and on, but you have to at least let your experts talk for more than 10 or 15 seconds without butting in. I guess Matthews' style attracts a lot of people but it turns me off. I think he's far more effective as an analyst than 'interviewing' others. And his underlying liberal agenda, which surfaces at odd moments, just isn't appreciated. He recently made an off hand remark about the 2000 election. Hey, Chris, it was ten years ago, and oh by the way I think the right result was reached. (This from the same guy who even more recently said the Supreme Court decision "defines" constitutionality, in the context of Obamacare). Get beyond it and pretend you don't have an agenda.