How Stupid Is Chris Matthews?

How preternaturally stupid is Chris Matthews? You don't have to answer right away. Consider this:

On the March 24 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews asserted: "We're stuck in Iraq; 4,000 people are dead now because of decisions made by politicians like the Clintons." Matthews did not explain how "politicians like the Clintons" were responsible for the deaths of "4,000 people" in Iraq, nor did he mention President Bush, who actually made the decision to invade Iraq. Sen. Hillary Clinton herself has accused Bush of "misus[ing]" the authority given him by Congress.

Matthews: "4,000 people are dead now because of decisions made by politicians like the Clintons"

Nor did he mention that John McCain could be considered one of those politicians. Here's what he had to say on the day of the vote for the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq:

"Giving peace a chance only gives Saddam Hussein more time to prepare for war on his terms, at a time of his choosing, in pursuit of ambitions that will only grow as his power to achieve them grows," McCain said.

Senate approves Iraq war resolution

McCain repeated the lie that Hussein was prepared to fight the United States after he voted for the resolution. All of the Republican Senators save one voted for the resolution. The vote was 77 to 23. Why were "politicians like the Clintons" responsible for this, when politicians like John McCain, who was a cheerleader for this disastrous war from the start, and is one of the few willing to expand it, were not? Yet Matthews never misses a chance to fluff McCain's reputation. Here's what he had to say about McCain that morning:

I think McCain, although we all agree he's a good man, has left it up to the Iraqi politicians how long we stay. It's not their call. It's our foreign policy. and we should re-establish control of our own foreign policy. The american people should decide on american foreign policy and war policy, not the iraqi politicians. I don't know why the Vice President is able to get away with saying our opinion doesn't matter, but iraqi politicians' misbehavior matters. we have to reassert our control over our forces, I think.

Chris Matthews: Victory means 'Americans get to come home'

[capitalization corrected]

Matthews talked as if McCain was just not quite getting the idea, not that McCain was one of the principle cheerleaders for this war from the beginning. Yet he's a good man and Hillary Clinton is especially responsible for the carnage.

John Kerry voted for this resolution, as well. If anyone should have known better, it was he.

Hillary Clinton deserves criticism, perhaps even scorn, for her vote. To say that somehow she belongs to a class of politicians who bear a special responsibility for this war that does not include McCain or Bush, which is what Matthews was clearly implying, is absurd.

OK, now you can answer. How much of a fucking moron is Chris Matthews? Why does he have a job as a political reporter, when there are so many people who are far more qualified?

Yes, I know - the same reason that Joe Klein has a job.