I spent a lot of time and energy writing an article puzzled by the fact that Chris Matthews and Jonathan Alter and others on the Matthew's show did not give background information on Hillary's charges regarding the Obama-Rezko connecton on the last Democratic Candidate debate sponsored by the Black Congressional Caucus. After some researching on the internet I realized now why that is so to some extent and also now know the answer why Hillary leaned over to Chris Matthews during an interview and kind of caressed his face saying something about Matthews being obsessed with her which it appears he is. Obssessed by the fact she is a woman running for office not because he sees her as a viable candidate. Matthews responded to the caress by pinching Clinton's cheek, a very sexist act. How I missed this bit of extreme male bias is beyond me. I can see why some would say it was tit for tat; however, given Matthews history of sexism toward Hillary and women in general the whole incident brings everything else into the light.
Below are just a few examples of his (Matthews) sexist commentary:
Hillary's conduct in that moment was a response to all of many Matthew's putdowns of her which I missed on some level. It seems that many other males in the media share this bias including Brian Williams. Some media moguls just don't want to have a powerful woman in the Presidency. They can't conceive of a woman dressing them down or anyone else who is male .They constantly talk about her voice, whether it is screechy or not and how she sounds in a way they do not remark about when mentioning any of the male candidates.
Both Williams and Matthews are bowled over by Obama and caught up in his psuedo Martin Luther King approach to crowd pleasing and speech making. I marched with King among the thousands in D.C. in 63. I attended many of MLK's speeches and events. Barak Obama is no Martin Luther King. King would not have approved of Obama's association with Rezko nor with his pandering to mishy mushy Independents and Conservatives. MLK wanted universal health care for all Americans. So there you have it combine male bias against a woman running for President and idolization of a candidate who doesn't deserve it and you get the reason why Obama can't be brought down to earth and Hillary has to remain grounded by these little men on TV. Roseanne had it right on her blog when she dissed Oprah for not letting Hillary on her show close to the time she had Obama. I'm not sure she will ever have Hillary on before S. Carolina or even after thar. Oprah who is also male obssessed is caught up in this rush to judgement for Obama. It is understandable that Oprah feels the way she does about Obama. At least I do not hear her putting down Hillary for being a woman like Matthews and Brian Williams have. Combine woman hating and naive people who missed the full import of the MLK days and this is what you get Obama fixation. MLK would have supported Dennis Kucinich who is totally peace loving and pro human rights for everyone. He would not have condoned this bias against Hillary.
Examples of Matthews sexism toward Hillary: See below
excerpted from Media Matters for America - http://mediamatters.org/
* On the November 18 edition of the NBC-syndicated Chris Matthews Show, Matthews teased a discussion by asking, " 'She Devil?' Republicans are absolutely demonizing Hillary Clinton."
* In November 2006, shortly after the Democrats took the majority in Congress, Matthews asked a guest if then-presumptive speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was "going to castrate Steny Hoyer" if Hoyer (D-MD) were elected House majority leader.
* During coverage of a presidential debate last spring, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell was compelled to remind Matthews that Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) wife, Michelle, is a Harvard-educated lawyer after he focused obsessively on her physical appearance.
* During coverage of the New Hampshire primary on January 8, he said that Clinton is the only viable woman presidential candidate "on the horizon." He couldn't think of a single female governor eligible to run: "Where are the big-state women governors?" he asked. "Where are they? Name one."
* According to a Media Matters study, Matthews made 10 negative remarks about Clinton for every negative remark he made about Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, and nearly three times as many positive remarks about the former New York City mayor as about Clinton, despite his professed neutrality.
Other members of the media are also speaking about Matthews' flagrant, persistent sexism.
* Marie Cocco (Washington Post Writers Group): Sexist double standards and misogynist insults
* Salon's Traister: The witch ain't dead, and Chris Matthews is a ding-dong
* TalkLeft: It was a revolt of women sick and tired of the likes of Chris Tweety Matthews and the Media Misogynists.
* Daily Kos: Chris Matthews Outdoes Himself
* Daily Kos: Chris Matthews' Greatest Sexist Hits
More from Media Matters on Chris Matthews
After vowing not to underestimate Clinton, Matthews asserted, "[T]he reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around" -- January 9, 2008
Also read and go to
http://mediamatters.org/items/200801090008
How Can Chris Matthews Hate Hillary So Publicly and Get Away With It? Melissa McEwan, Shakesville at 2:09 PM on January 9, 2008
Why Chris Matthews Hates Hillary Clinton
Posted Jan 10th 2008 2:29PM by Cenk Uygur
Filed under: Media, Young Turks, Hillary Clinton, Video
Chris Matthews on Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani
Media Matters for America
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