I’m a devoted Chris Matthews watcher because he’s so street-smart and so knowledgeable about political history (and also a former Peace Corps volunteer). Last night he was the one guy on his show to understand the ravishing power of Obama’s victory speech. He compared Obama to Roosevelt in ’32. He also said that Obama’s victory could send a chill thru Hillary’s "donor-base," which Matthews said is in Manhattan and the west side of Los Angeles. These people want to back a winner; they may feel misled by the Clinton team. He went on to talk about Hillary’s support from New Yorkers who have moved to Florida.
Florida, Hollywood, Manhattan. This is coy and irresponsible. Matthews never talks about Jews in politics directly. He talks about blacks, about Irish-Americans, not Jews. He obviously believes Jews are important in our politics–I’d note his endless and great riffs on neocons and their supporters–but as a guy who anatomizes the id of American political life, he owes it to his viewers to take on the Israel lobby headon. As it is, he confines himself to hinting, as he did last night. Or as he did five years ago when he asked one of his guests, with a big-eyed and virginal air: Why are political attitudes toward Israel in Europe so different from American attitudes? This is a political question, he knows the answer.
Matthews’s coyness is evidence of the great problem here. A fearless guy is afraid to even discuss the lobby. Why doesn’t he have Walt and Mearsheimer on air to talk about their ideas? I believe that Matthews knows he would pay a significant price for doing so, let alone talking about Jewish money in the Democratic party.
John Mearsheimer tells me that Matthews is hardly the only informed person who privately expresses support for his ideas while refusing to do so publicly. He says, "Many people — both inside and outside the Beltway — have told me and Steve [Walt] privately that they agree with our views on the lobby and its harmful influence on US foreign policy, but that they are afraid to say so publicly because they fear that the lobby will come after them and damage their careers."
Pathetic.
(P.S. A couple readers have wondered whether Mearsheimer was speaking directly of Matthews. No. He was speaking of the general class of Matthews-like sheeple, I mean people)
