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

Summary: On Morning Joe, 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 send U.S. troops to invade Iraq.

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 was discussing New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president when he asserted, "It's not important what the politics of the Clinton family is now; it's what [sic] important to the country. And I really think we got to stop talking about this as if this were a sitcom. We had eight years of this sitcom: What are the Clintons up to? How do they relate to each other? What do they feel today?" He added: "[I]t's a sitcom, and it's gotta end. We gotta focus on America. We're stuck in Iraq; 4,000 people are dead now because of decisions made by politicians like the Clintons."

As The Washington Post reported, the deaths of four U.S. soldiers in a roadside bombing on March 23 in southern Baghdad pushed "the overall U.S. death toll in the five-year Iraq war to at least 4,000."

From the March 24 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe:

MIKA BRZEZINSKI (co-host): I want to bring in Chris Matthews and the timing of this. Also, [Clinton campaign adviser] Mark Penn had some comments, Chris, on this, saying, "The time that he could have been effective has long since passed" -- this is about Governor Richardson, who we're interviewing -- "I don't think it's a significant endorsement in this environment." So some members, Chris, of the Clinton campaign trying to downplay this.

MATTHEWS: Well, I think we make a big mistake trying to see things through the eyes of the Clintons, in a kind of a Clinton-centric world. I mean, there's a larger globe out there of people -- 300 million Americans and billions of people around the world. I think we should look upon these decisions by people like Bill Richardson as important to people like us, instead of how it affects the sensibilities of the Clintons. I think that's a big mistake we've been making for about 20 years.

Let me read you something from The Washington Times today. It's about a woman who was over in Alexandria [Virginia] watching television when you, Governor, made your announcement for Senator Obama.

"I was at the McDonald's on Henry Street at 1 o'clock -- or 1 p.m. with three little children. And it was exactly the time that Bill -- the New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson was making his announcement endorsing Barack Obama for president." Quote, "It was dead quiet. Two African-American men were standing around the televisions mounted on the walls, and two Hispanic families seated around me also watched intently. As soon as Richardson endorsed Obama, an African-American woman next to me called her husband and told him what had happened." Quote, "Then, one of the two men watching the TV shouted out loud in a tone of wonder and amazement, 'It's going to happen! Obama is going to be the next president,' " close quote. "It was the only moving moment that I have ever experienced with politics."

That is where we should be putting our focus, not on the feelings of the Clintons, about what people owe them and their sense of entitlement. The American experience that's going on right now in McDonald's and in living rooms around the country, the feeling people have when they see you standing next to Barack Obama with your different backgrounds, I tell you, it's a stunning picture.

It's not important what the politics of the Clinton family is now; it's what [sic] important to the country. And I really think we got to stop talking about this as if this were a sitcom. We had eight years of this sitcom: What are the Clintons up to? How do they relate to each other? What do they feel today? Mika, it's a sitcom --

BRZEZINSKI: Yeah?

MATTHEWS -- and it's gotta end. We gotta focus on America. We're stuck in Iraq; 4,000 people are dead now because of decisions made by politicians like the Clintons --

BRZEZINSKI: OK.

MATTHEWS: We've gotta focus on what matters and stop this sitcom approach to politics. It doesn't matter what happened on the phone between Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson. What matters is what Bill Richardson has to say about the future of the country. Bill -- Governor, why is it important to have Barack Obama our next president? That's a question.

—M.B.B.