Fineman joined Matthews in gushing over Giuliani and McCain
On MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews and Newsweek chief political correspondent Howard Fineman praised former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) while speculating on their potential as Republican candidates in the 2008 presidential race. Matthews said of Giuliani: "He looks like [a] president to me." When Matthews called a potential McCain-Giuliani ticket something for "Democrats ... to go home and worry about," Fineman agreed that it would be like "Starsky and Hutch."
On the May 2 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews and Newsweek chief political correspondent Howard Fineman praised former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) while speculating on their potential as Republican candidates in the 2008 presidential race. After playing a clip of Giuliani discussing whether he would run for president, Matthews stated, "He looks like [a] president to me." When Matthews called a potential McCain-Giuliani ticket something for "Democrats ... to go home and worry about," Fineman agreed that it would be like "Starsky and Hutch," the cop duo from the television series and movie of the same name. Fineman added that a McCain-Giuliani ticket would be "culturally diverse." In an apparent reference to McCain's Vietnam War service as a naval aviator and Giuliani's past work as a U.S. attorney, Matthews later stated: "Remember the great Churchill speech, 'We will fight them in the air. We will fight them in the streets.' You can do it with McCain in the air and Giuliani in the streets."
Chuck Todd, editor in chief of the National Journal's weblog, The Hotline, later cited Giuliani's association with former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik -- who withdrew his nomination as secretary of Homeland Security amid scandal allegations -- as an obstacle to Giuliani's purported presidential ambitions. Although Matthews acknowledged that Kerik "had a little love nest going on near the World Trade Center," he shrugged off the political significance of Giuliani's association with Kerik, citing it as "proof of how enduring [Giuliani] is, because that didn't hurt him."
From the May 2 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:
MATTHEWS: Rudy Giuliani was in Iowa campaigning for congressional candidates the other day, and he answered some questions about whether he will run for president in 2008.
GIULIANI [video clip]: I've got a lot of places to go and a lot of people to talk to, and, you know, a long process of figuring out whether, you know, it makes sense to run for president in 2008. I don't know the answer to that yet.
MATTHEWS: He looks like president to me, Chuck.
TODD: You know, I'll tell you, I have been in this camp that says he's not going to run. They say there's no way he's going to run. This has been a marketing campaign to help his businesses.
[...]
MATTHEWS: OK. Let me give the Democrats something to go home and worry about, including the moderate Democrats, and the conservative Democrats and the liberals, of course. McCain-Giuliani, the ticket.
FINEMAN: Starsky and Hutch.
MATTHEWS: Does that scare -- that may carry Pennsylvania, New York. It could carry California, that ticket.
FINEMAN: It's culturally diverse but tough on the war.
MATTHEWS: Both hawks.
FINEMAN: And they are both hawks, but, you know, one is a cop and one is a military guy. It's not quite the same thing. But the way George Bush and Karl Rove have defined the presidency, they have defined it as a war commander-tough cop in the world presidency. Ironically, these two guys -- I don't know if it's ironically or on purpose -- these two guys fit it best.
And my theory is that Rudy is going to do everything he can up to running, up to jumping in the squad car and running. It's going to be dependent on what happens with McCain. Because my sense from some of the people around Rudy that I know, and some of the McCain people, is that they both think there isn't enough shelf space for both of them as presidential candidates. And I think Rudy is going to look to see if McCain stumbles. If McCain doesn't, I don't think Rudy will run. Maybe he'll be on the ticket.
MATTHEWS: How about the veep?
FINEMAN: Well, that's a separate question. That comes later.
MATTHEWS: It's an attractive position.
FINEMAN: Well sure. And by the way, he can also say, "I'm not going to run, and how are you going to decorate the mahogany for my not-running?"
MATTHEWS: What's that mean?
FINEMAN: That means putting the money on the table. As long as we're talking -- that's an old Bronx term.
[crosstalk]
TODD: I've got two words: Bernie Kerik. How many Bernie Keriks does Rudy Giuliani have to go through?
MATTHEWS: That's the guy he put up for the Homeland Security, it turns out they had a little love nest going on near the World Trade Center. But, you know, that's proof of how enduring he is, because that didn't hurt him.
TODD: We haven't vetted --
FINEMAN: Also there's a whole documentary about Rudy that's dynamite. It's going to get a lot of airtime.
TODD: Rudy was the most hated man in New York City on September 10th [2001].
FINEMAN: It's just the whole picture of the rest of Rudy Giuliani.
MATTHEWS: Remember the great Churchill speech, "We will fight them in the air. We will fight them in the streets." You can do it with McCain in the air and Giuliani in the streets.
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I just heard motormouth Mathews compare Giuliani to Churchill. Excuse me, Churchill had morals and ethics.
... That these rightwing tools are touting the Republican's most LIBERAL candidates as the biggest contenders for president.
Is this an admission that "CONSERVATIVE" candidates are up a creek?
McCain must have told them he used a spoon to eat his salad the other night.
He reeled them right in.
Shows how much they know about the modern GOP. Do they really think that either Guiliani or McCain will get the GOP nomination? I dare them to bring an Italian Catholic into the South and see if he can win a primary against one of the knee-jerk reactionaries that will run. Ditto, too, for McCain. I guess they think all the Rethuglicans down south will forget all the slime they threw at McCain when he ran in 2000? I love to hear them talk of this GOP dreamteam of potential candidates. We've got Romney, a flip-flopping liberal today conservative tomorrow Mormon. Condi Rice, a black woman. These people don't seem to recognize that their southern strategy has come with a price, and that price is that they will lose any opportunity to run a moderate on anything. If they think their party is tolerant enough to nominate and accept an Italian Catholic, a Northeastern Mormon, a black woman or a man who, according to Rove and co., "sired" a black child, then they will have a surprise coming their way. Why would they think McCain could win? Because he is the best candidate on the GOP side? That was true in 2000, too, and we all know how that one turned out. And they think the GOP has gotten LESS conservative since then?
I'd vote for McCain Guliani ticket
have any idea who they will want to throw on their ticket. DEMS keep talking about Hilary Clinton, but they know there is a large female vote out there not interested in Hilary specificly. I don't think the Nation agrees that we need a female president any time soon. After Bush, the REP. base is going to be so split on so many things, that preliminary is going to be the most interesting in a long time.
I've seen less masturbation in x-rated movies.
Matthews is a sad, red-faced little man
is if his brother gets in a lieutenant governor, Mathews is going get a position of power unelected.
For as long as I can remember, Matthews has use his show to gush over conservatives or bash democrats. The only question I have is, why even the few democrats he invites on his show bother to show up? His show has become as predictable as many of the right wing talk shows.
Mathews confuses me to the max. I thought he pushed for progressive views, but he doesn't show that on television. Does he even mention his actual political standing on issues?
If Rudy Giuliani and John McCain are the "Starsky and Hutch" of the Republican Party.
Then who are the Huggy Bear and the Captain Dobey of the Republicans?