Why do you assume that they're ignorant? Neither candidate is running on her Senate record.

That poor guy really blew his first (and probably last) time on national television. The Clinton supporters are going to push this as proof positive that Obama is an empty suit, but the reality is that this is proof that Obama needs to beef up his media operations.

Great night and I see Senator Obama just went over 500,000 donors.

Matthews has done this at least three times before to Obama supporters on his show, but he's never done it once to a Clinton supporter.

The real question is why is Matthews interviewing someone who knows nothing about the subject. It reminds me of the scene from The Count of Monte Cristo where someone compares a courtroom to a bull fight, in which someone says that the animals are slaughtered to make the judge look good.

Oh brother, why doesn't the right-wing media do this with clinton supporters? Why not challenge her surrogates and her the same way? She's the one touting all this experience and how she "works hard" for americans and it takes hard work, not merely words to accomplish things. Well, what has she done? What has she accomplished? Not much and surely not so much to be touting all this experience and the "good things" that she allegedly did. It really is pathetic that she gets away with this and the right-wing media continue the propoganda without question.

One other point on the bozo, the obama campaign should require talking points for all supporters that go on tv outlining his accomplishments and experience to counter this line of attack. Comeon people, its not that hard. Talking points, or they don't get to go on tv claiming to be a supporter. Its causing too many problems.

Here's a handy list of their comparative records.

Senator Clinton, who has served only one full term (6yrs.), and another year campaigning, has managed to author and pass into law, (20) twenty pieces of legislation in her first six years:

1. Establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site.
2. Support the goals and ideals of Better Hearing and Speech Month.
3. Recognize the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
4. Name courthouse after Thurgood Marshall.
5. Name courthouse after James L. Watson.
6. Name post office after Jonn A. O'Shea.
7. Designate Aug. 7, 2003, as National Purple Heart Recognition Day.
8. Support the goals and ideals of National Purple Heart Recognition Day.
9. Honor the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton on the bicentennial of his death.
10. Congratulate the Syracuse Univ. Orange Men's Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.
11. Congratulate the Le Moyne College Dolphins Men's Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.
12. Establish the 225th Anniversary of the American Revolution Commemorative Program.
13. Name post office after Sergeant Riayan A. Tejeda.
14. Honor Shirley Chisholm for her service to the nation and express condolences on her death.
15. Honor John J. Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford, firefighters who lost their lives on duty.
16. Extend period of unemployment assistance to victims of 9/11.
17. Pay for city projects in response to 9/11.
18. Assist landmine victims in other countries.
19. Assist family caregivers in accessing affordable respite care.
20. Designate part of the National Forest System in Puerto Rico as protected in the wilderness preservation system.

During the first eight years of Senator Obama’s elected service he sponsored over 820 bills. He introduced:

233 regarding healthcare reform,
125 on poverty and public assistance,
112 crime fighting bills,
97 economic bills,
60 human rights and anti-discrimination bills,
21 ethics reform bills,
15 gun control,
6 veterans affairs and many others.

His first year in the U.S. Senate, he authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427. These included:
- the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 (became law),
- The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act, (became law),
- The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, passed the Senate,
- The 2007 Government Ethics Bill, (became law),
- The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill, (In committee)

Yeah MSNBC tried to play it off that Obama has no experience or record by using this as a excuse. Its like they don't have a computer or something. Guess thats why younger voters vote for Obama since we can just look up things.

Yeah, this guy is pretty good. Maybe MSNBC should bring him on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kica8hmSdAM&eurl

This was a brutal moment to watch. Chris Matthews is a dick, but this was a legitimate question to ask. The manner in which he asked it was far more confrontational than seemed appropriate, but my guess is that this was an effort to demonstrate a willingness to be just as hard on Obama he's been on HRC. An overcompensation, but nonetheless a fair question.

However, those who watched this in real time will remember Keith Olbermann's equally brutal (and equally fair) response to Matthews: "In Senator Obama's defense, can you name one thing that the Senate has done over the last 7 years?" Audible laughter from the studio people.

Matthews stammered and stumbled, and finally responded that answering these kinds of questions "wasn't his job," but it *was* the job of an Obama supporter to be able to point out specifics. Keith agreed.

But the coup de grace in the Matthews smack-down came when Matthews stupidly added "that's why it's called "Hardball".

To which Keith replied: "This isn't Hardball. It's election coverage."

Ouch.

Good video Yossarian,
The Obama campaign should have sent that guy to be his surrogate not this idiot Texan.

By the wa, are there any Texas politicians that aren't complete idiots? Other than the late Ann Richards, I'm drawing a blank.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400629
Statistics: Barack Obama has sponsored 129 bills since Jan 4, 2005, of which 120 haven't made it out of committee (Poor) and 1 were successfully enacted (Average, relative to peers). Obama has co-sponsored 545 bills during the same time period (Average, relative to peers).

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300022
Statistics: Hillary Clinton has sponsored 354 bills since Jan 22, 2001, of which 307 haven't made it out of committee (Extremely Poor) and 2 were successfully enacted (Average, relative to peers). Clinton has co-sponsored 1723 bills during the same time period (Average, relative to peers).

Neither is an especially brilliant legislator, if govtrack is to be believed. Those statistics are actually quite shocking.

Compared to Dodd, both Clinton and Obama do pretty poorly:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300034
Statistics: Christopher Dodd has sponsored 332 bills since Jan 7, 1997, of which 264 haven't made it out of committee (Extremely Poor) and 9 were successfully enacted (Very Good, relative to peers). Dodd has co-sponsored 1862 bills during the same time period (Average, relative to peers).

I saw this live, and I asked myself what the heck a Texas state senator was doing going up against a congresswoman?

Even Matthews said it afterwards "we need to vet the guests a bit better," or something to that effect. He was criticizing his producers a bit.

This is an embarrassing moment in the Obama campaign that all Hillary supporters can have a good chuckle over, but really, if your campaign is caning this for days, you know you're desperate.

And yes, this Texas dunce just lost his chance to have more TV appearances.

Hey I thought TPM was supposed to be Obama-biased!

I believe Matthews crossed the line from journalism into, as someone above said, sadism. He's done this twice now (insisting on a list of legislative accomplishments) - both time to STATE officials. He doesn't ask it of people who are in Congress and might have a working, readily-available knowledge of such things. And when he did it to the Gov. of Wisconsin, he chortled with glee that he'd 'got him good.' He was probably chortling over this one this morning but I was so disgusted with him that I turned of Morning Joe when he was announced.

I've defended Matthews through all the accusations of bias and rudeness and the rest .... praising his candor and inquiring mind, etc. But last night was petty and mean-spirited and inexcusable. It doesn't prove anything to humiliate and blindside someone -- it only shows that he is a bully. And unfair bully at that: I was **begging** him to turn to Tubbs Jones and ask HER to rattle off from the top of her head Clinton's legislative accomplishments! The sight of the two of them licking their lips at the other guest's extreme discomfort was nauseating.

To Keith Olberman's credit, he managed to show his offense at the *way* Matthews handled the interview very effectively and without inflaming the situation. You got the feeling he went directly to the powers-that-be and said he would not co-chair with that bozo again (or at least wanted to do so). If I were the candidate whose surrogates were being treated this way, Matthews might have some difficulty finding guests for his show for a while. That, I know, would be impractical but I do hope that Obama thinks up something 'appropriate' ... he just might.

This says more about the media coverage than anything about Obama's record. I saw Chris Matthews on tv this Am talking about this and when he asked that question I came up with 2 things right off the top of my head.(ethics reform and forcing congress to attach a name to earmarks rather than being able to slip them into bills secretly) But I am a political junkie who cares more about policy than who's ahead, and who called who names. That's the Ironic thing,I support Obama for substantive reasons having to do with issues more than personality. I think we have to have a whole new way of looking at things, so maybe Chris will have to actually do his homework before the next election.

My take on this:

http://thepersonalispolitical.tumblr.com/post/26828168

I have to say that I don't blame Matthews for this. He was doing his thing, and you should sometimes challenge your guests. And I say this as an Obama supporter.

What pisses me off is Kirk Watson. What the hell?! I can name quite a few. How about this one, Kirk: Coburn-Obama. For a guy who's not just some random supporter, but actually an elected official to be this much of a dumbass pisses me off.

The other groaner part about this is if you compare their records, in his shorter time in the Senate, Obama has sponsored and passed into law more substantive legislation than Hillary. Most of her co-sponsored bills are total fluff like renaming parks!

I think Chris Matthews and other Washington "journalists" are to blame for not doing THEIR homework. Their programs are not just a venue for talking heads. They have a responsibility to check facts and research.

This guy makes the point very well:

"Since most of Obama's legislation was enacted in Illinois, most of the evidence is found there -- and it has been largely ignored by the media in a kind of Washington snobbery that assumes state legislatures are not to be taken seriously. (Another factor is reporters' fascination with the horse race at the expense of substance that they assume is boring, a fascination that despite being ridiculed for years continues to dominate political journalism.)"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303303.html

p.s. I liked Olbermann's mocking of Matthews. Olbermann is the only credible one on MSNBC.

Actually, if you look at most Senator's record on bills making out of committee, most of them also have a poor rating. I doubt bills reporting out of a committee in the Senate is a true sign of success or failure.

In fact, according to govtrack.us, the most sucessful senator is Orrin Hatch, and even he has trouble getting bills reported out of committee.

-- Graduated first black president of Harvard Law Review having won trust and support of conservative members.

-- Passed over 600 high-money law firm offers to work for civil rights practice at fractional pay.

-- Added health insurance for 20,000 children, welfare reforms, earned-income tax credits, and increased minimum wage in Illinois.

-- Reformed death-penalty cases, requiring that interrogations be video-recorded. Passed Illinois Senate 58-0. Signed into law by Illinois governor who first opposed Obama’s bill. Obama succeeded by building consensus with conservative opposition.

-- Opposed Iraq war publicly, long before invasion. Accurately depicted it as of undetermined length, undetermined cost, undetermined objective, with a great likelihood of civil war breaking out.

-- Expanded program to locate and dismantle stray Russian WMD with Republican Senator Lugar.

-- Passed major ethics and lobbying reform bill with Russ Feingold, insisting upon tougher restrictions around gifts, meals, etc. And extended the interval preventing exiting congress members from moving directly into lobbyist positions.

-- Toured Kuwait, Jordan, Israel, and Palestinian territories, telling Palestinian Authority Abbas that US would never recognize Hamas leaders until they renounced mission to attack Israel.

-- Cosponsored Secure Orderly Immigration Act by John McCain. Passes Senate 62-36. Makes undocumented persons who have been here 5+ years only allowed to stay and apply for citizenship if they pay back-taxes, learn English, and have no criminal record.

-- Communicated frankly to Michigan automaker executives of need to increase fuel-efficiency standards by at least 3% per year.

-- Many aisle-crossing bi-partisan solutions throughout 10 years of senate experience (8 state, 2 federal).

-- 100% approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood. National Education Association gives him an “A” on their most recent scorecard.

-- In Illinois State Senate sponsored 780 bills, 280 were signed into law.

-- In first year as US Senator, held 39 town-hall meetings throughout his state, sponsored 152 bills and resolutions, and cosponsored 427 more.

-- Designated US Senate point person on ethics by Speaker Harry Reid.

Just because one state senator showed up on Hardball unprepared and could not name Obama’s accomplishments, does not mean they don’t exist. Posters above have done a good job on listing bills introduced and passed by Obama.

Let’s begin, though, with the most obvious accomplishment of building the most effective campaign strategy in this race, if not in any race for generations, based on Obama’s experience on the ground as a community organizer. His ‘experience’ seems to have paid off quite well in comparison to that of Hillary Clinton’s high paid strategists'.

Information on Obama's congrssonal accmplisments is available for anyone willing to do a minimal amount of research on Obama’s US Senate website. I noticed that Clinton’s supporter was also not able to list specific accomplishments, nor bills passed, but rather rattled off a list of issues important to Senator Clinton in a convincing tone of voice. One Obama supporter was unable to muster a similar command when put on the spot; but that, in no way, reflects on the abilities or accomplishments of the candidate.

That clip is absolutely brutal to watch.

That guy knew absolutely nothing. And screw him for going on air without knowing jack.

But it's not his fault. I believe it's Obama's fault. Why?

Opponents have been hammering him on the inexperience point for over a year now.

He's had plenty of time to educate his campaign surrogates on his record. They've had plenty of time to prepare an answer when someone, anyone asks: "Name one legislative accomplishment".

It's lazy stupid.

And what kind of argument does it make to say that Hillary hasn't accomplished anything either?

I can't defend Obama on this until he defends himself. Until he makes it his business for everyone on his staff, especially those making a tv appearance, to take a 24 hour class studying his record.

Campaign workers old and young should be able to address issues we hear over and over again, like why did Obama vote present xx times.

I'm glad to see people here posting and emailing a list of accomplishments.

I wonder if bloggers can get some first hand direction from top Obama insiders on where they think his strengths are.

They should build a microsite that takes this head on. And every commercial he runs should direct people to that website.

A "here's the beef" website.

"your average Texan is going to feel sorry for the state senator and angry at the Clinton campaign for using his embarrassing moment to make a very weak point."

I think you are right. After all, this was a Texas senator, well-meaning I guess, but hammered by Matthews in a sneak attack, then when he tried to answer, he was cut off repeatedly. Pretty meanspirited stuff. May play well in "hardball" land (DC, NY) but may offend in more well-mannered places.

p.s. I thought Matthews was persona non grata for HRC. Now she's pushing his clip. Talk about hypocrisy.

Is Chris Matthews trying to grab the "fair and balanced" mantle? Yseterday he won't let the Obama supporter off the hook...pounding insistently that the Texan answer his question about Obama's legislative accomplisments, but today when he puts up a Michelle Obama supporter and critic, he lets the critic get away with NOT answering his pointed questions, allowing her to spin spin spin.

This is Hardball? Matthews proves again what a jerk he is.

You have to admit that was sad. Funny sad, I mean. As in shockingly pathetic.