If voters only watched Hardball, Bush would win in a landslide

[dolstein]

Got was it ugly. I already posted about the rather curious (as in Hannity & Colmes curious) pairing of Al Sharpton and Bill Owen. But it all went downhill from there. Matthews was quoting Karl Rove scription chapter and verse, and Maher was dutifully acting as his amen corner.

I had pretty much stopped listening to the cable news shows when Air America began broadcasting. I see that I've spared myself much misery. If the latest Hardball is any indication, the cable shows are at least as hostile to Kerry as it was to Gore.

[rockymountaindem]

1. Good thing nobody watches those shows.

[left-is-right]

2. it wasn't that bad

at least they gave sharpton a spot. the guy may have a controversial past, but there are few dems at the moment who get our message across as successfully as good ol' al.

let's just hope it was heard above matthews' slavish chimp-adoring babble.

[xray s]

3. the numbers tell the story

Hardball ratings = 0.5

One rating point appx 1 million viewers, tweety gets 500,000 viewers.

500,000/105,000,000 voters in 2000 =at least 99.5% of the people who voted in 2000 do not watch tweety.

500,000/50,000,000 estimated audience for first debate= tweety gets 1% of the audience that will tune in to the debates.

In other words tweety is irrelevant. His show is irrelevant.

Just turn him off and eventually his ratings will fall off to nothing.

[flpoljunkie]

4. And that's on a good night!

[dolstein]

5. You obviously didn't see the Peter Hart focus group in C-Span

It may not be Hardball individually, but the totality of the media that matters. But the fact remains -- undecided voters are quoting Republican talking points verbatim. Their choice of words didn't come out of a vacuum. The Bush message is being drilled into the heads of even those voters who disagree with Bush on the issues.

[Devil Dog Dem]

6. I agree, and that was the worse part of the poll results.

Not the numbers, but what the focus groups were saying. They have swallowed the bait.

Not responding to swift boat liars ads in August wasn't the biggest sin of the Kerry campaign. It was allowing Bush to define him in the Spring that killed us.

[redstateblues]

7. We Are Not Dead Yet- Thank You Very Much

[Devil Dog Dem]

8. Didn't mean to imply we were. But it put us in a hole.

Shouldn't have been that way. How did they not see it coming?

[johnnyrocket]

10. That Peter Hart Focus group was terrifying...the rationalization

of Bush and the lies about Kerry were truly disheartening.

The sad part is we're so close on every front, but these GOP thugs steamroll over everything: the media, congress, voter systems, government agencies...to seize the upper hand.

[Cha]

13. Good Advice!

:toast:

[Clinton Crusader]

9. WTF was Tweety on about Kerry's FACE?

Saying he is wearing some kind of tanning thing or his face has turned orange? WTF? I turned it on just when Maher was on and heard this FIRST.
:kick:

[girl gone mad]

11. Repeating a Matt Drudge lie.

Of course it's not a fake tan. He has a visible tan line below his collar, just like you would expect from someone wearing a t-shirt out in the sun. As if Kerry has time to go to Mystic tan.

[Bush was AWOL]

12. I just started watching and so far it has been very fair

with Sharpton having the slight edge at the break. Does it get worse as it goes on? Matthews is asking good questions, imo, so far.

[feistydem]

14. Matthews kept 'mistakenly' calling Kerry "Gore" and then joked

that it must be a bad sign for the Kerry campaign (that he thinks of Gore when he thinks of Kerry). Matthews has been open that he voted for Bush in the last election.

Bill Owens made an ass out of himself as usual. He's creepy!

[Bush was AWOL]

15. I think you're looking to much into what he says

I honestly think Chris supports Kerry. And I clearly think Owens lost the debate between he and Sharpton, with a little help from Chris at the end.

[feistydem]

18. One doesn't need to read between the lines to see the obvious.

Whatever Matthews' reasons for his apparent lack of objectivity, he's simply a bad journalist --if one can even call him that.

[Bush was AWOL]

16. What the Hell is wrong with Maher all of a sudden?

[feistydem]

17. Maybe before a guest goes on HB, they have sign a "brownnoser" agreement?

They sure all seem to agree with Tweety a lot.

[NightOwwl]

19. You sure as hell can't mention Bush and Booze in the same sentence.

Matthews telling Maher, "You can't say that" when Maher tried to joke about Bush choking on M&M's while he was drunk. (He actually said Gore, but in context you can tell he meant Bush.)

[Clinton Crusader]

20. Maybe he expected...

Kerry to be like a rabid dog, pounding the podium, screaming his head off and he's disappointed he hasnt seen that. He has voiced this same opinion repeatedly that Kerry is too mild and the Dems arent going for the kill.
:shrug:
:kick:

[sherilocks]

21. Air America Radio has replaced MSNBC, CNN, and

I had just finished emailing CNN apprising them of that fact, when I read your post. I told CNN that I was no longer tuning in to their station because I have my satellite radio and I can listen to Air America and other liberal and/or Democratic talk shows. Maybe all us AAR listeners should let the cable news outlets know that they are becoming obsolete for the Democratic half of the country.

As soon as I rest up from the ordeal, I will email MSNBC.