BY DAN
KENNEDY
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here.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
CHRIS MATTHEWS, TOURIST
ATTRACTION. It was time for a commercial break. While Chris
Matthews waited to go back on the air, he asked the crowd of several
hundred people who were gathered around the MSNBC tent what they
thought of Teresa Heinz Kerry's speech the previous night. Cheers
went up. Matthews kept pushing.
"You're all sophisticated city
people. Do you think she'll play in Peoria?" he asked. "Yes! Yes!"
came the response.
Among the curiosities that the
Democratic National Convention has brought to Boston this week is
Hardball, which has set up operations right outside Quincy
Market. MSNBC may be the least-watched cable news channel, but the
fascination with television is universal. The program is blasted out
of loudspeakers so the crowd can hear, punctuated by the sound of
military helicopters overhead. (Read Mike Miliard's no-bullshit account about what happened on Tuesday night.)
"Coming up, Congressman Charles
Rangel of New York," Matthews announces. And there, near the barrier
separating the set from the crowd, is Rangel, resplendent in a dark
suit and red tie. He hands out MSNBC ballcaps as the crowd cheers -
but not quite loud enough for a producer, who strides briskly along
the barrier ordering louder applause.
When they come back, Rangel - a
combat veteran of the Korean War - offers a sharp critique of the war
in Iraq. He blasts Bush for sending young soldiers into Iraq despite
having "no plan at all." Rangel blames the war on a host of familiar
names - "Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Kristol, Cheney."
Matthews interjects: "How come we
never hear your candidate speak like you are now? He waffles, he
hedges."
Rangel parries the question and
runs out the clock. Soon enough, it would be time for another
commercial.
posted at 8:12 PM |
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MEDIA LOG ARCHIVES
Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
