March 15, 2016

"Man, you guys cannot stop talking about him. He is a dangerous presence and, you know, it’s just like candy by the bushel."

Said Hillary into a hot mike. She was talking to Chris Matthew, chatting between segments of an MSNBC town hall.
“We dip into him, dip out of him,” said Matthews. “We have a progressive audience, obviously. But, uh, nobody can tell what people want to watch.”

“Yeah,” she said, adding that people do “want to watch him.”

“— to laugh at him,” Matthews replied.
Then they talked about  Chris Christie: “Why did he support [Trump]?” Clinton wondered. And then Ben Carson, whom Matthews said he'd known "forever" and found "very soft spoken, never said a thing." Then Matthews said Carson reminded him of Tommy Smothers, and Clinton expressed appreciation to get to talk to someone who — unlike her young staffpeople — remembers the old TV shows. That caused Matthews to say "Sid Caesar" 3 times, and Clinton said "Ed Sullivan!"

70 comments:

Ignorance is Bliss said...

...you know, it’s just like candy by the bushel.

Now I see where Hillary obtained her new-found gravitas.

rehajm said...

If there's a 'hot mike', 100% chance whatever a Clinton spews into it is what a Clinton believes is good for a Clinton.

We've all watched The West Wing Clintons. It's not a trick anymore.

It makes you look tired....

Thuglawlibrarian said...

As Instapundit likes to say, "Democrat Operatives with Bylines."

n.n said...

Whisper sweet nothings and bribe them with cake. Withdrawal will be a bitter-sweet experience for their progressive audience.

rehajm said...

BTW Ann, It's' hot mic'.

'Hot Mike' is someone else in your psyche.

Fabi said...

Kind words from Clinton regarding Ben Carson.

Matthews remains firmly ensconced in his bubble. Lots of laughing going on, Chrissie, but it's not in the direction you assume.

Lewis Wetzel said...

How chummy they are.

BarrySanders20 said...

But does Hill give him that leg thrill? Barry did.

Given the 50's theme, didn't Fats Domino sing something about thrills, Barry and Hill?


John Christopher said...

I see Chris Matthews from time-to-time out to eat in my neighborhood. I always want to bring up the leg thrill (I'd even say tingle just to be extra annoying), but see from YouTube that it's been done before.

Farmer said...

"Candy by the bushel?" Who the fuck speaks like that? I think she's an android.

traditionalguy said...

Good grief, it's Trump, said Candy.

Quaestor said...

Interesting Smothers Brothers clip from the bygone days when it was Tommy the Slow Kid and before Tommy the Trotskyite.

dreams said...

I like Ben Stein and he likes Trump. Sadly, some of the people I liked have not shown very much wisdom lately and I've lost some of my respect for them.

Mark said...

Matthew's take on Trump is why, if the Republicans can't stop him, the Democratic Establishment (including the media, naturally) are going to be totally Pauline Kaeled in November.

YoungHegelian said...

And then Ben Carson, whom Matthews said he'd known "forever" and found "very soft spoken, never said a thing." Then Matthews said Carson reminded him of Tommy Smothers,

Except that Dr. Carson is a nice guy in over his head, & Tommy Smothers is a nasty, intolerant, lefty bastard. And has been for long time. Just ask Penn Gillette. For whatever reason, Penn Gillette has pulled his actually quite moving video of what it feels like to have one of your idols go after you on live TV.

Curious George said...

"But, uh, nobody can tell what people want to watch.”

But we do know what they don't want to watch. MSNBC.

holdfast said...

She should be grateful that people are talking about Trump and not talking about what a badly-programmed, gaffetastic, tin-eared android she is.

Henry said...

I love the way this post contrasts with the last one. Here's a mashup:

In order to communicate with a younger audience -- like Ms. Clinton's staff people -- you need ... a porn video.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Ed Sullivan? Smothers Brothers? White entertainers from back in the days when it was mostly white people on TV? Is that what Clinton pines for--a return to 1950's segregated America? Oh, sure, Matthews mentions Jewish entertainer Caesar, but that's tokenism at its finest.

Shame on you, Mrs. Clinton, for wanting to take us back to the past--a past when People Of Color weren't allowed on your white TV screens! Ugly.

Chuck said...

dreams:

I saw the quote in which Ben Stein said, "I like him," in relation to Trump. Look into it further, I beg of you. Because I too like Ben Stein.

I'm confident you will find that Stein likes Donald Trump in the same way that I like vodka, and x-rated Redd Foxx recordings, and black market fireworks. They are not good things; they simply have likable qualities amidst many dangerous ones.

Ben Stein HAS said that Trump is I'll-informed, that Trump is a new "George Wallace" without the racism, that Trump is a "big sulking baby," and even (most revealingly) that doctrinaire conservative Ben Stein said he'd consider voting for a Clinton.

PB said...

The Smothers Brothers. Jack Benny & George Burns. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYTl2hPE5Wc

JoyD said...

IF she didn't know they'd be audible, you can bet HE did.

Fabi said...

Chuck said...

"...I like vodka, x-rated Redd Foxx recordings, and black market fireworks."

I knew that you had some redeemable qualities, Chuck! :)

dreams said...

"I'm confident you will find that Stein likes Donald Trump in the same way that I like vodka, and x-rated Redd Foxx recordings, and black market fireworks. They are not good things; they simply have likable qualities amidst many dangerous ones."

I just saw Ben Stein say that he liked Trump on Fox with Neil Cavuto at 4:00pm today. He thinks Trump is being treated unfairly, maybe he likes Cruz better I can't say for sure but he spoke highly of Trump.

Skeptical Voter said...

Oh my---must watch TV--a geezer and a geezette reminiscing about the good old times--when both of them managed to go through an entire day without telling more than half a dozen lies. Things have slipped a bit since then.

Limited blogger said...

Anybody that says they are conservative but will consider voting for a Clinton is not a conservative. If a conservative says he will not vote for Trump, ok, I get it. Please reconsider, but I get it.

HT said...

Fright night begins soon. I'm sorry I'll be missing it.

Sammy Finkelman said...

Hillary Clinton claimed "that's why I was recruited" to run for the senate in 2000 - in other words that Giuliani would win.

But the truth is first Moynihan had not to run for re-election.

mccullough said...

No wonder Obama schlonged Hillary.

Bay Area Guy said...

In related news, Obama is dismayed at the political rhetoric, and calls for civility

I, in turn, call for the Althouse Civility Bullshit tag.

Darrell said...

Cruz says he'll have more flexibility after the election. Hillary and Bernie order more brown shirts.

Dan Hossley said...

Candy by the bushel? Where did that come from?

dreams said...

"I'm confident you will find that Stein likes Donald Trump in the same way that I like vodka, and x-rated Redd Foxx recordings, and black market fireworks. They are not good things; they simply have likable qualities amidst many dangerous ones."

Here is what Ben Stein said.

"NEIL CAVUTO (HOST): But it bothers a lot of folks who say -- even in the Republican Party, Ben, that he might be alienating Latino voters who he seems to be targeting. He says no, he's just talking about illegals. It's very clear in his statements and press releases that's exactly what he is saying, but it's sort of been morphed together, as sort of an anti-Hispanic rant. What do you say?

STEIN: [INAUDIBLE] Morphed together by the Democratic establishment. There's so much talk about the Republican establishment, and I don't even know who is in the Republican establishment. I would think I would be, by virtue of age and the fact that both my father and grandfather were fairly prominent Republicans. But, what I'm looking at here is the Democratic establishment, is the one trying to cut off debate, trying to keep Mr. Trump from speaking. I don't think there's ever been a case before where a major political party in the US has had, on a systematic basis, an attempt to silence the other party's leading presidential candidate. That is an outrage. That is the real anti-Democratic thing that is going on here. It's not Trump, who is the anti-democratic here, it is the other side. My old childhood next door neighbor, dear friend Carl Bernstein, obviously on very different sides of the fence politically, says Mr. Trump is a neo-fascist. He's the exact opposite of a neo-fascist. He wants government of, by, and for the people. It's the other side trying to shout him down, and have government by a screaming, un-elected elite."

"STEIN: I think they can get along and hug, and I think Mr. Trump is a rising star. I think he has caught on to the national mood, I think Mrs. Clinton is a falling star, trying to play race based, identity based politics. Mr. Trump is saying let's all stand together as Americans. I have not heard a racist word out of that man's mouth. He wants a peaceful, calm America, he wants a strong military. How's he going to pay for it with his tax plan, god only knows, and I certainly don't know. But I think people should be listening to him. He's not a ranting, blubbering fool. He's making a lot of sense, and I don't see what's anti-democratic about him. "

http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/03/15/ben-stein-i-have-not-heard-a-racist-word-out-of/209278

dreams said...

Here is video of the first time I saw Ben Stein.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4224687129/

fivewheels said...

No video? So we can't see him kissing her?

Michael K said...

"Trump is a new "George Wallace" without the racism"

Actually, I could probably vote for a non-racist George Wallace. He was absolutely right about the bureaucracy.

Few people remember how well he did except for the racism, and being shot by a nut.

Don't tell Chuck that Ben Stein likes Trump. He will have a coronary.

I also like Redd Foxx records and have a couple of CDs of his. I used to go see him in his club in LA when I was in college and only college kids knew who he was.

Kate said...

Er...Tommy's shtick was to act like someone with Downs Syndrome who could sing/play. Did Hillary just compare an African-American neurosurgeon to -- as we freely said back then -- a retard? She's a peach!

Chuck said...

Those words from Ben Stein are consistent with what I knew.

And I still like Ben Stein.

But I'd ask Ben to then explain. Trump's wish to erase the First Amendment protections in defamation cases. And Trump's serious (?!) proposal to ban U.S. entry to one religious group, his frankly protectionist trade policies, and Trump's loony anti-science autism views.

Ben is right to call out the organized disrupters of the left. Conservatives have been doing that for a long time. It's a pity that blue collar guys in Warren, Michigan; Youngstown, Ohio; and Columbia, South Carolina haven't read the National Review before now.

jg said...

Matthews is panting with excitement at being so chummy w/ the anointed next POTUS. He'd say *anything*.

CStanley said...

It's no accident that she was "overheard" saying that Trump is a "dangerous presence." I've become convinced the Chicago dust up was coordinated by the Clinton camp.

Her only hope is to whip up fear, otherwise the Democratic base stays home. This summer is going to get ugly.

Bay Area Guy said...

I like Vodka, Redd Foxx, fireworks and Ben Stein.

C'mon Chuck -- after tonight, you're gonna have to learn to like Trump. Consider it your patriotic duty.

rcocean said...

Matthews has proved himself to be a left-wing clown over and over again for the last 15 years. Like Joe Biden, he's said so many dumb, racist, and just plain weird things, why does anyone take him seriously?

That Hillary does, makes me very worried.

Anonymous said...

Trump is a "dangerous presence."

I wonder if she thought so when he sent her campaign donations in the past?
Is there such a thing as ex post facto disavowal?

Charlie said...

What a couple of old geezers! Where are the young "progressives"?

Limited blogger said...

Sorry to go OT here, but early reports are big, big turnouts. This is Trump positive.

rcocean said...

The democrats seem incredibly split by age. In Florida "Bernie" is on getting 20% of those over 65. Hillary is winning the state by record margins but is losing the under 34 vote.

Ann Althouse said...

"BTW Ann, It's' hot mic'."

This is a spelling issue that has been discussed at length on this blog. "Mic" began as an abbreviation on audio equipment. The spelling "mike" is much older and is traditional. I adhere to it. "Mic" really annoys me. It looks foolish, but the argument that it's the one true spelling actually makes me mad, but then, I'm waspish.

Ann Althouse said...

Here's my old post about the spelling "mic."

"AND: Speaking of things that make me queasy... that spelling "mic": "What's the correct spelling — "mic" or "mike"? It's mike, obviously! Do you know any guys named Michael who spell their nickname "Mic"? Imagine 2 Michaels, Mike and Mic: Which one do you want to have a beer with?... There's a big debate about spelling in the comments at that last link. I participate a lot in the debate, saying things like: Yeah, and no one says I'm riding my bic. No one protests "no nucs.""

Ann Althouse said...

If mike isn't a good spelling for microphone, why would it be a good nickname for Michael.

The "c" becomes a "k." I am not sure why. I just know the tradition.

Why was Eisenhower Ike? He wasn't Ic.

MacMacConnell said...

Democrats the party of old white people.

wildswan said...

"Candy by the bushel" seems to refer to those people who buy a lot of Halloween candy and dress up scary as witches but nobody comes to their house (and the same thing happened last year) but they won't acknowledge it. So they end up the next day with "candy by the bushel" which they distribute at work. This is not the story of the Donald - he dresses up scary perhaps, as a republican and a billionaire and wearing a tie - but they flock to his house, some for candy, some to ring the bell and run away.

Underneath maybe Hillary is feeling a little sad because she has "candy by the bushel", i. e., government freebies, and no one is coming to fill their bags unless their parents drive them there. And this has happened before, in 2008 in fact.

gspencer said...

That caused Matthews to say "Sid Caesar" 3 times, and Clinton said "Ed Sullivan!"

And then I said "Car 54" because that show reminds me of Hillary's competence.

jr565 said...

it may be time to embrace the suck.

wildswan said...

In Florida Trump has almost as many votes as Hillary and Rubio has more than Sanders and then there are 340,000 other votes split between Cruz and Kasich. Yet they say Trump would lose the national. Maybe the pollsters don't know anymore.

Laslo Spatula said...

Ann Althouse said...
If mike isn't a good spelling for microphone, why would it be a good nickname for Michael.

The "c" becomes a "k." I am not sure why. I just know the tradition.

Why was Eisenhower Ike? He wasn't Ic.

But you HAVE hit on the reasoning why people named Richard would prefer slang for a penis to be 'Dic'.

I am Laslo.

dreams said...

"Maybe the pollsters don't know anymore."

The polls are wrong because people lie to the pollsters, they don't want to risk disapproval even over the phone so they give politically correct answers..

Bob Boyd said...

“Yeah,” she said, adding that people do “want to watch him.”


Interesting how Buzzfeed went out of their way to change what Hillary actually said here, which was, "People must think they want to watch him."

Danno said...

I think "candy by the bushel" is an inside joke about the Dem's secret weapon, Candy Crowley. Think of her as putting 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag.

rehajm said...

Ann Althouse said..

"Mic" really annoys me. It looks foolish, but the argument that it's the one true spelling actually makes me mad, but then, I'm waspish.


Ann drops the Mic!

Alex said...

So Ben Stein has jumped on the anti-Trump bandwagon. I honestly think all these GOPe dinosaurs can fuck off. They have no right to tell me who to vote for.

Freeman Hunt said...

Boy, I wish they would stop talking about him. He's boring now. Many people who used to post interesting links on Facebook now only make posts about why Trump is terrible.

Mary Beth said...

I liked the part where Matthews was talking about getting to know Carson through the Academy of Achievement and how the guy who climbed Everest first and the guys who "invented" DNA were there.

SweatBee said...

Putting on my "mean ol' schoolmarm" hat. I actually know the answer to the mic vs. mike spelling question. It may be popular current usage to shorten microphone to mic instead of mike, but doing so breaks the rules of English spelling and therefore is technically incorrect or at a minimum causes an annoying rule exception that will have to be memorized by the schoolchildren of tomorrow.

For "mic" to be properly pronounced with the second sound of i (some people call this the long sound, but I number them because i actually has four common sounds that it represents, with the "long" sound being the second most frequent), it would have to have an e added to the end to signal a change in the vowel. Otherwise, it would be pronounced like "mick." But you can't just add an e and call it a day because standard English has another spelling rule that says "C softens to /s/ when followed by e, i, or y; otherwise, it represents /k/." You wouldn't want to drop the mice at a concert; doing so could incite screaming of the unwelcome type.

So, how do you get a hard K on the end combined with the second sound of i in the middle? Use a k for the /k/ sound and add an e on the end to indicate the second sound for i. M-I-K-E. Mike. Not mic.

(See also reasons why we don't shorten "delicious" to "delic" or "Coca-Cola" to "Coc" or "favorite" to "fav" or why "picnic" and "mimic" become "picnicking" and "mimicking)

Sammy Finkelman said...

rehajm said...3/15/16, 3:19 PM

If there's a 'hot mike', 100% chance whatever a Clinton spews into it is what a Clinton believes is good for a Clinton.

At most, it is what she wants Chris Matthews to believe, and what she thinks would cause him to like her, rather than what she wants the general audience to believe, and to like her - slightly different maybe. But not her true feelings at all.

dreams said...


"So Ben Stein has jumped on the anti-Trump bandwagon. I honestly think all these GOPe dinosaurs can fuck off. They have no right to tell me who to vote for."

Why did you write that, its just the opposite.

BudBrown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rcommal said...

http://emruf.webs.com/ac.htm

Chris N said...

When we were children, we had a horse named Bolt, who was 20 hands high. This was after the War.

In the Fall, the girls would burn their bras, and the menfolk played for the Chestnut Cup.

What's a server?

Darcy said...

Love that Hill calls him dangerous! Encouraged.

mikee said...

Hillary might want to update her pop cultural references to Colbert and Jay Leno, at least, if not One Punch Man. It is embarrassing, as a person close to her in age, that she has no connection to recent pop culture.