Five years ago today ...

[D-Backs Hack]

May 1, 2003. Also the darkest day in the history of television news.

Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war.

Try to get through all of this without retching:

MATTHEWS: Senator McConnell, let me ask about today. What's the importance of the president's amazing display of leadership tonight?

MATTHEWS: What do you make of the actual visual that's people will see on TV and probably, as you know, as well as I, will remember a lot longer than words spoken tonight? And that's the president looking very much like a jet, you know, a high-flying jet star. A guy who is a jet pilot. Has been in the past when he was younger, obviously. What does that image mean to the American people, a guy who can actually get into a super sonic plane, and actually fly in an unpressurized cabin, like an actual jet pilot?

MATTHEWS: Do you think this role, and I want to talk politically for just a secretary, the president deserves everything he's doing tonight in term of his leadership. He won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics. Do you think he is defining the office of the presidency, at least for this time, as basicly that of commander-in-chief. That is role, that if you're going to run against him, you'd better be ready to take away from him.

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you, Bob Dornan, you were a congressman all those years. Here's a president who's really non-verbal. He's like Eisenhower. He looks great in a military uniform. He looks great in that cowboy costume he wears when he goes west. I remember him standing at that fence with Colin Powell. Was the best picture in the 2000 campaign.

MATTHEWS: And we're going to talk about the president's incredible performance, flying into the USS Abraham Lincoln today. More on that when we come back with HARDBALL's buzz.

MATTHEWS: OK, let me run through the names, Ann. Lieberman -- can you see him in this picture? Ann?

COULTER: What about him?

MATTHEWS: Can you see him getting into an F-18 ...

COULTER: Oh, no!

MATTHEWS: ... an flying onto an aircraft carrier?

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: Joe Lieberman, can you see him there?

COULTER: No possibility. I -- I have ...

MATTHEWS: Can you see John Edwards doing it?

COULTER: No possibility.

MATTHEWS: Can you see **** Gephardt doing it?

CADDELL: Yes. No. Yes.

COULTER: No.

MATTHEWS: Can you see John Kerry do it?

COULTER: I can think of very few Republicans I could even see doing it. But no, not even Kerry.

MATTHEWS: Can you -- Pat Caddell, are there any Democrats that could go for this part, if this were a Hollywood casting director? Who could play this part as a Democrat, besides the president? Pat?

MATTHEWS: We're proud of our president. Americans love having a guy as president, a guy who has a little swagger, who's physical, who's not a complicated guy like Clinton or even like Dukakis or Mondale, all those guys, McGovern. They want a guy who's president. Women like a guy who's president. Check it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our president. It's simple.

 

[dooley_womack1]

The day after I joined sj. Coincidence?

 

[slappy4428]

The day after I joined sj. Coincidence?

Like Hostess and kids...

 

[DemoChristian]

Thank God that war ended so quickly. Otherwise, things could have gone very badly in Iraq and Afghanistan and throughout the world.

 

[dixiehack]

 

[Tom Petty]

 

[Write-brained]

Yay us!

 

[Tom Petty]

Yay us!

yeah. bang up job, george,

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Tom, why do you hate America? You know you're not supposed to show the, you know, sacrifice, of our soldiers. It's all supposed to be happy news!

 

[Football_Bat]

Somebody wake Sportschick up.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Okay, I'll do it.

(Not "wake sportschick up.")

(Now that just sounds wrong.)

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Two things about this subject that always drive me nuts me is this.

1. Supposedly, there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (unless Bush knew there weren't and 100 percent blatatly lied, which if he did, he should be tried, convicted and jailed).

We also hadn't captured Saddam yet. What if, on May 2, we would have found Saddam strapped onto a nuke, and he blew himself and 100,000 troops up? Bush would have looked like the biggest fool on the planet (not that he may be already) for declaring a war to be over, then watch our troops get nuked.

2. Why in the holy hell didn't the Dems, every time there was a debate on Iraq, cite this moment for a reason to bring the troops home? Every time the Reps cried "Cut and Run", the Dems should have said, "Mission Accomplished, bring them home." They should have put the onus back on Bush to either apologize for this episode, or admit that he was premature on national TV.

 

[kingcreole]

Okay, I'll do it.

(Not "wake sportschick up.")

(Now that just sounds wrong.)

Asshole. That's not your job.

Always funny nonetheless!

 

[DemoChristian]

I'm as big an anti-Bush guys as there is, but even I don't think he knew 100 percent there were no WMDs. I think he thought there were, but he was only willing to listen to/present the evidence that supported that notion.
I do think our going in there had very little to do with WMDs. Bush had a memo while he was still campaigning for president that asked his staff to figure out how we were going to invade Iraq. 9/11 happened and he had his opportunity. He had to go to Afghanistan first (which was the right thing to do) but he got out of there as soon as possible so he could go after the guy who tried to kill his daddy.

 

[mustangj17]

Okay, I'll do it.

(Not "wake sportschick up.")

(Now that just sounds wrong.)

I just don't understand how that picture is relevant.

 

[sportschick]

That's because you haven't been around long enough to realize its place in SportsJournalists.com lore.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

 

[DemoChristian]

 

[93Devil]

Boy, I'm glad we had Iraq taken care of so our fearless leader could take care of problems at home.

 

[Tom Petty]

That's because you haven't been around long enough to realize its place in SportsJournalists.com lore.

huh?