On Hardball, opening with a clip of JFK explaining that elected officials ought not shill for Rome, or any church. It’s over here. The show, for once, lives up to its name — it’s not pretty for Tobin. Says Chris Matthews:
What should the penalty be for a girl who gets an abortion?….
If there’s a hesitancy to punish a woman for having an abortion, maybe that’s instructive to you sir, Your Excellency, because when you realize you don’t really want to punish a woman for having an abortion, under the law, then maybe you should step back from using the law as your tool in enforcing moral authority… I’ve asked you now three times what the law should be, and if you can’t do it, then maybe you shouldn’t be involved in telling Congressman Kennedy how to write the law.
Whatever Matthews has to say, there was no call for the way he treated Bishop Tobin. Several times, he asked a question, then stepped on the answer, running off into another monologue. I was appalled by his atrocious lack of common courtesy. Whatever he might think of Tobin, as the host of a programme he’d invited him onto, he owed him at least the chance to make his case.
As it happened, he mostly just used him as a punching bag, and worse than that, it seemed to me that he did this as much in the hopes of making himself look good as to score any significant forensic points. I’m sure his theatrics did impress some people, but it didn’t impress me one bit. Matthews is a bully and a loudmouth, and made an ass of himself. Tobin, for his part, came off with eminent grace that I don’t believe I would have maintained.
Matthews may win the argument on the merits of the debate, but Tobin wins this round on basic good manners.