Quotes are from my notes not the transcript.

First Topic: Portgate

Norah O’Donnell, who mostly batted her giant eyelids and displayed her in-depth knowledge of what Republicans in DC are thinking, echoed the Wingnuttosphere’s sentiment that the biggest scandal is that Bush misunderestimated the public’s reaction to the news coming out. He is infallible after all, what gives?

“Off-base” as in Political Base, “tone deaf”, “Harriet Miers Moment” were some of the terms she used to describe the WH’s handling of Portgate.

Chris “Tweety” Matthews was a Good Republican and forced the Race Card talking point on the conversation at least three times. Even though the panelists dismissed it instantly and moved on to other subjects. But that didn’t stop Tweety.

Isn’t this just an “Anti Ay-rab thing?” He did use the redneck pronunciation, perhaps for effect, perhaps he is one at heart.

Amy Sullivan from Washington Monthly was never afraid to “break up the flow” by disagreeing with the other panelists and making strong points. I wonder if she will ever be asked back. Nice black stillettoes, BTW.

She said there is a reason the port issue is resonating with the public: Bush and the GOP have been pushing fear and “security” issues relentlessly. So it’s only right that the Dems highlight Portgate.

Tweety: so the Dems are saying “Whether we’re right or wrong on this issue we’re gonna hit ’em.” Way to frame it, dude.

Dana Milbank from the WaPo: “facts are murky”. Thanks for that hardcore reporting. He agreed with Amy that taking on the Chimp on security is a winner for Dems in this instance.

Terry Neal, WaPo: But Democrats never seem to take advantage of opportunities

The Whole Panel: Har de Har Har! Guffaw!

Terry Neal, WaPo: Maybe that’s an understatement

The Whole Panel: Chuckle!

Wow. What must it feel like for Beltway Dems to embody a running joke for the media? Don’t they ever get tired of it?

Norah brought up what I think is another fake talking point, that Portgate is ripping the Republican party apart. I’ll believe it when I see GOP congresspeople voting to override Bush’s veto. It will never come to that in a million years. They will work out a deal, but in the meantime the GOP congresscritters can play to the base by looking like they’re not taking orders from Bush.

Tweety: I’m going back to the ethnic… What if it had been a belgian company

Dana: We can’t trust the flemish with our ports

The Whole Panel: Har de Har Har!

Out of nowhere Tweety interjected that the Democrats have put their brains together and are working on a plan to pull 80,000 troops out of Iraq by the end of the year. Really? First I’ve heard of it. Coming from Matthews it’s hard to tell if it’s disinformation or not.

Not to be constrained by an actual discussion, Tweety ended the segment with a video clip of Schumer denying the Race Card Talking Point followed by, get this, Matt Freaking Damon in a clip from Syriana.

Tweety’s point (an adjunt to the Race Card meme) being that the critics of the port deal are making the same mistake Matt Damon made in the video clip: he was “putting down the wrong arabs”

It’s a Tweety Jedi mind trick: “these aren’t the Ay-rabs you’re looking for”.

Second Topic: Abortion Ban in South Dakota

Tweety referenced a poll saying that 66% vs. 25% of Americans are against overturning Roe v. Wade.

Tweety: the Republicans are jubilant!

Amy Sullivan: not so much. “I doubt anyone’s doing cartwheels in the White House”. South Dakota is one of reddest states in the country. As the poll showed, their feelings are not shared by the nation as a whole.

“This is the dirty Secret of republican politics”, they must appear to be trying to outlaw abortion, but it is not in their strategy to succeed because (the poll again) there would be a backlash from the majority of Americans who are not fundie abortion nutballs. This is pretty one of the big points “What’s the Matter With Kansas” makes. I doubt if anyone has ever raised it on Matthews show before, or will do so ever again.

Dana Milbank: The GOP strategy is to chip away at the right to abortion in little pieces to prevent the backlash that would occur if it were outlawed in one fell swoop. Like partial birth abortion.

Amy Sullivan: partial birth is not “chipping away” it’s “a fake issue”. There are very few of them performed.

Tell Me Something I Don’t Know Segment

Most of the panelists were boring, but Norah dropped the “bombshell” that Ken Mehlman (Chair of the Republican National Committee) has announced he will help McCain fundraise.

Tweety added that Terry McAuliffe (former head of the Democratic National Committe) is in, too. Wha?

Closing Monologue: The Global Pinball Machine

Tweety ends the show with a bizarre swipe at blogs complete with footage of an out of control pinball machine. And as an example of blogs he has a screen capture of Michelle Malkin’s page and a blog I’ve never heard of “Random Thots” (sic).

Feel a little jumpy these days? I knew that you would.

He brings up the furor over the anti-muslim cartoons and the outrage over Portgate, subliminally equating the two by putting them together as examples of a grave threat to civilization.

Where did the uproar come from? It came from heat-seeking radio talk types and quick-to-burn bloggers who spread the word, and the anger.

First, the WaPo calls bloggers Naked Savages, now, according to Tweety, we’re the Human Torch from the Fantastic 4.

We’ve managed to wire the world electronically. But in the process we’ve wired the world politically. So we’re stuck in a global pinball machine, where the smallest slight can bounce from one end of the earth to the next, flashing lights, ringing bells, and maybe, in one of these games, causing the whole global table to tilt.

An open, global exchange of information by actual people via the internets. The Horror! We’re all doomed!