CHRIS MATTHEWS SLIMES A MILITARY FAMILY
By malkin
Last night, MSNBC blabber Chris Matthews suggested that the powerfully moving hug between Safia Taleb al-Suhail, who recently voted in the Iraqi elections, and Janet Norwood, mother of a Marine who died in Iraq, was staged. Matthews sneered that fellow MSNBC host Pat Buchanan was being "naive" for arguing otherwise.
Well, Diane Sawyer on ABC's Good Morning America did the decent thing and asked Mrs. Norwood directly about the embrace. Newsmax posted the transcript:
SAWYER: It was such a moving moment for everyone, including clearly the president, in the room last night. Safia al-Suhail, whose father had been killed under Saddam, and who had held up her finger with ink on it to show she had voted for the first time in her life, was sitting in front of you.
First, did you know she would be there? And did you know you were going to lean over [and hug her]?
MRS. NORWOOD: No. We had no idea who was going to be there. We met as we went in the door [to the gallery]. She turned around and introduced herself. I asked her if her finger was purple and she held it up and showed me that it was. And I just grabbed her finger.
It would have made our son so proud to see the success of elections in Iraq.
MR. NORWOOD: We didn't know about her dad until something was mentioned. But it certainly enhanced our opinion of her. She was a very, very fine person.
MRS. NORWOOD: She thanked us for our son's sacrifice and made sure we knew that the people of Iraq were grateful for the sacrifices that were made, not just by our son, but by all of them.
SAWYER: And what did you say to her?
MRS. NORWOOD: I just told her how happy we were that the elections were successful and told her that our son would have been pleased.
MR. NORWOOD: Byron really believed that the Iraqi people deserved a chance to take ownership of the concept of freedom. And they certainly proved that they can do that now. So he would have been very pleased...
Will Matthews retract his comments and express his regrets to the Norwoods, especially now that his own Hardball reporter David Shuster blogged his conversation with Mrs. Norwood confirming that the hug was spontaneous?
Chris Matthews? Apologize? Hah. Slimeballs don't do apologies.
• February 3, 2005 | 4:57 p.m. ET
Iraqis, the U.S. Congress, and ink-stained fingers (David Shuster)
Safia Taleb al-Suhail is the Iraqi voter who provided that magical moment Wednesday night during the President's State of the Union address. This afternoon, I had the privilege of interviewing her in one of our studios here in Washington, D.C. She is articulate, passionate, and courageous. And we will show most the interview this evening on 'Hardball.'
A few highlights:
Safia said she met the Norwoods for the first time last night at the speech. Safia walked in and was sitting next to Laura Bush, when she heard the couple behind her talking to the mayor of Washington, D.C. (Janet and Bill Norwood were explaining to the mayor why they had been invited... and how their son, a Marine, got killed in the battle for Fallujah.) Safia overheard the conversation... and on her own, she turned around and introduced herself. She said she told the Norwoods "Thank you" and "Words can't express how grateful my country is to you." Safia said she felt an instant bond with Janet Norwood and was soon looking at one of the last pictures taken of Norwood's son Byron.
There was an exchange of questions... and e-mails. (The women pledged to stay in touch.) Then, the President walked in and the speech began. Safia said she was honored when the President singled her out... and even more honored when he mentioned the Norwoods. Safia said the long hug with Janet Norwood was spontaneous and emotional. Both were crying.
There was a moment during this hug when it appeared Mrs. Norwood had given Safia the ID tags that belonged to Norwood's son. In fact, Safia said that during the embrace, the tags got caught on the jewelry Safia was wearing and on Mrs. Norwood's purse. "We were bound together," said Safia, "it was an accident but somehow appropriate."
Safia Taleb al-Suhail acknowledges that she is now an inviting target for the insurgents who have been murdering prominent and not-so-prominent Iraqis who cooperate with the United States. And she will talk about all of that tonight on Hardball at 7 p.m. ET
Ink stained fingers:
By the way, that gets me to one observation I had about covering the State of the Union, just 36 hours after being in Baghdad. To me, it was surreal to see the members of Congress arrive in their nice cars and motorcades... and then walk into the house chamber wearing their fancy suits and ties. It was even more surreal to see that some lawmakers, in this incredibly secure and safe coccoon, had stained their own index fingers.
The courage of ordinary Iraqis last Sunday was unmistakable. They were literally risking their lives by standing in line to vote and by getting their fingers stamped with ink. The members of Congress who stained their own fingers and wagged them proudly for the cameras were an affront to that courage. And in my eyes, those lawmakers diminished the true significance of what happened last weekend in Iraq. The fact is, few members of Congress have a son or daughter serving in the U.S. military. And few lawmakers have actually ever served themselves. Furthermore, in Washington, D.C., even "political courage," (never mind the real stuff) is exceptionally rare. Am I being too cynical? Probably. (And I'm sure I'll get a ton of nasty e-mails from some of you.) But, if members of Congress want to show "solidarity" with the Iraqi people... they are welcome to head to Baghdad, put on a flak jacket, and help/advise the new assembly on writing the constitution. Or, our lawmakers could serve as "election monitors" in Iraq when the constitution is put to a vote as early as this fall. That would be courageous and show real solidarity. An ink-stained american finger, waved for the TV cameras on the floor of the House chamber... is a political stunt.
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