The Iraq War has been going on for over 4 years. Romney's campaign is less than a year old. How were his sons serving the country for the three years before their father announced his candidacy?

I couldn't agree more. If the war is okay then get the hell over there and help it be resolved. If not then have the courage of your convictions and say so - lives are on the line. What's missing is courage and thus far our candidates haven't exhibited much. C'mon McCain, Obama, Clinton, Romney and the rest of you rascals, get real. Stop politicking and start leading... BTW, my son spent 4 1/2 years in the USMC Special Forces and 2 1/2 years, on and off, serving as security in Iraq. And I'm hoping I'll get the opportunity to vote for John Edwards.

If Chris felt like he could smell the musk on Mitt, watch him swagger around an aircraft carrier, then he would have been ok with him.

A broken clock is right twice a day, I don't give Matthews any special credit on this.

I like the "Ron Burgundy" comparison for Romney -- more apt, or at least more generally accessible than the only one I can see when I see him, that he's one of the Vril (the people from the Center of the Earth who counseled Hitler late at night).

As to the chickenhawk term, I don't know if they're afraid -- so I can't attribute reasons for their spoiled brat rich kid self-indulgent non-compliance with the draft (Cheney, et al) or unwillingness to volunteer for SOMETHING.

I prefer REC ROOM PATRIOTS because whatever their reasons, it just seems that all of them consider themselves TOO GODDAMN PRECIOUS TO GIVE SOME SERVICE TO THEIR COUNTRY whether in military (which seems to be their favorite rah-rah) or Peace Corps or Vista (if that ever really existed) or teaching reading as volunteers -- I mean, they're rich -- they don't actually have to do a 9 - 5.

When some rich guy says that he's running for something (president, governor, senate, etc) to GIVE BACK to society for his good fortune, I feel the rising gorge. Giving back is what Jimmy Carter does. Taking more is what Romney and Bush and the rest are doing.

What was the line in the John Fogerty song "Fortunate Son?" -- and when you ask them what they want they always answer 'more more more.'

But of course, Romney likes to imagine that any criticism of him is anti-Mormon, just as Giuliani reacted to someone taking exception to his police state tactics by calling him a fascist and screaming how that's Anti-Italian-American bias.

In the words of the late and wonderful Arlen Riley Wilson, concerning ALL politicians: "The scum rises to the top."

We need some sort of skimming amendment written into the constitution.

(And, oh yeah, just for the record, I didn't like it and I didn't want to interrupt my life, but when the draft notice hit back then, after I got out of college, I went.)

Hewitt played the whole q & a yesterday at least 3 times that I heard. Hewitt was trying so hard to cya for Mitt that he claimed that lefties/liberals/dems are trying to convince people that there is no war.

On top of that, Hewitt claimed that he tells young republicans who haven't served that they should have a very good excuse. Then he gives them one. Joining the military is a calling.

And here I thought teaching was a calling.

I should stop before I say something that some wingnut will find offensive for no reason.

Thanks Joan

That's the difference.

That's the key.

Remember that.

Yes, he did cut you off and I would have been interested in your completed thought.

I found Romney's statement to be incredibly insulting to Americans of either party.

Matthews. Ugh.

Hardball? More like "Softball" when Republican guests usually show up and try to distort Democratic positions by throwing one "Beanball" after another.

I've only seen Matthews rip a Red-Stater once before this and that's when he called Michelle Malkin on one of her fabricated claims that she couldn't back up with a single shred of evidence. So that makes all of two times in all the years that this guy has been on TV that he's actually demanded some accountability from a Republican guest that I know of, although there could be some instances that I haven't seen or heard about.

And it wouldn't surprise me if Matthews rained on Romney's parade simply as a favor to his "hero" candidate Thompson with the agreement that Matthews will in turn receive one of Fred's used "Aqua Velva" bottles to put under his pillow at night. Some bought and paid for by sponsors talking head like Matthews doesn't hit Romney for the sake of the voters. He does it to help grease the skids for a guy like Thompson so that Thompson can have the luxury of appearing to just be above it all without having to get his hands dirty slinging mud.

I'd love to believe otherwise, but while I'm glad Matthews had a brief accountabilty moment I suspect that in time it will be just another abberation from what's become the status quo.

"All the National Guards people over there suck!, I mean they're stuck!"

I had to laugh. Old motormouth is trying to hog so much air time over his guests that he asks them questions, then answers for them too, like he did tonight when he asked Joan about Romney's five sons and almost as soon as Joan started to answer, Matthews cut her off and went nuts, answering the question himself.

Fortunately, tonight he was a passionate progressive. tomorrow night, he'll be a passionate Republican. He's like Larry King, an all-purpose whore house piano player. He'll play any tune to keep the boys up stairs happy.

Then Chris Cillizza wanted to jump on Joan for her characterizing Romney's "Holding your five sons back."

He said Joan was using a "Rhetorical device" unfairly. But Joan wasn't having any of it and won the volley with...

"It didn't sound like he encouraged them either. [Going to war] doesn't sound like a Romney family value."

Game, set and match.

Nice going Joan. This is what I'm talking about. You need to go up against the Bigs on Sunday morning gab shows. You're ready.