Better Than Nothing

Breaking news in Matthewsgate! Chris Matthews went on air and sorta-apologized for his ridiculous sexism. Media Matters has the video and transcript. I appreciate the apology, and it's pretty well-reasoned...except that it's based on the notion that Matthews only said one objectionable thing. He pretends that the uproar is in response to his comment that "the reason [Hillary Clinton]'s a U.S. senator, the reason she's a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around. That's how she got to be senator from New York. We keep forgetting it. She didn't win there on her merit."

It's nice that he doesn't pretend the statement was taken out of context or some bullshit--he says that, upon reflection, that last bit was not only gravely insulting but factually incorrect. He likens Clinton's marriage troubles to McCain's POW history, which in the context makes some sense (even though they are obviously of very different quality and calibre). Matthews had forgotten that 2000 was not so long ago and most people REMEMBER that election, so, yeah--he certainly had to deal with the consequences of his statement. And, as I said, he didn't do the blame-dodging bullshit-excuse thing that is so ubiquitous these days, which is appreciated.

But: come on man, you said a lot of other objectionable shit. True, this final comment got the most attention, because in addition to being hugely sexist it had the added benefit of being totally fucking untrue, whereas the other things qualify as off-the-cuff misogyny, which is not exactly rare. He has casually flung out the casually sexist memes that undermine any woman who dares to pursue a leadership position. He has done his best to lower the level of debate and to tar, if unconsciously, all women with the same brush. I'm sure his words will be recycled for years to come.

In summation: Thanks for the apology. Now where's the restof the fucking apology?