When Mika Brzezinski gushed over Pat Buchanan's knowledge of WWII history today, was she aware that her hero has criticized Britain for coming to the defense of her father's native Poland when Nazi Germany invaded it?
Buchanan has been a member of the Morning Joe panel this week. Much of today's talk has focused, with a Bush-bashing panel of guests, on President Bush's condemnation of appeasement in remarks to the Israeli Knesset. At 8:12 AM ET, the show rolled video from last night's Hardball of Chris Matthews's hectoring of radio talk show host Kevin James over the latter's inability to state precisely what it was that Neville Chamberlain did in attempting to appease Adolf Hitler. As I noted here, Chris managed to stumble on some history of his own during that segment, but MJ didn't deign to discuss that embarrassing fact.
Willie Geist turned to Buchanan to answer the question that James couldn't.
View video here.
WILLIE GEIST: Let's answer the question. What did [Chamberlain] do in '38?
PAT BUCHANAN: He presided over the departure of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia to Germany, because the Germans were threatening war over it, and France was allied with Czechoslovakia. Six months later, Czechoslovakia fell apart.
It is no overstatement to say that in response to Buchanan's recitation, Mika gushed like a schoolgirl. I invite viewers to see for themselves. Mika's response comes 1:50 into the video clip.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI [clasping her hands over her bosom]: Oh-h-h-h Pat. Is there anything you don't know?
What Mika apparently didn't know is Buchanan's position on the issues, as set forth in his book A Republic, Not an Empire. From the NYT review [written by New Republic editor John Judis] of the Buchanan book [emphasis added].
In a new wrinkle on appeasement, [Buchanan] criticizes Britain for declaring war on Germany after Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. Even after Hitler conquered France and began bombing Britain, Buchanan insists, the Nazis were not a threat to American vital interests.
So, yes, Mika, Buchanan might be an expert on appeasement, but perhaps not in quite the way you imagined.
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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As I posted before... Mika
May 16, 2008 - 09:46 ET by bobthemanAs I posted before... Mika brings nothing to the show. I'm not sure why she is the co-host of a show when there is very little analysis on her part that a high school senior couldn't make.
http://politicsofdes...
Mark, I commented on your
May 16, 2008 - 09:55 ET by marpelMark, I commented on your previous post, and as you may remember, I have made no secret about my utter dislike of Mika B.
Thank you for supplying the transcript of Pat Buchanan's explanation as Mika was talking over him when I was watching this morning and did not catch a lot of what he said.
Nonetheless, Pat Buchanan was a major disappointment to me, never offering any balance to this discussion by these liberal reptiles. He was going right along with him.
It was very clear that Bush was referring to Jimmy Carter in his speech, and if Barack wants to take offense to this, screw him. Grow up, BO...you're in the big leagues now.
I suggest Matthews turn
May 16, 2008 - 10:18 ET by Chris NormanI suggest Matthews turn Hardball into a game show. "Chris, I'll take 'Pre-WWII History' for $500" or "Chris, I'll take 'Candidates Who Cause a Tingle Up Your Leg' for $1000". Then, Chris can scream at and berate the contestants if they don't know the answer to the former or show proper reverence in answering the latter.
Chris
May 16, 2008 - 10:19 ET by well99I'll take who was President during the Cole attack for $2000.
Ding! Ding! Ding! It's the
May 16, 2008 - 10:22 ET by Mark FinkelsteinDing! Ding! Ding! It's the Daily Double!
Chris was barking his
May 16, 2008 - 11:00 ET by marpelChris was barking his opinions off like it was the "lightening round". I think that's his way of showing his captured audience that he's smart....yeah, and 'Fredo was 'smaaht' too.
What will you all wager that Chris corrects his Cole mistake? I wager nothing.
Amazing
May 16, 2008 - 10:17 ET by well99Guess they left out the part of Chris rewriting history.The Cole was attack during Clinton not Bush as Matthews stated during the segment.
Second this
"In a new wrinkle on appeasement, [Buchanan] criticizes Britain for declaring war on Germany after Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. Even after Hitler conquered France and began bombing Britain, Buchanan insists, the Nazis were not a threat to American vital interests."
What respect I had for Buchanon is gone.Unbelievable.
Mika and Pat....And the whole stupid show
May 16, 2008 - 10:24 ET by NKurucOne can only imagine how vicious the "real" campaign is going to get. Please note that all of the Democrats made sure that McCain was added to the latest Bush Bashing Campaign. I guess that it's okay to call our President all kinds of names and guilty of war crimes. However to even insinuate that this empty suit of a potential nominee is on the wrong track is a no no. Perhaps we should hope for this idiot to be elected and let him hang himself......not!
You got to love the two
May 17, 2008 - 03:10 ET by well99You got to love the two standards by the msm.They dont even try hiding their bias.
Lets see about qualifications
May 16, 2008 - 10:28 ET by cvgbuckeyeIt occurs to me that there are quite stringent qualification requirements to appear as a host or guest on msnbc as well as the other liberal media
1. You must have a pulse
2. You must be relatively goofy looking
3. You must be very goofy talking
4. You must be exceedingly goofy
5. You must have a yellow streak down your back, a mile wide with the exception of picking on CINO's (Conservatives In Name Only) guests that you stack up 5 other liberals against on the same show.
6. You must be a semi-skilled liar about the few things that you know anything about.
7. You must be a skilled contortionist so that you have the ability to kiss the backside of all the other liberal guests, hosts and politicians on the set at the simultaneously.
8. You must have recently undergone a labotomy to remove any memories of any transgressions by any democrats.
9. You must be an extreme hypocrite.
10. You must be most racially open-minded person on the face of the earth, opposed by a sea of Conservatives who are radical racists.
This is an infinite discussion so I'll quit now.
pat b
May 16, 2008 - 10:28 ET by dostrowI have noticed over the years, buchanon has no interest in
carrying the water for bush, the republicans or conservatives.
Probably the reason the msm likes him
Pat
May 16, 2008 - 10:53 ET by okiehawk44Pat Buchanon, like many of our founding fathers, doesn't believe in foreign entanglements and WW2 was that and more. Is he right? History says no. Are those who now think America shouldn't be involved in Iraq wrong? Does it depend on whose ox is being gored? Does Mica B. know anything about anything really? Is she the smartest person in the family? Do we care?
Founding fathers
May 16, 2008 - 13:42 ET by ort777Okie, you mention our founding fathers didn't believe in "foreign entanglements" whatever that's supposed to mean yet I'd like to ask critics of our foreign policy and those who claim to know how our founding fathers were thinking, do you think they'd ask France to get involved in our Revolutionary War if they didn't think it was okay to get involved in wars outside your own borders? I would think if we asked France for help it would only make sense that the reverse would be true. Something to chew on.
Someone should have
May 16, 2008 - 11:35 ET by jcollins9Someone should have mentioned that Chamberlain proclaimed that with the Sudetenland agreement, he had acheived "Peace in our time", which was about as far from being true as anything anyone could have said. It, combined with the failure of the allies to do anything about Hitler's failure to abide by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, actually emboldened Hitler to agressively pursue foriegn policy because he believed that a meek Europe wouldn't interfere.
Someone also should have pointed out that Hitler had laid out his plans for Europe in Mein Kampf, but no one had the courage to call him on it until it was too late. Sound familiar?
Man is not free unless government is limited. - Ronald Reagan
Was France wrong to come to
May 16, 2008 - 12:22 ET by mattmWas France wrong to come to the aid of the U.S. in the war against Britain in the late 1770's?
Buchanan's isolationist attitude has been proven wrong time and time again. His attitude that America is imperialistic is absurd. If it were, we'd have taken over Europe about 60 years ago.
I'm no Chris Matthews fan at
May 16, 2008 - 20:11 ET by GregEI'm no Chris Matthews fan at all, but he was right in asking his guest to say what that "same thing" was that Chamberlain did. All the guest had to do was say what he was referring to, but he didn't, and by doing so he sounded completely like he was trying to not say it, for whatever reason. Very bad for him and his credibility there.
He wasn't trying not to say
May 16, 2008 - 20:28 ET by motherbeltHe wasn't trying not to say it; he didn't know. He had no idea what Chamberlain actually did; he only knew that he "appeased" Hitler. In short, he was shooting off his mouth without facts to back it up.
You said it better than me.
May 16, 2008 - 21:00 ET by GregEYou said it better than me. Yep, I agree.