Surprise! MSNBC’s panel following President Obama’s end-of-the-year speech gave it rave reviews, calling him “strong” and “Obama 2.0” for his denunciation of Sony. (VIDEO: MSNBC panel pans O’Reilly’s hard-hitting Obama interview)
The panel included liberal MSNBC hosts Chris Matthews and Joy Reid, liberal Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, former Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, and liberal Latina advocate Maria Teresa Kumar. The only balance came from (arguably) moderate “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd.
“The president jumps in and says, ‘No, kids out in Hollywood, I’m a grown-up,’” Matthews swooned, “’And you know what, you made a mistake. You did. You buckled, you appeased. Very strong statement. You should have talked to me.'” (VIDEO: Matthews Accuses The GOP Of ‘Murder In Broad Daylight’)
“Incredibly strong,” agreed Todd, “I mean, that — look, that whole press conference, that was a president who thinks he’s earned to have some swagger, the way he answered questions, and dealt with certain issues and not brushing them off in snarky ways, just feeling very confident.”
“Yeah, you Churchill, me Chamberlain,” Matthews said. “…The way he’s behaved these last six weeks. You said swagger. It wasn’t that kind of faux swagger you got from W [Bush], where you wonder where it came from. This seems to be based on a confidence that’s come out of his own — his own inner, what reaction, defiance, the right word? I haven’t come to it yet.”
The only panelist with something negative to say was Reid, who was disappointed that Obama was too even-handed on racial issues. “But on Sony, Obama 2.0 all the way!” she said, “He was a different guy.”