Can a Texas Pol Who Supports Obama Name One of His Accomplishments? Evidently Not.

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Appearing on Hardball last night to support Barack Obama, Texas State Senator Kirk Watson couldn’t name a single piece of Obama legislation. In one of the most painful minutes of live television in recent memory, Chris Matthews wouldn’t let him off the hook:

Score one for the empty-hope meme.

The segment would have been more revealing, and fair, if Matthews had posed the same question to the Clinton supporter. Perhaps he was too afraid. Matthews, who is normally unfriendly to just about everyone, has nonetheless taken heavy flack for several particularly harsh attacks on Hillary, most notably last month on MSNBC’s Morning Joe:

The reason she’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 on her merit.

On Morning Joe Matthews went on to describe Obama’s January 9th New Hampshire concession speech as “the best speech I’ve ever heard” and confess to tearing up as he listened. So much for equal opportunity invective.

If Matthews singled out Watson last night to make up for being too nice to Obama (a common charge against the press by the Clinton campaign), he certainly succeeded.

This morning the shell-shocked Watson faced the world on his blog, in perhaps the only way he could: with humor.

“So. . .that really happened,” he began.

He went on to list the Obama legislative accomplishments he’d forgotten. “Most of all,” he concluded, “he has the record to prove that all of this is possible. It’s something no one should forget.”

“. . .Even though I did.”

“. . .On national television”

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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