Elizabeth Edwards pwns Chris Matthews [VIDEO]

Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein at 12:31 PM on February 5, 2007.

Elizabeth Edwards pwns Chris Matthews on MSNBC.

Read the transcript to see what happens. Matthews is trying to pick a fight with John Edwards about John Kerry. John's trying not to take the bait, but Matthews won't quit.

The clip starts as Elizabeth Edwards executes a brilliant defensive play: She interjects a joke about her husbands' defective comedy chops, which gets a big laugh out of the crowd and derails Matthews' attack.

Instead of laughing along, Matthews gets pissy and decides he's going to put this uppity bitch in her place... In an instant, it's all over for Tweety.

Matthews tries to pull a classic creepy old man jiujitsu move: If a woman threatens you turn to her husband and tell him he's pussy whipped. It's a really basic subordination technique, something any self-respecting patriarch should be able to pull off. But Elizabeth Edwards has Matthews off balance and he careens off into a bizarre rant about Stepford Wives.

MATTHEWS: Were you well used by John Kerry?

J. EDWARDS: I‘ll ask—I‘m not—I‘ll let you guys talk about that.

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: I want to fight here.

What did you think of hi joke about—if you flunk out of school, you don‘t do too well, you‘re not too smart, you get us stuck in Iraq. And it got turned around.

What did you make of that?

J. EDWARDS: I think he just made a mistake.

MATTHEWS: What was he saying?

J. EDWARDS: I think he was trying to say, you better stay...

E. EDWARDS: Don‘t go there.

CROWD: (APPLAUSE)

MATTHEWS: No, no. Come on.

J. EDWARDS: ... not the first time.

MATTHEWS: I‘ll tell you one thing. I could tell there was a fight coming because Hillary dumped on him, McCain dumped on him, nobody cut him an inch. He just screwed up a joke. He‘s not a comedian, OK?

J. EDWARDS: Exactly.

MATTHEWS: He‘s just not a comedian.

J. EDWARDS: Too big a deal was made of it.

E. EDWARDS: There are not that many politicians who are actually very good at jokes. John spoke one time and I said I wouldn‘t even go because it was—he was supposed to be funny and I didn‘t think he could carry it off.

CROWD: (LAUGHTER)

MATTHEWS: I love it. You‘re great. Behind every great man, there‘s a woman trying to kill him.

CROWD: (LAUGHTER)

E. EDWARDS: He has great characteristics.

MATTHEWS: What is it? Does she do this? Does she bust your balls like this when you come home? When you get (INAUDIBLE), does she do that?

CROWD: (APPLAUSE)

E. EDWARDS: My children are watching this.

CROWD: (LAUGHTER)

MATTHEWS: What‘s this with the equal marriages? Why do people marry their equals? It used to be different? What happened to the Stepford wives, the good old days? What happened?

CROWD: (BOOING)

MATTHEWS: Oh, how P.C. How—why don‘t you hiss?

Oh, thank you. Finally, the freaking hiss. I needed it. It was the hiss. I needed that.

[MSNBC]

Tagged as: sexism, chris matthews, msnbc, msnbc, john edwards, elizabeth edwards, ball bust

Lindsay Beyerstein a New York writer blogging at Majikthise.