Hardball goes limp. Matthews from last night …
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. That was Congressman Duke Cunningham, ex-Congressman Duke Cunningham of California, announcing his resignation yesterday after pleading guilty to fraud, conspiracy to commit bribery and tax evasion.
Here to talk about it now and a slew of other scandals sweeping the city are “Newsweek`s” Howard Fineman and Tony Blankley of “The Washington Times.”
Tony, I think it`s fair to say — we`ll start with you, since you`re an editorial page editor, who`s free to express opinion — that stinky-poo corruption, the stealing the money, just stealing the money for greed reasons — is fairly nonpartisan.
TONY BLANKLEY, THE WASHINGTON TIMES: Yes, both sides have done it. It doesn`t relate to anything other than the individual and his fall from ethical standards.
MATTHEWS: Are you proud of the president for coming out and trashing this guy? “The idea of a U.S. congressman taking money is outrageous and Congressman Cunningham is going to realize that he has broken the law and is going to pay a serious price, which he should.” Pretty tough language for a president about a colleague.
That was a pretty tough question for former GOP operative and current Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley, wasn’t it? Imagine putting Blankley on the spot like that pressing him to admit that public corruption is equally divided between the parties in today’s Washington. Who can brave these hardballs?
