CHRIS MATTHEWS, host:
When it gets down to the Election Day--and this is the big question for the
show this week--when it comes down to the Election Day, will John Edwards be
able to turn this election so that they can use the economy against the
administration?
Catch the new buddy picture. John Forbes Kerry of St. Paul's and Yale
hitches up with a mill worker's son. But can young Senator Edwards match up
with the daunting Dick Cheney?
Temperature rising. Can a movie defeat a president? "Fahrenheit 9/11"
excites young and old across the country. Will the guy with the bad shave
nick George and Dick, or nix them?
The gang that couldn't see straight. A new Senate report nails the CIA for
sending the US to war under false pretenses. Will the president take the hit
or pass the blame?
Plus, my recent trip to the land we all came from: Africa. All that and more
with a crackerjack roundtable on your weekly news show.
Announcer: From Congress to the West Wing he's been a Washington insider, now
he's one of the Capitol's top journalists: Chris Matthews.
MATTHEWS: Hi, I'm Chris Matthews, welcome to the show, and let's go inside.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Interview: Christian Science Monitor's Liz Marlantes, Newsweek's
Howard Fineman, ABC's Cokie Roberts and New York Times' David
Brooks discuss Kerry-Edwards ticket, President Bush, Dick Cheney
and upcoming election
CHRIS MATTHEWS, host:
Liz Marlantes covers politics for the Christian Science Monitor. Howard
Fineman is Newsweek's chief political correspondent. Cokie Roberts is a
long-time ABC News corespondent, and the author of the best-seller, "Founding
Mothers." And David Brooks is a New York Times columnist and author of "On
Paradise Drive."
First up, catch the new buddy picture. John Kerry picked Southern charm and
rural roots over cockpit experience. Can John Edwards lift John Kerry past
the president?
Senator JOHN KERRY: I've chosen a man who understands and defends the values
of America, a man whose shown courage and conviction, as a champion for the
middle class.
MATTHEWS: So, Liz, the big question: Can he appeal to your age group, to be
blunt about it? He's a 51-year-old guy, young by political standards. Can
John Edwards turn out, turn on the young voter?
Ms. LIZ MARLANTES (Christian Science Monitor): Yeah, I think he can and I
think that's what the Kerry campaign is hoping for. There was a very
interesting Pew Poll released this week that showed that young voters are
paying much more attention to this election than they have in the past.
Traditionally, young voters, as we know, tend to vote in lower percentage
than--than other age groups.
MATTHEWS: They don't show up.
Ms. MARLANTES: They don't show up. But they are--they are paying attention
to this election. They're finding it more interesting. They say that they
care a lot about this election which--which definitely the Kerry campaign is
hoping that the--the youth and enthusiasm of Edwards will...
MATTHEWS: David, what...
Mr. DAVID BROOKS (New York Times): I thought that age group was a little too
old for what I just saw between the two of them. It's was like the
"Teletubbies." The--maybe the three-to-five age group. You know, this is a
campaign that was lachrymose, now--now it's huggy-feely. It's like watching
"Romper Room."
Ms. COKIE ROBERTS (ABC News): Well I'm still working on Chris and the
elephant so that--that--that is the picture of the week, clearly. But
the--look, if John Kerry can wake up the audience--I mean John Edwards wake up
the audiences that John Kerry puts us to sleep, that's obviously a--a--a plus
for them. But I wouldn't--I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for young voters.
They haven't...(unintelligible).
MATTHEWS: Speaking for womankind, I hadn't planned to ask this question.
Ms. ROBERTS: All of womankind.
MATTHEWS: Does this guy appeal to women visually, cosmetically? Is he a
charmer like Jack Kennedy or somebody like that?
Ms. ROBERTS: I think, yes, a lot of that, but it doesn't much matter. Women
are going to vote Democratic.
MATTHEWS: You know who thinks he's cute?
Ms. ROBERTS: What he needs to get is men...
MATTHEWS: John Kerry. Let's take...
Ms. ROBERTS: ...and he did get men in the primary.
MATTHEWS: Let's take a look. Speaking of the cute factor, here's Jay Leno's
take on the bidding romance--the budding romance inside the Democratic ticket.
Mr. JAY LENO ("The Tonight Show"/NBC, Thursday): Have you seen their new ad?
Have you seen the new campaign ad?
Mr. KEVIN EUBANKS: No, what's that?
Mr. LENO: I don't know, it just--well, take a look.
(Clips of John Kerry and John Edwards hugging as "You Are So Beautiful" plays
in the background)
MATTHEWS: Oh God, we're not making this up. In fact, I love that pat on that
third party going up the stairs to the plane.
Howard, seriously, you sent--spent some time, you're doing a big cover this
weekend for Newsweek on this relationship. What's it about inside? You had
first crack at it.
Mr. HOWARD FINEMAN (Chief Political Correspondent, Newsweek): Well we
interviewed Kerry and Edwards side-by-side for the first time after the big
announcement. This was down in--in Florida. And when you watched them up
close together, they're both trying to adjust to the different roles. John
Kerry doesn't like the idea of being told that Edwards was picked to give the
ticket some charisma.
MATTHEWS: Right. Sex appeal.
Mr. FINEMAN: Kerry since--yeah--Kerry thinks he actually has some. Edwards
doesn't like being cut off when foreign policy questions are asked. Edwards
is a courtroom lawyer for 20 years, is used to--to--to starring and
directing...
MATTHEWS: Right.
Mr. FINEMAN: ...and being in his own place. He's got to be an Indian, not a
chief. So behind all those pats that you're seeing there there's a
considerable amount of tension as these two very egotistical guys try to get
on the same page.
MATTHEWS: They used to say, Cokie...
Mr. FINEMAN: But the thing--the thing that he does...
MATTHEWS: Yeah.
Mr. FINEMAN: ...the thing that Edwards does is not lighten up the country,
it lightens up Kerry. It makes Kerry be more personable. It's the reflected
sunshine--reflected sunshine from Edwards, and that lightens up Kerry. That's
what this is about.
MATTHEWS: OK. I think you're right.
Cokie, they used to say that Ginger Rogers had to dance as well as Astaire,
but backwards...
Ms. ROBERTS: Backwards and in high-heels.
MATTHEWS: Can--can this guy do that, John Edwards?
Ms. ROBERTS: He can--I don't know how--how well he can dance. Look, what
John Edwards did in the--in the primaries was he did very well on the question
of `He cares about people like me,' which was always Bill Clinton's huge
strength even when he was--his personal approval was in the--in the basement.
MATTHEWS: In fact, your approval of him was rather down.
Ms. ROBERTS: It was--he seemed to care about people like me. But
the--the--you know, prudish old ladies--but the fact is that--that Ed--what
the--what the Republicans are now trying to do is convince you that Edwards
doesn't care about people like you, and define him through votes against
partial-birth abortion, gun control, other issues that seem out of the
mainstream on many--in many cases, and that's where picking another senator is
a problem.
MATTHEWS: David, you're the expert on this. You've written a lot about how
people have different sort of moods in the--in the rural parts of the country,
people like in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, which is obviously a key part of
this election, Pennsylvania, where people aren't as complaining as people are
in suburban areas. Will he appeal to that softer Democrat, that more nicer
person, maybe out in the rural area?
Mr. BROOKS: People are really acute at picking up snobbery, and Edwards is
not a snob in the way I think Kerry is a snob. So, he does go some way to
that, but then there's another issue which is substance. You know, they
talked all week about values. `We've got your values; share my values; I
share your values; He shares her values; We all share each other's values.'
But who's values? If they--if they...
Ms. ROBERTS: I thought--I thought it was a sale.
Mr. BROOKS: ...share my values, tell me what my values are. You just can't
repeat the word a lot. So that's the problem, that if they're going to be
pro-choice, anti-gun, there's going to be a problem there. That's substance,
not style.
Mr. FINEMAN: Well there are--their answer--their answer on that is the other
dimension of values is fairness, it's access of opportunity for everybody,
it's allowing the son of a mill worker--by the way, that's not mill, that's
meal worker--son of a meal worker to become a guy who lives in Georgetown and
is a senator and running for president. That's the Edwards story that Kerry
doesn't have, and Edwards is the exhibit A for the kind of opportunity
everybody's supposed to have. That's going to be the Democrats definition of
values.
Ms. MARLANTES: I mean...
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you, Liz, you've been out there covering these people.
If John--if John Edwards shows up Dayton, Ohio, he shows up in
Birming--Birmingham--that's a tough region of Alabama--but say Baton Rouge or
New Orleans--where you came from--will he sell to people?
Ms. MARLANTES: Yes, absolutely. I mean, one of the things that I was going
to add earlier to this notion, there's--there's all this speculation that
Edwards, because he's younger appeals to young people, because he's
good-looking appeals to women, but actually when you look at the polling data
where he's doing best right now is among men, and it was really interesting
when you covered him in the primaries and you go to Edwards' events, like in
Iowa, for example, the audience would be made up--and this is, of course,
Iowa--but the audience would be even more heavily made up than other
Democratic candidates of old farmers in overalls who would sit in the back of
the room with their arms crossed like this and they would sort of watch him
and by the end they would be shaking their heads and nodding with him.
Mr. FINEMAN: That's because--that's because he reads rural even in the
North. And the southern accent reads rural in the North because of country
music and because of a whole lot of other things.
MATTHEWS: Right.
Mr. FINEMAN: You go to places like Ohio, where I've been spending a lot of
time, that's why he did well in Ohio in the Democratic primaries. Not with
the upscale Democrats, not with the Kerry Democrats, but with the downscale
Democrats.
Ms. ROBERTS: But what you've got right now is a whole lot of voters who are
unhappy with George Bush but are not happy with John Kerry.
MATTHEWS: Right.
Ms. ROBERTS: And the question is, can he convince those voters?
MATTHEWS: Can he be their permission slip, their hall pass? Can he?
Ms. ROBERTS: And--and know--I don't know yet. In 1980 I went and
interviewed suburban Connecticut Republicans about George Bush being on the
ticket with Ronald Reagan. It made them feel a whole lot better about Ronald
Reagan to have George Bush there. On the other hand, I went in 1988 to talk
to Democrats in Texas, about Lloyd Bentsen with Michael Dukakis and it didn't
do a thing for them.
MATTHEWS: Yeah.
Ms. ROBERTS: So I think that it really does make a difference of whether
Edwards can make that connection or whether he gets defined.
Mr. FINEMAN: Edwards is going to help--Edwards is going to help in places
like West Virginia, to take one example...
Ms. ROBERTS: Unless the Republicans define him as...
Mr. FINEMAN: ...Ohio, Pennsylvania, all of them.
Ms. ROBERTS: ...out of the mainstream.
MATTHEWS: Let me tell you--let me tell you, he also lights up Kerry.
Ms. FINEMAN: Right.
MATTHEWS: Big thing he did. He changed Kerry's personality this week.
Anyway, the Bush campaign is out saying that John Edwards isn't ready to be
president or even vice president. Here's the president himself taking a jab.
Offscreen Voice: President...
President GEORGE W. BUSH: Yes? Speak up, I'm getting a little...
Voice: ...if I could try another Edwards question. He's being described
today as `charming, engaging, a nimble campaigner, a populist and even sexy.'
How does he stack up against Dick Cheney?
Pres. BUSH: Dick Cheney can be president. Next.
MATTHEWS: A little pinch there but, you know, the overnight numbers show
Edwards up by 45 to 38. We don't know whether that's going to hold.
Mr. FINEMAN: The White House is upset with that answer. They didn't want
the president to give that kind of answer. They would much have preferred, I
heard afterwards, that he just lighten up, tell a joke, don't make that kind
jab right away.
Ms. ROBERTS: Say Cheney's sexy.
Mr. FINEMAN: Yeah, yeah.
MATTHEWS: By the way, Howard, that's for president, that poll.
Mr. FINEMAN: Yeah.
MATTHEWS: He's--he's better able to be president than Dick Cheney, who many
people believe has been almost co-president.
Mr. FINEMAN: Well he's been too much of a president in some people's eyes.
Mr. BROOKS: Yeah, but listen, Cheney is not as good a campaigner as John
Edwards. If that's the competition, it's no competition.
MATTHEWS: Can he beat him in debate?
Mr. BROOKS: Yeah, I wouldn't be so sure that. Everybody assumes that. I
wouldn't be so sure of that.
But, listen, let's get back to a little bit of substance. The--the question
is, and which Edwards and Kerry are going to push this issue, is the middle
class squeeze. Do you have the money to afford the things you want? Are they
really going to persuade middle class suburban voters that the Democratic
Party is better at giving back them some money? The Republican Party says,
`We cut your taxes, we gave you some money.' The Democrats have opened the
door with Edwards but they haven't closed the sale by any means.
MATTHEWS: OK, it's time to check in with the Matthews Meter. We asked our
regulars--our regular 12--who won the week, Bush or Kerry. It wasn't even
close. Our group gave it to Kerry with one vote against.
Agree with that, Howard?
Mr. FINEMAN: Yeah, absolutely. And I--and I must say, if Kerry couldn't win
this week he's not going to win any. I mean...
MATTHEWS: Let's go to the Matthews Meter one more time. We asked our
regulars who will gain the most from the vice presidential debate, Cheney or
Edwards? They said--here's a split decision for you--seven to four gave it to
Edwards.
Does anybody disagree with that?
Ms. ROBERTS: Yeah, I think Cheney could win the debate. I--I think that it
could be a Benson/Quayle type of debate. He--he has to be careful.
MATTHEWS: You mean the old clubman wins.
Mr. BROOKS: The other--the other interesting thing about that is Quayle lost
that debate but won the election. So let's not overestimate that...
MATTHEWS: I'll tell you one thing, if I were John Edwards I would not sit
down with Dick Cheney. I would insist he stand up with me, because when Joe
Lieberman, who everybody thought was going to win the last debate, sat down
and schmoozed with Cheney, Cheney told a couple of jokes and Joe lost his
edge.
Ms. ROBERTS: But the other thing we can't leave out is people do not vote
for vice president. And--and we--we really have to keep that in mind when we
talk about all of this. It's the guy at the top of the ticket that makes the
difference.
MATTHEWS: I think, sometimes, it matters. I think...
Ms. ROBERTS: It can make a comfort level.
MATTHEWS: ...with me Ed Muskie being on the ticket with Hubert Humphrey
matters.
Mr. FINEMAN: It matt--you know why it's going to matter--you know why it's
going to matter? It's going to matter this time because Cheney is so
important to this administration. Cheney is the embodiment of the policies of
this administration, especially with respect to the war in Iraq.
MATTHEWS: OK.
Mr. FINEMAN: That's what's going to make it a big deal this time.
MATTHEWS: I think VP's going to count this time like it did with LBJ in '60.
Anyway, before we go to break, sometimes politics can escalate to a blood
sport, literally. Two hundred years ago this weekend Aaron Burr got irked by
Alexander Hamilton's nasty comments. His solution? A duel, in which Burr
killed Hamilton. No duels yet in this election, but Kerry has been seen
toting some hardware last week and earlier this year Dick Cheney shot--catch
this--70 pheasants in one day.
I'll be right back with the movie that could send non-voters to the polls this
August, this summer, this winter. Plus, a new Senate report condemns the CIA
for sending the US to war under false pretenses. And my trip back to that
ultimate mother country--if you believe the old bones--Africa. Stick around.
Announcer: Today's show is brought to you by...
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MATTHEWS: The Senate report that takes on the CIA and the case for war.
Plus, "Fahrenheit 9/11." It could decide our next president. Stick around.
(Announcements)
(Clip from "Fahrenheit 9/11," Lion's Gate Films)
MATTHEWS: Welcome back. That was a scene from Michael Moore's movie,
torching the president for the war and the pain of Americans at home. Could
this movie be the election deal-breaker? Liz:
Ms. MARLANTES: I think it could have an impact, I really do. It earned $60
million already, which means something more than six million Americans have
seen it. It's expanding into more theaters and I think more importantly it
really shows how effective art can be as a way to move people, I think.
MATTHEWS: How about propaganda? Here's another nugget from the movie...
Ms. MARLANTES: Well exactly.
MATTHEWS: ...exposing a president--showing a president out of touch with most
Americans.
(Clip from "Fahrenheit 9/11," Lions Gate Film)
MATTHEWS: David, he wouldn't be saying that right now.
Mr. BROOKS: It's a joke! It's a joke!
MATTHEWS: I know.
Mr. BROOKS: Listen--listen, Michael Moore's going to cost the Democrats the
election, I--I predict that. That's my earlier prediction on the show. It's
like Woodstock.
Ms. ROBERTS: Oh that was going to be my later prediction, so...
MATTHEWS: Go on, your thoughts.
Ms. ROBERTS: That's exactly what I think. I think Michael Moore is going to
cause many...
MATTHEWS: Have you seen the movie?
Ms. ROBERTS: It doesn't matter. It's Michael Moore, himself, being...
MATTHEWS: OK, there's two people here who've seen the movie.
Mr. FINEMAN: Well, I've seen it.
MATTHEWS: Howard saw it, you saw it. What did you think?
Mr. FINEMAN: I saw it. I saw the movie. The movie is a sign, it's not a
cause of anything. It's a sign of the fact that this country is really angry
and divided about the war and the Bush presidency. It's not going to win any
votes, or lose any votes, it's a cheerleading exercise for people who already
believe the way they do. It's a...
Mr. BROOKS: No, here--here's...
Ms. MARLANTES: But I--I agree with that.
Mr. BROOKS: Let's go back to Vietnam.
Mr. FINEMAN: It's too argumentative and strenuous to bring anybody around.
Ms. ROBERTS: I think that the news votes for the Democrats.
Mr. BROOKS: Absolutely.
Mr. FINEMAN: OK, what--what...
Ms. ROBERTS: Because it is--it is portrayed--first of all you've got Michael
Moore, the person, there which is all the things that regular people who we
were talking about earlier, those--those folks in Ohio, West Virginia, who
don't like the preppies going by, they don't like that guy, either. And
the--the out-of-touch lefty American...
MATTHEWS: OK. You guys...
Ms. ROBERTS: ...`I hate America.'
Ms. MARLANTES: I don't know about that.
MATTHEWS: ...reflect the opinion I had before I saw the movie. I now have
their opinion because I've seen it like they have.
Mr. FINEMAN: There's some funny things in it.
MATTHEWS: It's a powerful movie.
Ms. MARLANTES: And--and what...
MATTHEWS: Let's get right back. "9/11"--the movie "Fahrenheit 9/11" taps
into anger, obviously--we've been talking about that--over the very subject of
this week's new Senate Intelligence report, and this is hard stuff not a
movie: No weapons of mass destruction, more skepticism about the reasons we
went to war in Iraq.
Cokie, the impact this will have?
Ms. ROBERTS: Well, if we hadn't already learned that there were all kinds of
problems with intelligence and that they--that we haven't found weapons of
mass destruction it would have a tremendous impact. I think we pretty much
know this already, but to have the chairman, the Republican chairman of the
Senate Intelligence Committee, say the reasons we went to war were wrong is
very powerful.
Mr. FINEMAN: It's powerful. This whole election's going to be framed by the
Democrats in terms of future and past, the new crowd vs. the old crowd,
that's why they have the kids out there, the little kids running around, who
are crucial--Emma Claire and Jack. This is one more piece of evidence on the
side that this crowd led us the wrong way. They didn't know what they were
doing, even though the president won't be personally blamed, the fact that
there were no WMD, according to the Republican chairman, is important.
Ms. MARLANTES: And the other word that you hear Bush--hear Kerry and Edwards
saying, almost as much as they're using the values word, is
truth--truthfulness. They hit that over and over and over again, and that is
something that--that the movie, "Fahrenheit 9/11" taps directly into. And I
do think it's something--if you look at polls even Republicans say that they
think the president was not truthful for--about the reasons as to why we went
to war in Iraq.
Mr. BROOKS: Well there actually is language in this report. There's actual
substance in this report and it has nothing to do with...
Ms. ROBERTS: I've heard...(unintelligible.)
Mr. BROOKS: ...truth or falsehood. It has to do with a global failure by
the German intelligence...
MATTHEWS: Right.
Mr. BROOKS: ...the US intelligence, the UN intelligence.
Mr. FINEMAN: But David--but David--David they say, I think, that there were
no WMD.
Mr. BROOKS: No! And that's right, but the substance...
Mr. FINEMAN: So, that's...
Mr. BROOKS: ...of why were--why was the CIA and so many other intelligence
agencies wrong?
Mr. FINEMAN: It matters less why than the fact that there weren't any.
Ms. ROBERTS: Well because it's a lesson in...(unintelligible.)
MATTHEWS: Why does the vice president, a smart guy, keep attesting that there
is going to be weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq. David:
Mr. BROOKS: Tony Blair says the same thing. I don't know why they say it.
I mean, the people over there--Dulfer's leading the investigation--says it's a
lot more complicated than we think. I don't know why they're pushing this
line. Tony Blair's doing the same thing. that I--that I think, is a mistake,
just let it go. There are other reasons. Do it later on.
MATTHEWS: When you're in a hole, stop digging.
Mr. BROOKS: Yeah, absolutely.
MATTHEWS: OK, before we go to break it's time for a "Name That Tune" here on
the CHRIS MATTHEWS SHOW. Forty years ago this week a movie hit theaters
featuring this song. Raise your hand if you know it.
Mr. FINEMAN: "Hard Day's Night."
MATTHEWS: Exactly. Here's a taste of that great classic--you got it Howard.
Mr. FINEMAN: One chord. The most famous chord in the history of rock 'n'
roll.
MATTHEWS: Let's take a...
(Clip from the movie "Hard Day's Night" with audio of the music)
MATTHEWS: OK, the hard part of the show, tell me something I don't know, Liz.
Ms. MARLANTES: There's an interesting debate going on right now about
whether John Kerry should consider opting out of public financing for the
general election. There's a lot of pros and cons on both sides. The Kerry
campaign says they're not going to do it, but there are other people, other
prominent Democrats and people close to the campaign, who say they think he
should consider doing it. I think he's not going to do it. I think
that--that when you look at John Kerry's sort of overall personality he does
take risks when he's in a corner, but he's not in enough of a corner right now
to take that risk.
MATTHEWS: Howard:
Mr. FINEMAN: Star of the Democratic Convention, a guy named Reagan: Ron.
MATTHEWS: How? Oh Ron, young Ron.
Mr. FINEMAN: Young Ron.
MATTHEWS: He's going to speak.
FINEMAN: He's going to speak. It's going to bring the house down, I predict.
MATTHEWS: Whoa!
Ms. ROBERTS: Well I was going to talk about Michael Moore, but I'll switch
and say I think the Bush twins will be out on the campaign trail with midriffs
showing and that they will...
MATTHEWS: Will they be for Edwards or what?
Ms. ROBERTS: ...be after--they will be after that youth vote as well.
Mr. BROOKS: Dating Ron Reagan. The al-Qaeda operative Zarqawi is going to
get bumped off by terrorists in Iraq--terrorists on our side. And we're going
to have to figure out what to do about that.
Ms. ROBERTS: Mm.
MATTHEWS: Soon?
Mr. BROOKS: I don't know, they haven't told me.
Mr. FINEMAN: (Unintelligible.)
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about events that everybody says we've got the
election sort of figured out. I think two things--well one thing always
occurs: events. Is there a big event out there like the long trial of Saddam
that could rea--that could nail down the reasons for the war in a different
way?
Mr. BROOKS: The Saddam trial won't be over in time. But there'll be other
smaller trials in...
MATTHEWS: OK. OK. Thank you very much everybody. Liz Marlantes, Howard
Fineman, Cokie Roberts, David Brooks.
I'll be right back with some thoughts on my summer trip to Africa. Don't miss
this one.
(Announcements)
MATTHEWS: THE CHRIS MATTHEWS SHOW is going to the conventions. Join us from
Boston with the Democrats and from New York with the Republicans. Be right
back.
Announcer: Today's show is brought to you by...
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Announcer: Closed-captioning provided by...
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Commentary: Matthews talks about guarding Africa and its
animals from poachers and terrorism
CHRIS MATTHEWS, host:
From the pages of "Tarzan" to Ernest Hemingway, the big game of the wild
African plains became the stuff of our dreams--and it's for real, a wonder of
the world that lives even now. There are places in Kenya where you can stand
on an escarpment and see more plains and Acacia trees than you can see ocean
standing on a beach. `For now,' I said.
The wonder I first witnessed three decades ago, as a hitchhiker on my way home
from the Peace Corps, and went back to see once again this summer, is still
there.
But a couple generations from now, an Africa for our grandkids to know, that
depends on the people of Africa and those of us who came from there, which is,
if you rely on those old bones, all of us. Those, like the rangers of the
Kenya Wildlife Service of the front-line force. These guys live out in the
bush, away from their families, guarding the big game from the poachers who
cross borders to kill for the ivory.
Outside groups, like the International Fund for Animal Welfare, on whose board
I serve, are working to help. But these Kenyan rangers are the heros as they
face the nightly danger of poachers, armed with automatic weapons and ready to
kill anyone who stands in their way.
Terrorism is added to the threat. Those tourists who were made nervous by the
American's Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania a few years back are cutting
the hard dollars it takes to back those gutsy African forces like the Kenya
Wildlife Service.
Let's not let the roaring, driving, riveting animal kingdom of Africa become
one more casualty to fear.
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Sign-off: The Chris Matthews Show
CHRIS MATTHEWS, host:
That's the show. Thanks for watching. See you here next week.