Video: Matthews says SEALs “got lucky”
posted at 12:18 pm on April 14, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Perhaps not quite as egregious as Radio Vice Online posits, but it’s close. Chris Matthews says that people follow “lucky” commanders, and that the Navy SEALs who iced three pirates with single shots had a lot of luck in doing so. Chuck Todd can hardly believe his ears:
Chance favors the prepared mind. Desert One didn’t fail because of bad luck; it failed because the mission was not properly equipped for its environment, and because the Pentagon had not prepared a joint commando mission of this kind before. Carter didn’t have that option, but by that time he’d been President for over three years, and the hostages had been held for several months. The failure to anticipate the needs of this mission hardly falls into the “bad luck” category.
It’s hard to imagine why Matthews wants to pursue a “luck” explanation. If the mission was that chancy, perhaps Obama shouldn’t have ordered it. Todd gets it right when he notes that the SEALs and other commando units prepare constantly for just this kind of mission, and that their skills are honed to the nth degree. That ain’t luck — it’s preparation, training, and excellent command decisions, the qualities that actually produce leaders people follow.
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How did this guy get his own show? It’s stupefying.
savvydude on April 14, 2009 at 12:22 PM
If Matthews had ever trained for anything in his life besides being a buffoon perhaps he’d understand…
DCJeff on April 14, 2009 at 12:23 PM
He is a disgusting pasty-white sack of putrid vomit.
Whew. That felt better.
Mommypundit on April 14, 2009 at 12:24 PM
I refuse to watch this jacka$$ insult the military again.
jadedlady on April 14, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Chrissy is beneath contempt. The SEALs teams spend years at hard work and great sacrifice to them and their families. I feel lucky that they are out there protecting me. But they didn’t “get lucky.” They used their skills and training to execute their mission.
rbj on April 14, 2009 at 12:24 PM
The luckiest person in the world could try that shot and miss. It’s got nothing to do with luck, Chrissy.
amerpundit on April 14, 2009 at 12:24 PM
I have a feeling that luck couldn’t get Chrissy to hit a paper target from 5 feet away with a sawed-off shotgun.
MadisonConservative on April 14, 2009 at 12:24 PM
You have to understand, Chris can hit the side of a barn from 50 feet because of the constant thrills going up his leg. To him even walking straight seems lucky at this point.
Rocks on April 14, 2009 at 12:24 PM
What some people call “luck” is a mixture of 90 percent preparation and 10 percent serendipity.
Sekhmet on April 14, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Luck is the residue of design.
Branch Rickey, Lecture title, 1950
US baseball administrator (1881 – 1965)
Smooth Rooster on April 14, 2009 at 12:25 PM
must have been thinking of how he got where he is…
VTWaldrup on April 14, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Mathews hates the military because the military is comprised of 99% conservative men and women. Mathews has demonstrated time and time again that he will never give credit where credit is due if that credit belongs to a patriotic American.
No surprise here.
Guardian on April 14, 2009 at 12:25 PM
…can’t hit…
Rocks on April 14, 2009 at 12:25 PM
LOL
you could give him a fixed .50 rifle and he’d still manage to miss with every round.
blatantblue on April 14, 2009 at 12:26 PM
He’s probably eat up with jealousy that he didn’t have a Navy Seal pointing something at him. My apologies to all our wonderful Navy Seals.
bloggless on April 14, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Chris Matthews…aka Ernie Keebler.
Now get back in that tree, and make some cookies!!!
capejasmine on April 14, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Anyone know where that animated sniper video is?
keebs on April 14, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Well, we already knew he wasn’t a very good English student. Now we know he sucks at math.
Jim Treacher on April 14, 2009 at 12:27 PM
The sign that was over the door of Snow Hall at Ft. Sill: Fortune is on the side of the prepared.
Old Country Boy on April 14, 2009 at 12:27 PM
Well, there’s always an element of luck to these things, but the point of the intensive training is to reduce the vagaries of the human element as much as possible.
Mr. Bingley on April 14, 2009 at 12:27 PM
I hope this shithead takes a vacation in Somalia soon!
gsherin on April 14, 2009 at 12:27 PM
While I was in Iraq, I saw the video of a Marine sniper killing a 4 man mortar team with 4 shots at 900 meters. There are many in the military who could have made those shots. What is great about the SEALS is all they have to go through to be able to take the shot. Matthews is a jerk if he thinks it was luck!
randycf on April 14, 2009 at 12:29 PM
Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
ZenDraken on April 14, 2009 at 12:29 PM
Odd headline Ed, I think Matthews once “got lucky” with a seal.
carbon_footprint on April 14, 2009 at 12:29 PM
Not hard at all. As a committed lefty, he cannot give credit to the military for saving a US citizen’s life. He belives in dialogue, negotiating, referring things to the UN for stern letters. “Reason” works with everyone. The old Enlightenment snake oil
“Violence never solved anything” state of mind. Well, violence won the American Revolution, ended the Civil War, stopped the Germans twice and Japanese once from dominating the world.
He detests the conservative culture from which soldiers come. He cannot credit it for producing heroes. He worship a metrosexual who can read off a teleprompter. Real men frighten Chrissy.
Wethal on April 14, 2009 at 12:31 PM
I hope this shithead takes a vacation in Somalia soon!
gsherin on April 14, 2009 at 12:27 PM
ROFL!!!
The perfect lure. Dear Mr. Matthews. We’ve booked you, and Barack Obama in the honeymoon suite, of our new ship..the S.S. Leg Tingle!
capejasmine on April 14, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Whats the matter, chrissy? No tingle when real heros did their job?
What a putrid pile of near-protoplasm.
HBowmanMD on April 14, 2009 at 12:32 PM
+100
You beat me to it!
gregbert on April 14, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Tell you what, Chris. To test that assertion, how about you take your boat out into the bay and invite three navy seals over?
Y-not on April 14, 2009 at 12:33 PM
what a douchebag
ernesto on April 14, 2009 at 12:33 PM
It’s a good thing that these Seals didn’t get a tingle going up their leg during the operation. Maybe that’s why Obama was silent about it…
jeffn21 on April 14, 2009 at 12:34 PM
First thing first, Chris Matthews has always had a guilt complex about being white, and not serving during Vietnam. It is impossible for him to understand anything like what it takes to be in the military, especially SpecOps.
And Desert One didn’t fail because of SpecOps “luck”. It failed because even with Delta Force newly created, they didn’t have an airlift capacity other than dropping commandos in. Until after the Desert One catastrophe and they formed the 160th SOAR – who constantly trains in white-out, black-out, and numerous other-out conditions to ensure their “luck” next time.
What a moron.
JeffinOrlando on April 14, 2009 at 12:35 PM
I wonder if Crissie Legtingle gets up every morning wondering how to exhibit his ignorance in a new and exciting ways.
SKYFOX on April 14, 2009 at 12:35 PM
I’m O.K. with Chrissy taking this position. Completes the circle, so to speak. What’ll be fun is if someone has the opportunity to ask Carville or The Forehead if they agree with Chris. Let’s get some lefty movers and shakers on record on this.
a capella on April 14, 2009 at 12:35 PM
Hey Chris, at 300 yards these guys could snipe the thrill running up your leg and not even leave a scratch!
soulsirkus on April 14, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Luck would have been having Chrissy on the boat too.
cntrlfrk on April 14, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Would Christopher say that his “beloved Phillies” won the World Series last year because of “luck?” The rain delay . . . Brad Lidge’s luck in being able to pitch the hardball to the right places . . . I’m just putting it out there, Christopher.
thebadoutlaw on April 14, 2009 at 12:40 PM
Not luck. Training and talent and training, training, and training.
Blake on April 14, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Maybe we will get lucky and not have to listen to your pompus a$$ anymore.
Passionate-Conservative on April 14, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Maybe we will get lucky and not have to listen to your pompus a$$ anymore.
Passionate-Conservative on April 14, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Perhaps we should have shot over some teddy bears and killed them with hugs instead…
Wyznowski on April 14, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Matthews is nothing but a putrid little political parasite that isn’t fit to be pimple on the backside of a Navy SEAL. Only in America would anybody tolerate this piece of excrement.
rplat on April 14, 2009 at 12:43 PM
No it isnt. Matthews loathes the military and is not going to give them proper credit for doing a difficult job with skill and dedication. Those are virtues, you see. And under no circumstance are virtues to be ascribed to military people.
Mike D. on April 14, 2009 at 12:43 PM
So it’s just bad luck that Matthews typically comes in last against FOX and CNN I guess.
perroviejo on April 14, 2009 at 12:44 PM
I have this image in my mind of LardBall sitting in the stern area and the bow up out of the water.
Blake on April 14, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Luck is allowing a mental disorder like Matthews to spew his garbage across the airwaves without a challenge from others that could dissect his bulls**t. Luck is also for those that had the ability to change the channel.
Rovin on April 14, 2009 at 12:45 PM
I wouldn’t want to be within a mile of Tingle-boy if he was toting any sort of firearm – just as likely to shoot himself or me as anything he had an intention to shoot.
peski on April 14, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Then Chris is lucky to have a show?
These guys train harder then probably any other job in the world (besides monitoring a blog).
It is laughable, and if Chrissy had said this to any one other then these mouthpieces, they would have laughed and ridiculed such a statement.
Seals, and these highly trained men, don’t live by “luck”. They aren’t chosen in a lottery, these are the best of the best, the elite among the elite.
Highly intelligent, highly motivated, highly trained, and highly dedicated to excellence.
Attributes foreign to someone like Chris Matthews.
right2bright on April 14, 2009 at 12:45 PM
I wonder what those SEAL’s felt when shooting the pirates?
Oh, yah… recoil.
Luck my @ss.
Mojave Mark on April 14, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Bureaucratic waste notwithstanding, the training of our military personnel is one area where taxpayers get a bang for their buck–literally and figuratively.
My question: why isn’t some enterprising member of the GOP screaming for reallocation of ACORN funding and Planned Parenthood funding to funding for the kind of training that resulted in the mission recently accomplished by the SEALs?
I had a frat brother in ROTC who spent nearly 25 years in SEALs performing missions all over the globe. These guys are almost certifiably nuts, but to paraphrase Col. Nathan Jessup in A Few Good Men, “We want them on that wall. We need them on that wall.”
I hate Democrats for so many reasons, but I hate them most for their absolute disdain for the military. The military enables us to lead the lives that we do, while too many of us domestically undo what the military pays such a high price to preserve.
Luck my ass, Matthews. These people train and live for these situations. Unlike a military led and trained by liberals, these guys aren’t the functional equivalent of Barney Fife.
BuckeyeSam on April 14, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Didn’t this guy work for Carter?
He probably doesn’t think much of the military for so many reasons, not the least of which would be the same faulty reasoning that led him to join Team NutFarm to begin with.
bcm4134 on April 14, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Matthews is a clueless idiot.
Must give props to Todd for hitting the bulls eye on this one.
conservative pilgrim on April 14, 2009 at 12:46 PM
heh
right2bright on April 14, 2009 at 12:46 PM
This was probably SEAL team 6. Those were easy shots for guys with that expertise. As Admiral Gortney said, they are extremely, EXTREMELY well trained.
juliesa on April 14, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Yeah, they were “lucky” enough to have received the best training in the world.
crosspatch on April 14, 2009 at 12:46 PM
This effeminate’s opinion on the actions of the SEALS is about as valid and on point as my opinion on the theories of quantum mechanics.
He needs to stick to the tingles he feels when he gazes upon Socialist males in American politics.
OhEssYouCowboys on April 14, 2009 at 12:46 PM
“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” —George Orwell
Wyatt Wingfoot on April 14, 2009 at 12:47 PM
I don’t mind him showing the world his idiocy.
bridgetown on April 14, 2009 at 12:48 PM
They looked at each other, nodded, gave the command that the targets had been taken out.
Made sure their fellow men got the captain to safety, went down and had a bite to eat, debriefed, flown off and onto another mission…just another day.
right2bright on April 14, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Ditto what Todd said, but the SEALS haven’t just been training–they’ve been actually operating all over the world, hunting terrorists in the War on Ter–I mean the OCO. This was just another day at the office for them.
juliesa on April 14, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Matthews is admitting Obama’s hangup, the very FAULT permeating our current Commander In Chief: NO FAITH IN OUR MILITARY, DEFIANCE THAT NEGATES THE PROFESSIONALISM OF OUR MILITARY.
Obama WAITED DAYS, leaving our Merchant Marines under attack for an entire WEEK without permitting our Navy the freedom to take advantage of opportunity to rescue Americans, Obama denying measures for a week, weakening the physical strength of our Merchant Marines and exposing both the American Navy and Merchant Marines to danger via the Obamamedia machine that includes MATTHEWS.
Thank God for our Navy and for the integrity of our Merchants Marines. Thank God for their safety today. May God protect them! May God prevent Obama from tying the hands of our protectors, while arming the hands who would terrorize us via Homeland Security.
This issue is inextricably bound with Napolitano’s nine-page document was sent to police and sheriff’s departments across the United States on April 7 under the headline, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.”
maverick muse on April 14, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Matthews is only on TV due to ” luck “. Thats the only luck involved here.
tx2654 on April 14, 2009 at 12:51 PM
I suppose its luck in the sense they were facing 4 untrained Somalian criminals instead of elite Spetsnaz commandoes or something.
Speedwagon82 on April 14, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Well, they did get lucky — lucky that the shot presented itself for them to take advantage of. I’ll assume that the actual hitting of targets was skill, if you don’t mind.
Count to 10 on April 14, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Three shots, three kills is hardly luck. Especially when the captain was unharmed. This is training, training, training, mixed with focus, dedication and pride. What a complete boob.
uhsooner on April 14, 2009 at 12:53 PM
The Alabama crew said that it wasn’t Navy Seals, but simply Navy Sailors who rescued them. Either way, PROOF POSITIVE!
As Leno celebrated last night, “Navy 3, Pirates 0.”
maverick muse on April 14, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Can the hole he is digging for himself get any deeper???
sherry on April 14, 2009 at 12:55 PM
YES!
maverick muse on April 14, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Wow, lol I can’t add much to the above. Mommypundit pwns. I hit the floor on that one…..
dogsoldier on April 14, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Didn’t even read it or didn’t listen to it. When the horses patoots from MSNBC have anything to say, it is not even worth repeating, but thanks for keeping us up to date…
clinker46 on April 14, 2009 at 12:58 PM
juliesa on April 14, 2009 at 12:46 PM
From what I’ve heard, I believe it was the operators from Team Six. They are highly trained for situations like this, and including the possible boarding of hostile ships. I did locate this in reference to the Somali pirate incident:
http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/04/seal_team_six_v_the_pirates.php
“Background information provided by the White House provides an intriguing clue as to the identity of the Navy SEAL team that rescued Capt. Richard Phillips from Somali pirates. After the mission, Obama telephoned several military officials, including ‘Vice Admiral William McRaven, Commander Joint Special Operations Command.’ Interesting choice; it means that at least some of the Navy Seals who participated in the rescue were part of a classified special missions unit — the Naval Special Warfare Development Group — DevGru, popularly known as “SEAL Team Six.” The commander of JSOC technically provides support for other special forces (SF) units. But really — the JSOC commander overseas Delta Force, SEALTeam Six and other secret teams.
MrAndMrsSmith on April 14, 2009 at 12:58 PM
A Democrat who hates the military? Claude Rains (and getalife) could not be reached for comment.
Del Dolemonte on April 14, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Matthews. Is there some reason I should have heard of this guy?
LibTired on April 14, 2009 at 12:59 PM
I imagine they felt lucky for the opportunity to take the shots, and satisfaction when they hit.
Though, not having actually shot anyone myself, I can’t really say.
Count to 10 on April 14, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Because he doesn’t have one of those brain – mouth filter things. MSNBC can’t put on another hour of doc block?
Dr Evil on April 14, 2009 at 1:02 PM
Not much else to add. The man just can’t respect our military. It’s disgusting.
Esthier on April 14, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Meanwhile back in Afghanistan.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090414/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan
Dr Evil on April 14, 2009 at 1:05 PM
Congratulations Chris Matthews you have just managed to earn the enmity of some of the finest warriors on the planet. Lets just hope for your sake you never find yourself in a situation that that might require their assistance or you might suddenly discover that they are not having a particularly lucky day that day.
Dreadnought223 on April 14, 2009 at 1:07 PM
Luck = Where preperation meets opportunity
MikeA on April 14, 2009 at 1:09 PM
Yes Luck. Tell that to the Navy Seals that train non-stop, and go through more in one hour of training in one hour than this sorry excuse for a man had gone through in his lifetime.
Hey Matthews! you irrelevant empty suit. Pick up a book once in a while (Author and former Seal, Dick Couch)and actually read about these Great Men that train to win and DO. It has nothing to do with luck.
If it was Matthew’s sorry ass on that boat he wouldn’t be saying this anti-military trash.
It takes a real “Special” man to admit that Obama gives him a tingle up his leg but when it comes to real men and American heros, its just dumb luck.
I shed a tear because the Seals defend us that support them and these shlumps that do not and will never support them.
americaslaststand on April 14, 2009 at 1:12 PM
Yes Luck. Tell that to the Navy Seals that train non-stop, and go through more in one hour of training
in one hourthan this sorry excuse for a man had gone through in his lifetime.americaslaststand on April 14, 2009 at 1:13 PM
he is just supporting our military in the leftist way.
Grunt on April 14, 2009 at 1:14 PM
I have seen this again and again from reporters and the like (and, in all fairness from both sides of the spectrum) If they can’t figure out how they would handle the challenge then 1. the G.I.s gonna screw it up because they’re dumb G.I.s or 2. they got lucky because of 1. above.
I once briefed a reporter in Somalia how a piece of complicated thermal imagining equipment was supposed to work.
Folk, this guy couldn’t pour p**s out of a boot with the instructions written on the heel. I later saw his piece in a St. Louis paper pontificating on the complexity of the equipment that was a challenge for the average “soldier” to use. (We were all Air Force, no “soldiers” in the Air Force.) Idiot.
E9RET on April 14, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Not to denigrate the Seals’ skill, but this was a shot from 100 ft, with night vision scopes. At that short a range I could make a headshot 10 times out of 10 without a scope, and I’m just an average joe who knows how to handle a rifle.
Luck had nothing to do with it. The navy tricked the pirates into getting close enough that no decent sniper could miss.
Gaunilon on April 14, 2009 at 1:15 PM
This is another excellent example of how detached from reality lefties are, as well as being far more revealing of Matthews’ self-assessment of how he got where he is than of anything involving the Navy SEALs.
The American media class is quite possibly the most parasitic sub-group of humans ever to exist within a society.
venividivici on April 14, 2009 at 1:16 PM
+1
JohnGalt23 on April 14, 2009 at 1:18 PM
You left an important part out of that analysis… that those shots were taken from a moving boat, at targets located on a moving boat.
That ain’t easy.
JohnGalt23 on April 14, 2009 at 1:20 PM
My latest fantasy…seeing Chris Matthews forced to undergo SEAL training for a day. While wearing his five-thousand dollar tailored suit. And he can’t quit.
TheMightyMonarch on April 14, 2009 at 1:22 PM
Good, good. Next time this happens (which will be soon), they can call you in.
On Topic – Matthews is pathetic. It must be a sad sad thing to be that completely envious of the best trained Navy men in the world.
mjk on April 14, 2009 at 1:26 PM
The standard American target is a series of concentric rings, with the outer ring being 11 in diameter and the inner ring being 3.39 inches in diameter. Navy Seals who practice consider a single shot 100 feet away outside the center ring to be unworthy of their effort.
There is no luck Chris, just the skill of a warrior dedicated to honing himself to a razor’s edge. The heads of those Somoli’s must have looked bigger than a watermelon to men and women who routinely have to find their targets through field glasses.
To say it’s luck that they hit them is to say it’s luck that our soldiers won a war on two fronts. The United States Military are still the home of America’s finest, no matter who is President.
Chris, I understand your need to chalk it up to luck, because of your inability to understand something your incapable of. For once, get that fat ass of yours off the couch, shot basketball, run, or do something that stretches yourself beyond our current limits. You’ll think you’re dying, but your body will respond, you’ll find that you can do things you didn’t think possible, and you might just for once understand how the SEALs were able to accomplish something beyond your comprehension.
All glory and honor to our nation’s fighting men and women.
itsspideyman on April 14, 2009 at 1:34 PM
Yeah, just like Tiger Woods “gets lucky” every time he plays golf.
BDavis on April 14, 2009 at 1:35 PM
I guess Nolan Ryan got lucky 5,000+ times with all of those lucky Ks.
Isn’t Christopher just begging the blogosphere to start cracking Lucky Charms jokes about him?
thebadoutlaw on April 14, 2009 at 1:42 PM
I just wonder what the crew of the Bainbridge did to get the pirates to all sit up and stick their heads out at once ala Alvin York? Maybe a loud turkey call?? ;-)
E9RET on April 14, 2009 at 1:43 PM
“Luck is the residue of hard work”
billhedrick on April 14, 2009 at 1:44 PM
We can all thank Ronald Reagan for restoring the military.
mankai on April 14, 2009 at 1:45 PM
Those SEALs were lucky because Obama told them to be lucky. Can’t Matthews get anything right?
buzzbrockway on April 14, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Chrissy and MSDNC will not even accept emails that are critical of their content or perspective. I’ve tried several times only to have them returned as undeliverable. Here’s hoping Matthews is lucky enough to be diagnosed HIV positive.
dmann on April 14, 2009 at 1:47 PM
Damn.
thebadoutlaw on April 14, 2009 at 1:49 PM
Napoleaon said that he would rather have a general who was lucky than one who was good.
But then, Patton said you make your luck through training.
federale86 on April 14, 2009 at 1:49 PM
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