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Lady McCheney and professional turd polisher Mary Matalin takes playing the victim card to a whole new level on Campbell Brown's show on CNN. I know when the chips are down these guys love to portray themselves or those they're shilling for as martyrs, but this is really just over the top even for Matalin.

BROWN: Sarah Palin's got some very good reasons to keep her options open right now -- 72 percent of Republicans in a recent poll said that they would consider voting for her for president in 2012.

So is quitting the new winning? Joining me to answer that, Republican strategist and CNN contributor Mary Matalin with us tonight, the "Daily Beast" editor-in-chief, Tina Brown with me as well, and NPR contributor John Ridley also here. Welcome everybody.

Mary, let me start with you, because you're a little bit out of lock step with some of your Republican friends about this decision and sort of how she handled had. Karl Rove called, said he was rather perplexed by it, Ed Rollins calling it a disaster. But you disagree.

MATALIN: Well, it was unconventional, to be sure, in the veracity and the -- velocity rather, with which the opinion class -- and I'm excluding Karl, they took it as unconventional, and they were asked to give an opinion more quickly than it needed to be digested.

What I find more interesting is it the resistance to which everybody in the chattering classes refuses to accept her at face value. She couldn't do her job anymore. Her family was under assault. She was receiving the political equivalent of a stoning. And she could not function in her job.

So the reason I thought it was smart was that she can continue to be a strong voice, build political capital out there in the next two years, and get her equilibrium reset, the word of the week, and do what she does well, which is communicate a conservative message.

[....]

BROWN: But Mary, what does she do next? Now, if this was such a brilliant move, how does she capitalize on it.

MATALIN: It's brilliant in the sense of, if have you two bad options, you take the least bad option.

I want to speak to what Tina said. This is still an unfortunate situation that women are judged differently in politics. So it would be great if she could say, and she did say a version of, no family has been treated like this. I need to get with my family.

But if she had said it the way Tina said it, which was quite eloquent, she would have been wiped out. She would trying to do some, say it in some conventional way.

And everyone is discarding the fact that her saying she did this for Alaska, there's something false about that. She put in place a system to finish what she started there, and she literally, for the past six months, could not get work done, and it was costing lots of money.

And a small state like that, I don't know why anybody rejects it as an authentic answer. But it's sad that you couldn't say it the way Tina said it, because I think that was a huge big part of it.

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Joan Walsh and Liz Cheney in Campbell Brown's "Great Debate" segment. Good on Joan Walsh for not allowing Liz Cheney to talk over for the entire segment. More pundits who go up against her could take a few lessons from Joan. She hit back at Cheney for interrupting her right out of the box and never let up for the rest of the interview.

BROWN: Time for our time for our "Great Debate."

And tonight's premise: Bringing Guantanamo Bay detainees to America is a security risk.

Some Republicans say that is exactly what happened today, when Ahmed Ghailani was brought from Guantanamo to New York to face trial.

And joining us to debate tonight, Liz Cheney, the former vice president's daughter, who also served in President Bush's State Department. She thinks Gitmo prisoners do not belong on American soil. On the other side, Joan Walsh, who is editor in chief of Salon -- Salon.com.

And we want your opinion too. Vote by calling the number on the bottom of your screen.

First, we're going to have opening statements from each, 30 seconds on the clock.

Liz Cheney, the premise is: Bringing Guantanamo detainees to America is a security risk. Make your case.

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Campbell Brown thinks it's a "great debate" to use chickenhawk torture apologist Marc Thiessen's article at the National Revue on Obama's Cairo speech as the premise for this segment: President Obama undercut the military in his speech to the Muslim world.

What's next, Campbell? You going to ask your guests when Obama quit beating his wife?

About the only good thing about watching this was getting to see Michael Ware call a chickenhawk out to his face.

WARE: (INAUDIBLE) your article but the problem is you're not talking to a Veterans of Foreign Wars evening dinner. You're talking to the Arab or the Muslim world.

THIESSEN: Yes.

WARE: And to be honest, they don't feel terribly liberated by the U.S. military. Now, you and I might have views of that.

THIESSEN: Well, that's why the president has a responsibility to say something.

WARE: You and I may have our view of that. But when there's American tanks sitting in the Arab streets, when they see the killings in Afghanistan from our bombings, though they're not intended, that's not how they feel. When they see what happened in Abu Ghraib --

THIESSEN: The vast majority of Afghans support Americans --

WARE: You got to understand -- you got to understand, Marc, I mean, it might feel different in the ivory towers in the Capitol Hill and the Pentagon. But on the streets -- on the streets --

THIESSEN: Excuse me, I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan four times in each of those countries so I know what it's like in the Arab streets. I've been there.

WARE: Oh, I'm sorry. You spend how much time in Iraq?

THIESSEN: Oh, listen --

WARE: No, no, no, how much time, Marc? How much time, Marc?

THIESSEN: I've traveled -- oh, I know you lived there.

WARE: Right, I lived there for six years, right? I know the problem that President Obama is trying to address.

THIESSEN: Yes.

WARE: And I can tell you, I've spent more time in the trenches with your troops than I can guarantee you have. And I'm speaking for your soldiers.

THIESSEN: Michael, let me tell you something.

WARE: And I'm telling you, they don't need platitudes. They need a solution.

THIESSEN: I was under fire too. I was in the Pentagon in September 11, 2001 with our troops, so don't tell me about being under fire with the troops.

So in the chickenhawk's view, being at the Pentagon on 9-11 is the equivalent of being under fire with the troops in Iraq. That's rich. Why Brown thought subjecting Ware to this nonsense was a good idea is beyond me. He didn't seem too thrilled about it when it was over, either.

Transcript of the entire segment from LexisNexis below the fold.

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As Media Matters pointed out, Campbell Brown claimed that Rush Limbaugh backed off of his comments about Sonia Sotomayor being a racist even though Limbaugh himself has done anything but back away from those statements:

LIMBAUGH: Producers for Andrea Mitchell, you need to tell her I have not retracted my charge that she's a racist and a bigot. I have not eaten my words. You're missing the fundamental part of this. Gosh, this is -- she's a pro-life racist and I'm saying if she's a pro-life racist, I may have to change my view. What is so hard -- you know, the state-run media is unbelievable.

It's a good thing Brown dropped that "No Bias, No Bull" from her show title, not that she lived up to it before the recent name change. As Brown noted Gingrich actually did walk his comments back but giving either of these guys a pass for their race baiting and trying to pretend either of them didn't mean what they said is ridiculous at best, and giving the Republicans who don't want to piss off the Hispanic community cover so they can distance themselves from their remarks. If the Republican party and its members in the Congress were really concerned about either of these men's statements they would have told both of them to shut the hell up a long time ago.

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Bay Buchanan thinks Dick Cheney being out front and center as the Republican's attack dog is just wonderful and Kevin Madden defends his fear mongering by saying he's a "national security expert". The rest of the panel tries to bring the two back to earth by reminding them just how unpopular Dick Cheney is to no avail.

MARTIN: Now, Bay, the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, recently called the Bush presidency a millstone around our necks. Does having Dick Cheney out on the talk show circuit help Republicans in any way?

BUCHANAN: I think it does for this reason. We are the loyal opposition, Roland. We have to speak out against the president's policy when we disagree with them.

And so on two points Cheney should be out there. Number one, he believes that what Obama is doing is damaging this country's security. So he has a moral obligation to speak out. And secondly he can get through the groupies in the media, the Obama groupies. He can be heard. He can have his voice heard. So, he represents many, many of us who believe that somebody's got to take on these policies of Obama and let Americans know that's not where Republicans would go.

YELLIN: OK. Bay, let's get real. Dick Cheney is one of the least popular figures in the Republican Party, aside from Rush Limbaugh. Now he is aligning himself with Limbaugh, attacking one of the most popular figures, Colin Powell.

So, the question is, why is it good for him to speak out as such an unpopular guy, especially when the former president himself has said it is time to keep our silence and let the new president do his job?

BUCHANAN: You know, Colin Powell is not really -- he's benefited when he -- when it was to his advantage to associate with Republicans, he did so. And when it was to his advantage to abandon us, he did so.

He does not agree with our economic policies. He does not agree with our social policies. He agrees with Obama. And now he says we should embrace this idea that -- go the Obama way. Well, then we eliminate the Republican way. Why do we even need us if we're going to agree with Democrats?

And so to suggest he is some popular figure in the Republican Party is a complete mistake, is an error.

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Tony Blankley has lost his ever-loving mind. He compares the statements about Rush Limbaugh being the leader of the Republican party to Richard Nixon's enemies list. You have got to be kidding me. These guys having some fun with a prominent right wing gas bag while the GOP implodes with infighting is not the same as what Richard Nixon did nor does it even remotely resemble it and Limbaugh is enjoying every minute of it.

February 03, 2009 CNN

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CNN:

It was one of the best-known lines President Bush ever uttered, just a few months after the September 11 attacks. Who can forget what he said about catching Osama bin Laden? Listen.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't care, dead or alive, either way. I mean, I -- it doesn't matter to me.

BROWN: That was Bush the cowboy with a pledge to the American people. At the time, it felt as though, frankly, there was no bigger priority. But it is now eight years later. Listen to President Bush talk about bin Laden now at end of his presidency, a chastened cowboy at best.

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The tagline of Campbell Brown's CNN show is "No Bias. No Bull." I'll admit that I don't watch it too often, but if she really cuts through the bull every night like she did on Monday, I may just have to set the TiVo.

Bush: "Don't tell me the federal response was slow when there was 30,000 people pulled off roofs right after the storm passed."

Brown: "Many people will disagree over many aspects of the Bush legacy, but on the government's handling of Katrina... It is impossible to challenge what so many of us witnessed firsthand, what the entire country witnessed through the images on our television screens day and night.

"Mr. President, you cannot pat yourself on the back for that one. We will debate the war in Iraq, debate national security, the economy, and the rest of your legacy. Those debates will continue for years to come. But on how you handled Katrina, there is no debate."

Damn... You tell him, Campbell!

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After watching this latest rant out of Campbell Brown over Barack Obama's refusal to answer a reporter's question about his choice of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State, I've got to say I agree completely with our friend GottaLaff over at The Political Carnival:

Campbell "no bull, no bias" (oh, puh-leeze) Brown accused Obama of being flip, avoiding "a legitimate question", and playing games with the press. Whether she's right or wrong about his obligation to answer that particular question, I don't seem to remember her ever ranting about that in regard to the Bush administration, who virtually spit in the faces of anyone daring to ask so much as one "legitimate" question, let alone a follow-up. Nor would (or could) Bush make even a minimal attempt to give an honest, or coherent, response. If evasive, nasty little retorts were middle fingers, Bush managed to blatantly flip off the press on a regular basis... if and when he held any press conferences. Maybe Mrs. Dan Senor should have had the same set of standards, and intestinal fortitude, to face off with the current president before lashing out at the future one.

Where was the outrage for George Bush when he was behaving badly Campbell? No bias, no bull, my butt.

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When Campbell Brown started off this segment about Palin and sexism, I expected it to be another screed about how "mean" the press is for asking questions about her litany of lies. Instead, Campbell excoriates the McCain campaign for treating Palin as a "delicate flower that will wilt at any moment," arguing that it's sexist to treat her any differently than her male counterparts. Consider this her first "Special Comment."

"Bear with me for a short rant on another subject, because frankly I have had and I know a lot of other women out there are with me on this. I have had enough of the sexist treatment of Sarah Palin. It has to end. She was here in New York City today meeting with world leaders at the UN. And what did the McCain campaign do? They tried to ban reporters from covering those meetings. And they did ban reporters from asking her any questions. Tonight, I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment. This woman is from Alaska, for crying out loud. She is strong; she is tough; she is competent. And you claim she is ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff. Allow her to face down those pesky reporters just like Barack Obama did today. Just like John McCain did today. Just like Joe Biden has done on numerous occasions. Let her have a real news conference with real questions. By treating Sarah Palin different from the other candidates in this race, you are not showing her the respect she deserves. Free Sarah Palin. Free her from the chauvinistic chain you are binding her with. Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has just as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do. So let her act like one."

UPDATE: (Nicole) It's still happening.  Palin gets questions, looks at McCain and demurs

  ..all because he doesn't like how CNN's Campbell Brown treated his PR monkey Tucker Bounds Monday night. If you can't stand up to Dan Senor's wife, Senator, how can we trust you to stand up to the terrorists?

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It's amazing that John McCain was so offended by a journalist actually doing her job. All Campbell Brown did was press Tucker to name one important decision Sarah Palin made as "commander-in-chief" of the Alaska National Guard. It's not surprising that he was hard-pressed to come up with one considering the Alaska National Guard General has confirmed that she has nothing to do with national defense activities. Strike 18 for the McCain/Palin ticket.