MSNBC host Chris Matthews led off "Hardball" Tuesday by insisting President Obama fire people involved in the scandals savaging the White House and "grab control of his presidency," tagging his administration as having no thrust because of the IRS targeting scandal, Benghazi and the Justice Department's secret seizure of Associated Press phone records.
"He needs to fire people," Matthews said. "He needs to grab control of his presidency. He needs to surround himself with people ready to fight on every front, because the three problems he faces now, Benghazi, the IRS and the FBI, are less likely to be two problems by this time next week than they are to be four and counting. Why? Because as I said, it's not just that he's under attack. It's that he's vulnerable, and that's obvious to everyone this side of the White House gates."
Obama called the IRS actions "outrageous" if they were true Monday in his press conference, despite the IRS already admitting it had engaged in intentional targeting of conservative tax-exempt groups. Yet he appeared angry at the media's continued questioning on Benghazi, even after last week's whistleblower testimony that shed new light on the attack and the administration's response, trying to dismiss it as political theater.
His own former press secretary and MSNBC contributor Robert Gibbs, called Obama's response to the IRS scandal "exceedingly passive" earlier Tuesday on "Andrea Mitchell Reports," and he has faced mounting scrutiny over his statements about Benghazi and their confliction with the established timeline on the terrorist attack.
NBC reporter Chuck Todd referred to the DOJ's effort to obtain AP phone records as "chilling," although Obama has not yet responded to that latest scandal directly.
Matthews alluded to Obama's failures to pass gun control and immigration reform legislation during his introduction as well.
"There's no thrust to his presidency right now," Matthews said. "Oh, you can say he's concerned about gun violence, but the bill's dead. Dead as a door nail. Oh, you can talk about immigration, but it's out there on the horizon somewhere where Rubio and Schumer and McCain live in Legislation Land. No, the engine's dead. That's why this president is under fire. His people are unexcited because they've not been called to be excited."