MSNBC’s praise of President Obama’s State of the Union address stopped at the water’s edge on Tuesday night, with Andrea Mitchell and Chris Matthews agreeing that the president’s “rosy” international picture is completely divorced from reality.
President Obama told Congress that America was making progress in its fight against the Islamic State. “It’s really hard-pressed to see the progress that they claim,” Mitchell said, noting that the Free Syrian Army was still in utero and that Assad and the Islamic State both continue to terrorize millions. Coupled with the Charlie Hebdo attacks and Boko Haram, she said, “things are in a pretty dire state.”
Matthews agreed, saying it was as if the president “define[d] his universe . . . I kept thinking tonight that there’s a real world out there that he didn’t really talk about.”
“I think on foreign policy, his projection of success against terrorism, and against ISIS in particular, is not close to reality,” Mitchell admitted. “They just — they have not come up with a strategy.”
Mitchell went on to note that even in a partial success story like Ukraine – where sanctions on Russia are starting to bite – ”Ukraine is going to need more weaponry.”
“So you’re right, Chris, it doesn’t match the reality,” she concluded.
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