King Is No Guerrero With ‘Hardball’

[Commentary] A few hours before Los Angeles Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero dominated the Major League All-Star home run contest Monday night, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R- Iowa, was taking some swings of his own on MSNBC's "Hardball" — and missing wildly.

When it comes to representing western Iowa King has something of a reverse Midas touch.

King appeared on Chris Matthews' program Monday night to defend the Bush administration's claim of executive privilege with electronic exchanges, other records and potential testimony related to the controversial firing of federal prosecutors. King also portrayed former Dick Cheney chief of staff Scooter Libby, convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, as a victim of the legal system who did nothing criminal.

"There was no underlying crime there," King said of the Scooter Libby case.

Matthews challenged King on consistency.

"You said that there was no underlying crime in the Scooter Libby case when he was convicted by a jury of perjury and obstruction of justice," Matthews said. "The United States Congress led by Republicans, dominated by Republicans, did impeach President Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice. What was the underlying crime in that case?"

King responded, "Well, I'll say that Bill Clinton lied to Congress and during an investigation that at least had more merit than is being presented by the chairman of the Judiciary Committee."

Matthews said that is entirely inconsistent. "Bill Clinton's underlying crime was his relationship with a White House staffer, a young staffer. Was that an underlying crime? No. So what's your standard here?" Matthews said.

"I do not believe that Bill Clinton issued executive privilege against the Congress, and I don't think that Congress tried to subpoena people," King said.

"Do you believe he was guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice, Scooter Libby?" Matthews said. "The president thought he was guilty. He said there was a fair jury finding, and he said the prosecutor did his job."

"I don't know what he (Libby) said, Chris," King said. "I don't know. The news media hasn't reported that that I can find and I've gone through pages and pages of research myself. I'm still waiting for somebody to tell me what he said that wasn't true."

"Well, if you paid attention, you'd know," Matthews said.

Added Matthews, "Congressman King, everybody who has been following this case knows exactly what Scooter Libby's testimony was, and they saw why he was convicted."

As much as he likes to present himself as just-folks from Kiron, congressman King is a not your ordinary American. He's a member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee with a staff. King shouldn't have to rely on the media he so detests to get information on Scooter Libby. He and his staff should be able to go to original source material and Republican friends to get the scoop. The fact that he's so spectacularly unprepared for his appearance on "Hardball" demonstrates yet again that he's an epic poser, full of sound and fury but no substance.

It's one thing for King to play the bully out here in rural Iowa, making insinuations about Hispanics and ugly jokes about homosexuals and sexist remarks about older women (Helen Thomas). It's quite another to face a prime-time national television host known for backing up the name of his show with pointed questions that often puncture the overblown egos of politicians used to the fawning ignorance in much of the media.

There's also a question of time management. Regardless of your politics, do you really want a congressman who spends time sparring with talking heads about the partisan angles on the latest personality-driven Washington, D.C., drama? King has also spent time with his staff out filming war protestors (for what ends, he's never made clear) and complaining about the name of a post office in California.

He apparently sees a different western Iowa than I do.

With the crossroads of energy and agriculture becoming increasingly intriguing and fraught with long-term concerns and revolutionary potential, we need a measured thinker interested in focusing like a laser on these issues in committee and community rooms, someone who quite frankly views the lights of the sensational media and their issues of the moment as distractions to be avoided.

King will and has, of course, said he's capable of doing it all, that he's been to all the cities in the 5th Congressional District. But even considering his borderline messianic personality, King surely most realize that time is finite.

Western Iowa cannot afford to have a congressman spending that limited time and power getting mopped up by Chris Matthews on "Hardball."

King needs to return to the fields and be an agriculture-first-and-only congressman.

We need that desperately if we are take advantage of what so clearly are the opportunities of a lifetime with Iowa agriculture.