Yesterday CNN announced some major changes in their lineup. Among these was a host of names that will no longer appear on the network. Two of the most notable being James Carville, and a personal friend of Glenn's, Mary Matalin. This morning, when Matalin called into the show she had a different focus. The former CNN contributor didn't spend much time discussing her former employer, instead she mostly spent her time on the show torturing Stu.
You see, Stu prides himself on having attending the Super Bowl the last six years in a row, and this year is no different. However this year, instead of hunting down tickets once he arrives, Stu is trying to take advantage of Glenn's friendship with Mary Matalin. What can she do to help? Well, Matalin and her husband are co-chairs of this year's Super Bowl Host Committee.
"Oh, Glenn, I'm great and I've been meaning to call," Mary said as she greeted Glenn over the phone this morning. "You know I listen every day but I haven't been able to listen, I've been so busy. I'm co‑hosting the Super Bowl here and I've been meaning to call to see if Pat wanted to come to anything."
Ouch. Sorry, Stu.
Pat and Glenn, of course, played right along. Noting that he can't make it, but that Mary should auction off for charity. That was someone with a lot of extra money [i.e. Stu] could bid on it and do some good.
"How about game day tickets or something like that?" Mary joked.
The ideas kept rolling in — none of which were good for Stu.
"How about this: Pat and Stu come down. Pat goes to the game and we auction off walk‑ins to the free things with Stu," she said. "How is that?"
After quite a bit more mocking, Glenn got down to business and asked Mary about her departure from CNN. Of all the people they actually kept around, he couldn't believe they would let her go.
"I feel the same way leaving as you did," Mary responded.
"Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I'm free at last?" Glenn joked.
"I'm raising kids. I have to control my schedule," she said. "They [CNN] have built all new studios and they want people there that can get there on a moment's notice. And not only can I not do that, I'm too old in my life to do that. I don't want to follow those kind of stories. So I'm not ‑‑ I have many friends there, I've had them for a million years, I love John King. I love Anderson."
Glenn noted his fondness of Cooper and Blitzer from his time at CNN.
"I think they are honorable men. I really do. I like them. They are nice guys," he said.
Glenn transitioned to the state of the GOP, explaining his feelings that the party is basically over.
"I'm done with the GOP. How do we hold onto our country when the GOP is just ‑‑ they are just folding on absolutely everything and I don't know what they stand for anymore," Glenn said to Mary.
"Let's go to first principle," Mary responded. "Why ‑‑ the first principle for me is the reason I became a conservative, growing up in south Chicago, I didn't know any Republicans." The college I went to, 17,000 kids, there were 11 Republicans. The reason I became a conservative is because those were the days of this wave of, this new wave of 'progressivism feminism'. It was like a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bike. I said, "that's it. I love men, I want men in my life." I didn't want to do that group think thing. I'm going back to first principles here."
Much like Glenn, Mary moved to an area with a stronger community. Where they can fix their educational system and surround themselves with good entrepreneurial people.
"You're exactly ‑‑ Mary, that's exactly where I am. I don't care about Washington anymore," he told her. "We have to watch them. We have to make sure that we're paying attention. They're out of control. I don't believe in either party right now but I do believe in the American people. I do believe we have to fix our families, fix our street, fix our town."
"Fix our state," he added. "If our states are all rock solid, Washington, Washington needs us more than we need them and we have to put that ‑‑ we have to put that situation back into play."
"When we moved here, I started listening to you every day, and you changed my perspective. You changed my life. You've made me a more committed citizen and every day think of how can I help somebody, what can I do to have an impact," Mary said to Glenn. "And if everybody's in the know knew that there's so many people out there that think like that. Just knowing that there are more of us, as you say, and all the news that you do bring to us -- that's a huge ‑‑ that's a calling. Nobody else can do it. Nobody's been determined enough to do it."