Chris Matthews in Criticizing Sarah Palin Refers to Africa as "a country"

I caught this exchange early Monday evening during Chris Matthews' Hardball. After scouring Youtube for the clip, I've found that it's being noted by the good folks over at Newsbusters.com who never seem to miss a beat!

Matthews had on as guests Margaret Carlson, conservative columnist with Bloomberg, and Larry Persily, a former staffer with Governor Palin.

As most are aware, Matthews has been one of the strongest and most vocal proponents out there pushing the recent fabrications regarding Governor Sarah Palin's perceived lack of fitness, demeanor and intelligence to have been the Republican vice-presidential nominee.

In introducing his new guests and this particular segment after the break, Matthews posed this question to Palin's former staffer, Persily, regarding the Alaska Governor:

I've got to go to Larry first. You've got to answer this question, sir. Is this person unaware of basic grade-school information, like, Africa is a country of 57-or-so countries, it is not a country, it's a continent? South Africa is a country, not a region.

And to answer your question... No! Neither Carlson or Persily made note of Chris Matthews' forgivably misspoken comment, which would have spoken volumes as to how easily human beings can make such a slip up; or in the case of Sarah Palin, however, IF that slip up even truthfully did occur!

My only question now - and also as I was screaming at the top of my lungs at my television - would be, just what kind of spokesmen for the Republican Party and conservative point of view are Carlson and Persily? They are supposedly there to offer commentary and dialogue from our point of view and to counter Matthews' unfair labeling of Palin.

So, how could they have not even taken a swing at this huge, right-down-the-middle-of-the-plate "Softball" that was offered up, right before their eyes!?!

If this is the kind of representation we, as conservatives, have speaking for us and furthering our movement on the major networks, no wonder we were unable to get our valid message across during this past election season!