Chris Matthews Admits: "I'm Partial" For Barack Obama, "You Got Me!"

Stop 1 on Chris Matthews' Whirlwind Tour of LA — which will bring him to his reunion with Ellen DeGeneres — was the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Tuesday night Matthews sat down with Leno to discuss the Obama presidency, the possibility of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, the bailout of the auto industry,

Matthews admitted to Leno that he has been, and still is, "partial" to Barack Obama.

"Well, I'm partial," he said. "You got me. You nailed me! I've been watching politics since I was a kid and all the way back to the days of Kennedy and Nixon and I've never seen anything like Barack Obama. No one's ever been as inspiring."

Matthews said that Obama's run was "stunning to [him] from the time it started" and described Obama as "a remarkable political reality."

When Leno brought up the topic of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, Matthews laughed, saying, "Come on, you're setting me up!" Matthews is a frequent Clinton-antagonist who was recently overheard on a train trashing her as a Cabinet pick.

The always-excited "Hardball" host may was also passionate about the auto industry bailout. Matthews told Leno, a well-known car enthusiast, that if the CEOs of the "Big Three" auto companies are going to become government employees through a bailout, they ought to accept government salaries.

"These auto company CEOs have not had a good year, or a good decade, and they're still making hundreds of millions of dollars," Matthews said. "I think we ought to say, if we're going to be in a bailout situation...stop getting paid like capitalists. You didn't do it," he added, suggesting a $400,000/year cap on their salaries (equivalent to what the President makes).

Watch:

Comments

[billblow3]

Matthew is one of the best on Tv, PERIOD. I feel the same way about Obama, that guy does make you feel like there is HOPE for a new beginning. So say what you want Matthew about Obama, at less Obama haven't lied to the country and cost thousands of lives and billions of dollars, like that invasion of Iraq. So for all those who would like to over look the last 8 years of misery with Bush, you're still living in this miserable times for 2 more months.

[TakeCaptiveEveryThought]

'you got me!'??? How hard is it to hit the broad side of a barn?

[LeeCalif]

Poor Chris. He didn't get the show joke by Larry.

What Chris said about Obama was so true. Seeing him walk off a plane the first time in a foreign country will send good chills up my spine.

[rabiddog6708]

Larry is a joke that is not funny. I'm sure his movies will be in the bargin bin with Pauly Shore flicks any time now.

[SOLERSO68]

I didnt get it either please explain

[tchristin]

Chris, I know what you mean about Obama. A lot of us feel the same way. It is a beautiful thing to behold and I am for one, grateful to be alive to witness it.

[Grulg]

Mathews=becoming as big a shill for Obama as Sean Hannity always was for W. Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.

[Hawka]

I don't think anyone can be as big a shill as Hannity, even he voices his disagreements with Obama, like with Hillary being considered Secretary of State. I think Chris does a fine job for the most part, especially in comparison to his right wing counter-parts. How else would we have been able to find out about Bachmann's idiocy?

[ses190e]

For a seasoned political observer to recognize real talent does not make him a shill. To praise a poloitician long after he has proven himself to be an incompetent greed-monger would make him a shill.

[Strywever]

I completely disagree. Yesterday, I watched Matthews throw out some pretty rough criticism of Obama, and it took me a while to figure out that he was playing devil's advocate and wanted to give his guests a sharply defined point of view to react to. I've never seen Hannity do anything but slag "liberals" and any idea the RNC didn't tell him to promote. I've certainly never seen him advocate for the other side, even insincerely.

[johnnynyc]

Then again, this is the same Matthews who said about circa "Mission Accomplished" era Bush:

"He won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics."

and

"He's like Eisenhower. He looks great in a military uniform. He looks great in that cowboy costume he wears when he goes West."

http://mediamatters.org/items/200604270005

Matthews is overly impressed by shiny objects and moves from one to the other.

[darthdarcy]

Exactly well put...he's been featuring one Republican buffoon after another of late, much of the media has...

[kylie]

Does anyone really take Matthews seriously?
He was promoting Hillary when he thought it would help the Republicans to win in '04.
He comes on with "compliments" but stocks his shows with GOP critics of Obama, the Democratic appointments by Obama, critics of helping the auto industry out to insure the bailout money all goes to bankers, CEO'S and no working class Americans or their mortgage woes or the unions that support them! It is a Republican conspiracy to make sure billions go only to GOP criminal corporations.

[ladyrefined2000]

yeah, i remember when matthews sucked up to bush..............he has no moral compass.

[freerepublicrat]

for those praising tingling feeling Matthews you wouldn't say that if it was the other way around..its under no circuntances the job of a jornalist to feed-spoon the public with his bias, he will serve a the second press secretary to the Obama administration

[freddymedal]

Tony Snow take 2?

[RadLeftVetPatriot]

"Partial" is good Mr. Matthews. Just so you're not a like a journalist or anything.

[Strywever]

Editorializing is perfectly acceptable, as long as people understand that's what you're doing. What is unacceptable is pretending to do straight reporting that's actually biased on close inspection. Matthews doesn't do that. Olbermann doesn't do that. Maddow doesn't do that.

Who does that? The people on Faux News . . . especially the one in the "No Spin Zone."

[freerepublicrat]

tingling feeling ...this guy reminds me of Fatal Attraction....I'd encourage Mrs Obama to kee and eye on this freak.

[Mabila]

And then he has to face Ellen. Brilliant!

[Quilter]

Great interview. Chris Mathews comes off as affable and in tune with what's going on.

If he decides to run for office in PA...I think he'll win.

[kassandrasduplex]

Matthews is a crank in the Democrats gears. Obama is inspiring but not the "most" inspiring. Roosevelt Lincoln Kennedy administrations. Obama is so far showing not nearly the radical progressivism of any of those antecedents.
And for his attacks on Clinton he should have been fired.

[lattedrinker]

Sorry, but I was not alive that long ago to appreciate the Inspiration that was felt by Americans during those periods of time. However, I do know how inspired I have been since seeing Obama at the DNC in 04'.

[bonbk]

Obama is not president yet, how can he show how "progressive" he is at this point in time??

[mrskorn]

This is a surprise?

[SwingVoter]

lol

[AlaskanToo]

It feels good to have the pessimism surrounding our presidency abated. What's interesting is how the right leaning journalists cynisism is so darn whacky and out there. People are now trying to prove at least in the blogosphere that Obama is not a National and was born in Kenya but his mom got him a birth certificate in HI. Why becasue she knew that her infant would someday become president of the USA. Give it a rest people.

[Seven7s]

LOLOLOL

[godlessliberal]

And in other news the sky is blue.