If you plan on running for president as a Republican in 2016, it's safe to say that Chris Matthews is not exactly an endorsement you'd covet. While the Hardball host didn't officially give his seal of approval to Jeb Bush, he made pretty clear on his December 2 program that he respects the former Florida governor, seeing him as an anti-Ted Cruz.
Here are the relevant comments Matthews made tonight as he teased a roundtable segment heading into a commercial break (video update forthcoming):
[L]ots of noise now about 2016. Jeb Bush seems like he wants to run but he wants to run on his own terms. He's not going to become a wacko bird. He's not going to join the clown car. He believes in education, he believes in Common Core education. He believes in immigration, good immigration. He is different than some of those Ted Cruz types out there. And he's not going to cross-dress and pretend he ain't. We're going to ask the roundtable what they think of that.