Closing out an interview with Sen. John Hoeven (R) of North Dakota on today's Andrea Mitchell Reports, substitute host Chris Matthews thanked the former governor and said he "loved visiting your state this summer" and that he loves Mt. Rushmore, having "sat there for two hours and just looked up at it" during his trip to South Dakota over the summer.
Hoeven corrected Matthews, saying he was from North Dakota. Matthews retorted that he "liked South Dakota better anyway." [video follows page break]
"Sorry, I like North Dakota too. I go to Hal Rosenbluth's place up there. There's a ranch up there I like to hang out at," Matthews added. Yeah, right, Chris.
Of course, anyone in the news biz, or in politics, is bound to make goofy geographical gaffes like this. And yet Matthews and others in the media have mercilessly mocked Republicans like Michele Bachmann for gaffes like her having confused Concord, New Hampshire for Concord, Massachusetts or when the Minnesota Republican mistakenly claimed that John Wayne was born in Waterloo, Iowa.
