Chris Matthews Calls Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee Con Men

For the seventh day in a row, MSNBC's Chris Matthews attacked possible Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee.

In a lengthy, twelve minute opening segment lambasting the pair for largely past indiscretions, the "Hardball" host concluded with a literary reference likening the both to con men (video follows with transcript and commentary):

CHRIS MATTHEWS: This guy -- these are -- these are the Duke and the Dauphin of the back country, these two guys, and they're working, as you said, the outer elements of the rightwing.

For those that have forgotten their "Huckleberry Finn," the Duke and the Dauphin were a couple of con men that Jim and Huck rescued while traveling down the Mississippi River. The younger of the two introduced himself as the son of an English duke. The older one claimed he was the Lost Dauphin, the son of Louis XVI and rightful King of France.

The pair ended up joining Jim and Huck on the raft for a short period of time engaging in a number of scams along the way.

And this was how Matthews represented a former governor and former Speaker of the House.

As we're still about 20 months away from Election Day 2012, can you imagine what this journalistic abomination will be calling the final Republican presidential nominee?