What State of the Union coverage anchored by Chris Matthews would be complete without the inevitable, nostalgic look back at Barack Obama? In the early hours of Wednesday, the MSNBC host talked to liberal actor Bradley Whitford and blurted, “I looked up to Obama. As a journalist, I looked up to Obama. I don't mind saying so. Obviously.”
Matthews looked up to Obama — as a journalist? The host's adoration for Obama is well known, but to outright admit he “looked up to Obama?” How is that speaking truth to power?
It was back on February 12, 2008 that the MSNBC host famously gushed, “I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often.”
On July 27, 2004, during Obama’s appearance at the Democratic National Convention, Matthews uttered a little-known variation, saying, “I have to tell ya, a little chill in my legs now.”
Matthews’s guest, former West Wing star Bradley Whitford, complained about Trump's big night:
I mean, I feel like we're floating in a river of civic dysentery.... When I see Trump, I feel like I'm watching a professional wrestler with the crazy hair and the man tan and the hot chicks.
A partial transcript can be found below by clicking on "expand."
MSNBC Post Address Special
1/31/18
12:36am ETCHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about the romance of the West Wing. Every time the music came up, you know what I mean. Those magic moments Aaron Sorkin would write. Oh, my God. This is America. This is so great. It’s thrilling. Is that real? Is that something we're get the feeling of again, that thrilling sense of we're doing the right thing here?
BRADLEY WHITFORD: Uh, yeah. You know, people always accuse the West Wing and it is to a certain extent a fantasy, but one thing that wasn't a fantasy, even with politicians who I really disagree with is that there were seven people around that President who truly believed in the non-cynical way that the president was trying to do the right thing. We are in uncharted territory now, I mean, I feel like we're floating in a river of civic dysentery. I mean, I watch — Just to echo one thing Rob said he felt sorry for you, and I think what he was saying was, when I see Trump, I feel like I'm watching a professional wrestler with the crazy hair and the man tan and the hot chicks —
MATTHEWS: And the foreign object. They always have a foreign object.
WHITFORD: Crazy villains. But then you guys have to sit down and pull a pencil out as if you're giving an oral exam and ask the professional wrestler, “I'm confused. Why did you pick up the folding chair and hit your opponent's parent?” You know, it's a very difficult task.
MATTHEWS: Bradley, want to get back to what you said. When I worked in politics years ago, whether I worked for Edward Muskie or I worked for Frank Moss of Utah, the last liberal out there. I worked for Jimmy Carter as a speech writer or I worked for Tip O'Neill. I felt that romance. And the people around me did. We weren't always winning. It wasn't like in West Wing, we lost a lot. But we did feel that we were on the right side of history and we were doing the right thing. There is that romance. It’s true. We never looked down on the guy who was our better. We looked up to the boss. We really did. I looked up to Obama. As a journalist, I looked up to Obama. I don't mind saying so. Obviously.
WHITFORD: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen, to me, Bush looks like Albert Schweitzer now.
