You could almost make a “Chris Matthews gaffes” highlight reel of his years as an MSNBC host.
He once called West Point, site of the U.S. Military Academy, “enemy territory.” He has said President Barack Obama gave him a “thrill up his leg.” He even made an awkward pass at CNBC anchor Erin Burnett on live air. And on his Thursday show, he told Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall he was falling in love with him.
But don’t let him know those gestures probably aren’t appropriate, especially for live television.
On his Friday broadcast of “Hardball,” Matthews boasted to MSNBC contributor Richard Wolffe and Salon.com’s Joan Walsh they, especially himself, are capable of knowing when to say when as it pertains to making dumb remarks – which he claimed made him unlike Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann.
“We have superegos,” Matthews said. “We have that thing that Freud says, ‘Slow down, stop it – you’re making an ass of yourself.’ These people who are running this country don’t have that thing. Michele Bachmann just goes right to the top. She just runs for president without any pretense of having the material to run with.”
Watch: