No, Chris Matthews is not always everyone's favorite. His style can be hard to take. But that style does have it's upsides too.
He had two great segments tonight showcasing only two of today's top three crazies. (Rachel Maddow gets to run the Sharon Angle report)
They are all giving Boehner a run for the money today...
First up, there's Michelle Bachman, our favorite lunatic. This time she claims that while Obama was at the G-20 conference, he was secretly laying the groundwork for a one world government...
So we are teaming up with Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe in a new world government. This is insane talk by a congress woman. I don't know who the voters are out there but take a look at this kind of talk. This fear that the black helicoptors are about to land and take over this country. That Robert Mugabe is in some kind of political partnership with Barrack Obama is insane talk.
Emphasis his. He practically screamed the word insane... (While cleverly avoiding calling her insane...)
Then we had a an interview with Rick Barber, the crazy "Gather your Armies" teabag candidate from Alabama. Watch as Matthews presses him on the call for impeachment, his call for the abolition of the progressive income tax laws and the gathering of armies- only to discover the answer is that it's all just a metaphor...
Will this joker get 1% of the vote? Even in Alabama? Barber stonewalls on every subject, refuses to acknowledge the math that he is literally proposing a 31% sales tax and then tries to wiggle out of his ads violent overtone... (The video clip cuts off a little short, barber finally answers he was audited once..)
Favorite snippet-
Matthews: He's wearing a military uniform and says gather your armies and you're saying that's a metaphor?
Barber: Chris, do you know what a metaphor is? Do you know what hyperbole is?
Matthews: Well it sounds like everything in your ad... Are you a metaphor for a guy running for office? Or are you a real candidate? If you're a metaphor, I understand what you're talking about...
Because how else could you comprehend what this nutjob is talking about?
It was a tough, take no prisoners interview. And Barber was reduced to a sweaty, evasive mess by the time they get to the subject of audits. When Matthews is on, and not just interrupting to make his point, he is one of the best interrogators out there. I doubt this will get the traction that Rand Paul's interview with Rachel did, but no two tools would be more deserving if it did...
Transcript and video here.