FNC Cites MRC Quotes, Matthews Has 'Man Crush' on Clinton

FNC's morning anchors highlighted a few of the MRC's "Best Notable Quotables of 2007" on the Monday edition of "Fox and Friends." Included were a quote of MSNBC's Chris Matthews comparing Bill Clinton's speaking ability to that of "Jesus at the temple" when the former President spoke at Coretta King's funeral, and a quote of comedian Bill Maher commenting that if [Vice President Cheney] died, "more people would live." FNC co-anchor Alisyn Camerota joked that Matthews has a "man crush" on former President Clinton: "I think he has a man crush on Bill Clinton. He's using such rhapsodic language. I believe he has a crush on Bill."

Possibly inspired by the New York Post's Monday editorial page listing of some of the MRC's featured quotes, co-host Steve Doocy opened the segment recounting that many shows have a "best of" list at the end of the year, as he brought up the MRC's "Best Notable Quotables of 2007." Doocy:

At the end of the year, people always have, news outfits always have these "best of" lists and stuff like that. Over at the Media Research Center, what they did was they took a look at some of the outrageous things that people in the public eye said in the past year. And we're going to play this little game. Who do you think said this? We're going to do a quote, and then you try to figure out who said it.

First up was the Matthews quote about Clinton, read by Camerota: "When I watched [President Bill Clinton] at Mrs. King's funeral, I just have never seen anything like it. ... There are times when he sounds like Jesus in the temple. I mean, amazing ability to transcend ethnicity ... in this country and, and speak to all of us in this amazingly primordial way."

After Doocy revealed that the person quoted was "Mr. Hardball, Chris Matthews," Camerota joked: "I think he has a man crush on Bill Clinton. He's using such rhapsodic language. I believe he has a crush on Bill."

Doocy then read Maher's quote about Vice President Cheney: "I'm just saying, if he did die, other people, more people would live. That is a fact."

Co-host Brian Kilmeade read the third featured quote, in which CBS News anchor Katie Couric asked the director of "The Nativity Story" if "non-believers" would feel "excluded and diminished" by religious films: "Do you worry that all the non-believers may feel excluded and diminished at a time when we're divided by so much?"

Below is a transcript of the segment from the Monday December 31 "Fox and Friends":

STEVE DOOCY: All right, we're going to play a little game. You know, at the end of the year, people always have, news outfits always have these 'best of' lists and stuff like that. Over at the Media Research Center, what they did was they took a look at some of the outrageous things that people in the public eye said in the past year. And we're going to play this little game. Who do you think said this? We're going to do a quote, and then you try to figure out who said it, okay? First quote, Alison.

ALISYN CAMEROTA: Okay, "When I watched (President Bill Clinton) at Mrs. King's funeral, I just have never seen anything like it. ... There are times when he sounds like Jesus in the temple. I mean, amazing ability to transcend ethnicity ... in this country and, and speak to all of us in this amazingly primordial way."

DOOCY: All right.

BRIAN KILMEADE: Dick Cheney?

DOOCY: So who said that?

CAMEROTA: No.

DOOCY: Who do you think? The answer is Mr. Hardball, Chris Matthews.

KILMEADE: That is unbelievable.

DOOCY: Apparently a big fan of Bill Clinton's oratory.

CAMEROTA: I think he has a man crush on Bill Clinton.

DOOCY: You think so?

CAMEROTA: He's using such rhapsodic language. I believe he has a crush on Bill.

DOOCY: All right, next up, who said this? He said, "I'm just saying, if he did die, other people, more people would live. That is a fact."

CAMEROTA: Now, here's what you need to know. He's talking about Vice President Cheney. So who said that, that if he died, more people would live, about Vice President Cheney? Who?

DOOCY: I saw it. It was Bill Maher-

CAMEROTA: That's right.

DOOCY: -on his show on HBO.

BRIAN KILMEADE: You get HBO. All right, who said this? "Do you worry that all the non-believers may feel excluded and diminished at a time when we're divided by so much?" Who said that?

CAMEROTA: That was asking people about their biblical studies, biblical studies and holiday studies. Are you worried about all the non-believers who will feel out of it? Who said that?

DOOCY: That was Katie Couric to "Nativity Story" director Catherine Hardwicke and screenwriter Mike Rich about Hollywood films based on biblical themes. And that award was called, according to the MRC, the "Perky Princess Award for Katie's Cutesy Comments."