Chris Matthews: Hillary Really 'Cares' About 'The Regular Person'

When asked, by NBC's Meredith Vieira, on Thursday's "Today" show how the Hillary Clinton campaign can stop their current slide, Chris Matthews urged Clinton to remind voters that she really does care about the little guy as he declared that the Clintons: "Care about the regular person in this country, the regular middle-working class family with all their problems of health care and raising their kids. Hillary Clinton, especially, cares about those things. It's obvious she does. It's not a fraud."

The following is all of Matthews' strategic advice to the Clinton campaign, as he offered it on the December 13 edition of the "Today" show:

MEREDITH VIEIRA: On Hillary's side you have her husband Bill Clinton, who is very frustrated with the way the campaign is going. What can he do, right now, to help her turn things around? Is there anything he can do?

CHRIS MATTHEWS: What he ought to do is get Paul Begala to come back and work in the campaign. She's got a lot of hard-hitters around her but no one with any heart. The appeal of the Clintons over the years and the reason why the Democratic Party is in love with the Clintons is that the Clintons, with all their flaws and perhaps arrogance, care about the regular person in this country, the regular middle-working class family with all their problems of health care and raising their kids. Hillary Clinton, especially, cares about those things. It's obvious she does. It's not a fraud. They've gotta go back to why they're running. What it now looks like and based upon your questions, and by the way they're the questions everyone's asking, how she gonna hit Obama next? They've gotta change the question from, "How are the Clintons gonna whack Obama?" to "Why do the Clintons continue in their public life?" And they've got to answer that question. If I were Bill, I'd go around with Hillary, introduce her both in the same room, big town halls, answering all kinds of questions about people's real life needs. That's the way Bill Clinton won in New Hampshire back in 1992. They've gotta get out there and talk about people's needs and stop talking about Obama.

VIEIRA: Are they gonna start talking about the economy, stupid? Because, I don't mean you're stupid-

MATTHEWS: Sure.

VIEIRA: -but remember "the economy stupid" that phrase, because it now seems that voters are more interested in what's going on-

MATTHEWS: Right.

VIEIRA: -with this country than they are with what's going on in Iraq?

MATTHEWS: Target rich environment for the Clintons and their brand of politics, right now. Focus on the economy, focus on people's economic fears, not the stock market type people, the people worried about paying tuition, worried about keeping a job, worried about health care. It's a perfect market basket of opportunities for them. They can get off the Iraq war where she's very much in trouble because she voted for the war and focus on economic conditions. By the way if they lose a squeaker in Iowa they can still win in New Hampshire. They gotta stop acting like it's the last minute in an NBA game and they gotta foul the other guy to get the ball back. They gotta end this sense of desperation. It's either Mark Penn, Mandy Grunwald, somebody in that campaign keeps teaching them fear. Fear is killing the Clinton campaign. It's not the last minute of this game. She's ahead 20 or 30 points nationally, plenty of time to prove that they're Clintons. Stop attacking Obama, start selling Clinton-ism again. That's what they gotta do.

Incidentally the "Today" show seemed transfixed by the Democratic race as they barely covered the Republicans, even though they just had their final debate before the Iowa caucuses last night. For his part, Matthews didn’t feel compelled to offer any free strategic advice, like he did for the Clintons, to any of the GOP candidates.

The following is a complete transcript of the entire segment from the first half-hour of the December 13, "Today" show:

MATT LAUER: And now to the race for the White House where it's getting down to crunch time. The Iowa caucuses are exactly three weeks away but when you consider that Christmas is fast approaching the candidates really have even less time than that to make their final appeals. And as NBC's David Gregory tells us for some it's the best of times, for others the worst. David, good morning.

[On screen headline: "Countdown To Iowa, Clinton Struggles, Huckabee Surges"]

DAVID GREGORY: Right, Matt, good morning to you. Well today the Democrats debate one last time in Iowa but with just three weeks to go, as you say, it's a deadlocked race and the landscape has changed dramatically on both sides. The big story, really, Hillary Clinton in trouble. Her campaign now worried about a loss in that first in the nation contest.

BILL CLINTON: Thank you!

GREGORY: Bill Clinton campaigning for his wife in New Jersey, Wednesday night, and trying to lower expectations.

BILL CLINTON: Of all the states in the country Iowa is the most challenging one for her to start. Behind the scenes aides acknowledge the former president has been unhappy with how the campaign is being run and how close the race has become.

CLINTON: It's a, it's a pitched battle.

GREGORY: Analysts say the Clinton camp should now be most concerned about slowing down Barack Obama in Iowa.

JOHN HARWOOD, CNBC CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Barack Obama is very well-positioned everywhere across the map: New Hampshire, South Carolina and in the states to follow.

GREGORY: In New Hampshire more trouble for Clinton. A new poll showing she is effectively tied with Obama, losing a sizable lead in the state. In a new attack on Obama a top Clinton campaign official in New Hampshire now charges Obama's past cocaine use could make him unelectable. Bill Shaheen telling the Washington Post, Republicans would use it against him. Quote: "It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?' There are so many openings for Republican dirty tricks. It's hard to overcome." A Clinton spokesman later claimed Shaheen's comments were not authorized. Clinton aides do acknowledge it's been a bad six weeks for the campaign but insists no one is getting fired.

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS POLITICAL DIRECTOR: The chief criticism seems to be that she's not succeeding at being the change candidate. That she's not succeeding at getting people to know here. That on character issues she's losing to Obama and in some cases by a landslide.

FRED THOMPSON: You know you're getting to be a pretty good actor, actually.

GREGORY: On the Republican side a fireworks-free final debate in Iowa did little to challenge Mike Huckabee's surprising surge to frontrunner status. After the debate Huckabee said he apologized to Mitt Romney for suggesting during an interview that Mormons believe Jesus Christ and the Devil are brothers, a claim the Mormon church denies. Appearing with Tucker Carlson on MSNBC.

MIKE HUCKABEE: I told him that I deeply regret it, that I personally wanted to look him in the eye and apologize. That I never would intend to question his faith and that I wanted him to know, from me, face-to-face, that his being a Mormon was neither a reason that people should vote for or against him for president.

GREGORY: For Huckabee, behind that apology, in part an effort now to widen his appeal within the Republican Party beyond simply that evangelical base, Meredith.

MEREDITH VIEIRA: Alright David Gregory, thanks very much. Chris Matthews is host of "Hardball" on MSNBC as well as The Chris Matthews Show. Chris, good morning to you.

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Good morning, Meredith.

VIEIRA: Okay last debate for the Democrats before the Iowa caucuses and the heat is on for Hillary Clinton. Do you expect her to come out swinging?

MATTHEWS: Well everybody's wondering where she's gonna swing. Will it be above the belt or below the belt? These shots at Obama said in kindergarten and what he may have done as a teenager look like they're below the belt and her people are delivering them. She has gotta come out with a clean hit if she's gonna hit him.

VIEIRA: Well Obama's people said it was an act of desperation by her camp. Is that the kind of attack, particularly about Obama's past drug use, that could backfire on her?

MATTHEWS: You know Obama represents idealism and optimism and he got the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval from Oprah this past weekend. He looks as pure as the wind-driven snow right now and for her to go after him on character I think is a big mistake. She has got to go after him on his shallow record as a public official. The brief time he's had in public life, his lack of having accomplished much in public life. She's gotta hit him wherever everybody says, "fair hit, good shot."

VIEIRA: You know you mentioned Oprah, which is his secret weapon or not-so-secret weapon. On Hillary's side you have her husband Bill Clinton, who is very frustrated with the way the campaign is going. What can he do, right now, to help her turn things around? Is there anything he can do?

MATTHEWS: What he ought to do is get Paul Begala to come back and work in the campaign. She's got a lot of hard-hitters around her but no one with any heart. The appeal of the Clintons over the years and the reason why the Democratic Party is in love with the Clintons is that the Clintons, with all their flaws and perhaps arrogance, care about the regular person in this country, the regular middle-working class family with all their problems of health care and raising their kids. Hillary Clinton, especially, cares about those things. It's obvious she does. It's not a fraud. They've gotta go back to why they're running. What it now looks like and based upon your questions, and by the way they're the questions everyone's asking, how she gonna hit Obama next? They've gotta change the question from, "How are the Clintons gonna whack Obama?" to "Why do the Clintons continue in their public life?" And they've got to answer that question. If I were Bill, I'd go around with Hillary, introduce her both in the same room, big town halls, answering all kinds of questions about people's real life needs. That's the way Bill Clinton won in New Hampshire back in 1992. They've gotta get out there and talk about people's needs and stop talking about Obama.

VIEIRA: Are they gonna start talking about the economy, stupid? Because, I don't mean you're stupid-

MATTHEWS: Sure.

VIEIRA: -but remember "the economy stupid" that phrase, because it now seems that voters are more interested in what's going on-

MATTHEWS: Right.

VIEIRA: -with this country than they are with what's going on in Iraq.

MATTHEWS: Target rich environment for the Clintons and their brand of politics, right now. Focus on the economy, focus on people's economic fears, not the stock market type people, the people worried about paying tuition, worried about keeping a job, worried about health care. It's a perfect market basket of opportunities for them. They can get off the Iraq war where she's very much in trouble because she voted for the war and focus on economic conditions. By the way if they lose a squeaker in Iowa they can still win in New Hampshire. They gotta stop acting like it's the last minute in an NBA game and they gotta foul the other guy to get the ball back. They gotta end this sense of desperation. It's either Mark Penn, Mandy Grunwald, somebody in that campaign keeps teaching them fear. Fear is killing the Clinton campaign. It's not the last minute of this game. She's ahead 20 or 30 points nationally, plenty of time to prove that they're Clintons. Stop attacking Obama, start selling Clinton-ism again. That's what they gotta do.

VIEIRA: Alright, very quickly Chris. The Huckabee comment about the Mormons and Jesus Christ-

MATTHEWS: Right.

VIEIRA: -and the Devil being brothers. Honest mistake or calculated do you think?

MATTHEWS: It's consistent with his campaign as running as the Christian leader. There is no doubt in the world, this is an objective statement, he is running as the Christian leader against what he thinks he can sell as a cult which is Mormonism. He is running against Mormonism. If his opponent were Joe Lieberman and he was running as the Christian leader we'd see it more clearly. He's clearly running a sectarian campaign against the Mormons and he got caught.

VIEIRA: Alright Chris Matthews, thanks very much, as usual.

MATTHEWS: Thank you, thank you.

VIEIRA: And you can watch the Democratic presidential candidates debate today in Iowa on MSNBC. It is the last one before the caucuses and Chris will be anchoring the coverage. That's starting at 1:30pm Eastern.