Matthews: Obama Win Will Send Message that 'Despised' America is Ready for Change

On the eve of the Iowa caucuses Chris Matthews seemed to be issuing marching orders to Democratic voters as he declared that only a Barack Obama victory would send the message to the world that a "despised" America was truly ready to "change." In the event of an Obama win Matthews offered the following preview of his election night spin on the January 2 edition of MSNBC's "Hardball":

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Every few generations America makes up its mind to change things. We decide we're in a rut. We decide to get ourselves to get out of that rut and we take the necessary leap. It's what we did when we were stuck in the Great Depression in 1932 and picked Franklin Roosevelt. It's what we did in 1952 when we were stuck in Korea and picked Dwight Eisenhower. What some of us did in 1980 when we were stuck with double-digit inflation, double-digit interest rates and double-digit hostages stuck in Iran and chose Ronald Reagan. Barack Obama, on the eve of Iowa, is the very name tonight, the very statement, the very being of the word "change." If I sit here tomorrow night reporting that he has won the Iowa caucuses the world will hear it and the world will be stunned because the United States of America, despised by so many, for lording it over the world these days, for dictating regional solutions by virtue of our military power will be saying, "No more." No more of invading countries. No more dictating a war-Americana. No more, "our way or the highway." No more Bush doctrine. No more Bush.