'Hardball' Host Matthews Refers to Sarah Palin as a 'Mail-Order Bride'

If you watch MSNBC's "Hardball," you really have to scratch your head and wonder what host Chris Matthews is thinking when he opens his mouth sometimes.

On the March 30 broadcast of "Hardball," Matthews, MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan and Newsweek's Howard Fineman were discussing what they perceived to be a rift between former GOP vice-presidential candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her running mate, former GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. based on McCain's unwillingness to commit to supporting Palin as a presidential candidate in 2012. (h/t Breitbart.tv)

MATTHEWS: You're a great reporter, Howard - I'm going to set you up. You are a great reporter. You are the best - the best in the business. What happened between those two?

FINEMAN: It was a lost weekend that didn't go beyond the weekend.

MATTHEWS: He thought she was something special. He thought she was the genuine article.

FINEMAN: He had no idea. He had no idea, with all die respect to the Senator. He had no idea what he was getting. They came into the convention and I was covering it closely at the time.

MATTHEWS: What was she - a mail-order bride? What do you mean he had no idea who she was?

FINEMAN: Practically he really didn't know. He didn't know her. They didn't have any other good choices. They had a boring convention they were facing in St. Paul. They wanted to liven it up. They said, hey - let's pick this conservative young woman governor from Alaska. And he crossed his fingers and said fine. It was a great convention, it was exciting. It was fun.

Matthews seems to have no problem characterizing women in these terms. On the March 27 broadcast of his program, Matthews referred to Rep. Michele Bachman, R-Minn., as the "Mata Hari of Minnesota."