WaPo's Kurtz Chronicles Chris Matthews on Team Bush 'Criminality'

On the front of Thursday’s Style section of The Washington Post, media reporter Howard Kurtz profiled Chris Matthews in a story headlined "Hardbrawl." It began by noting how frankly Matthews dislikes Team Bush:

Dispensing with the usual platitudes about his MSNBC show, Matthews vowed not to be silenced by Bush administration officials. And he let loose with this broadside: "They've finally been caught in their criminality."

The political community was soon abuzz: Did you hear what Chris said? What criminality was he talking about? Could he really be fair in moderating the following week's Republican presidential debate? "I did it on purpose," Matthews says now. "I wanted to make a statement that we had a purpose on the show -- to tell the truth."

Kurtz publishes some original quotes, as well as a pile of Media Matters favorites (and a couple from MRC, like Huckabee the Shi'ite from the Leno show). He professed that Matthews isn't easily identified, although many conservatives would disagree. You can't disagree he has an uncanny talent for ticking off both left and right:

Matthews is not easy to pigeonhole. He has liberal sympathies on most issues, but can hammer Democratic guests as aggressively as he grills Republicans, often annoying his left-leaning friends.

For people just looking for the original material, including stories that make Matthews look like a diva and an egomaniac, consider how he's apparently compared bad TelePrompter work to sexual assault:

Several friends expressed concern that Matthews, who assumed the title of managing editor last summer, is growing more ill-tempered. His periodic outbursts can be hard on the staff. When an aide screwed up the teleprompter years ago, he shouted at her, "I'm not some rape victim who's going to sit here and take it!"

Last spring, he was caught on the air using a curse word for excrement -- he didn't realize the show had come back from commercials -- about a taped segment he did not want his staff to run.

After chronicling harsh Matthews comments about Hillary, Kurtz added these tidbits:

Among the women with whom Matthews has tangled, Clinton may be the most curious case study. Kathleen Matthews, now a Marriott executive, has given Hillary Clinton's campaign the maximum allowable donation of $2,300, and one of their three children, Michael, has worked in Africa for Bill Clinton's global initiative.

This might help people conclude that there's more than sheer emotion when Matthews starts comparing Bill Clinton to Jesus.