Matthews: 'Cheney, Who Always Wants to Kill'

Appearing on this morning's Imus show, Chris Matthews [file photo] painted a portrait of a bloodthirsty VP Cheney.

Matthews: "I don't think we should get deeper and deeper into the sands of Arabia with more troops. I think these decisions to keep going forward, which is what he’s doing, is getting us into a quicksand situation where the more you struggle, the more you sink. I think that's where we're headed and it‘s because of his ideology, because of the neocons who have grabbed his arm again, this guy Fred Kagan has grabbed hold of him [the president] again and they've using [retired General] Jack Keane to do it, and they’re working through Cheney, of course, who always wants to kill, and they’ve dragged us back into the same mentality that we're looking for any reason to strike, and I think that's the way he is towards Iran right now."

Matthews repeated his charge a minute later. Said Imus: "Back to last night, I thought you had another good question, and that was uh, whose idea was this? Who’s in the room, your phrase, who’s in the room when he makes those decisions?"

Matthews: "That's my favorite question. I think it's always Cheney, who always says 'kill’, always says ‘kill’, and I think the other guy, Fred Kagan is Robert Kagan’s brother, and this is the guy, these are the people, they’re from a long neoconservative family, they have been hocking this war from the beginning, and all they want is more. "

Good thing, as Andrea Mitchell has assured us, Matthews isn't a liberal. He might say something nasty about the Vice-President.

(H/t to FReeper capydick)

Bonus Coverage: In between the Cheney-kill remarks, Imus and Matthews discussed the new White House counsel nominee, Fred Fielding. Chris used a harsh cinematic metaphor: “God, this guy goes back to Nixon. He goes back to Reagan. This is Freddie Krueger, this guy.” Think Chris would describe a Carter/Clinton aide in such terms if a Dem wins in 2008 -- a comparison to a disfigured horror-movie slasher?

Responded Imus: “He has got to be 125 years old, isn't he?”

Matthews: “He’s like one of these guys, the Twilight Zone, where you see him in a yearbook from the Civil War, and you go, I know that guy, you know?”

For the record, Fielding is six years older than Matthews, one year older than Imus. Guess that makes Don 124.

Mark was in Iraq in November. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net