Chris Matthews has made no secret of how much he loves the "perfect" Barack Obama in everything from his speaking style on down to his family life. But far be it from the hyperpartisan Hardball host to see Rubio's good looks and polished speaking style as plusses for him in a hypothetical general-election contest against Hillary Clinton.
Matthews kicked off his segment with Republican strategist John Feehery and The Accountability Project's Nomiki Konst by asking the former which Republican in the primary field that Hillary partisans least want to contest in the general election next year. When Feehery answered Rubio and listed his reasons, Matthews snarled that it was because the Florida senator is "cute." He then proceeded to whine about how perfect, perhaps too perfect, Rubio's speeches were, being devoid of verbal ticks and sounding like clips from polished presidential prose.
Here's the relevant transcript and video:
MSNBC
Hardball
December 16, 2015; 7:27 p.m. EasternCHRIS MATTHEWS:: Let me ask you, is this it? Who is she most afraid of, do you think? Hillary. Of all the candidates.
JOHN FEEHERY: I think she's most, I think they're most afraid of Marco Rubio. That's all the Democrats I talk to because –
MATTHEWS: Because he's young and cute?
FEEHERY: Young, new generation. Hispanic.
MATTHEWS: I mean, he's cute, right?
FEEHERY: Pro-immigration. Could probably get some Hispanics –
MATTHEWS: But every time he talks, Nomiki, every time he talks I hear a tape recording. I hear a guy who's got speech parts just like we're going to the Hall of the Presidents. He's already skipped being president. He's already down there in Florida, Orlando, or Disney World, and he's reading these scripts like they're the great scripts of, of Marco Rubio. He's already given them and now we're hearing pieces of it. He doesn't go uh or uh, there's no hesitation. It's all software. Software!
Don't tell Chris Matthews – we'd hate to see his head explode – but he's kind of on the same wavelength as conservative pundit Ann Coulter:
Why does Rubio not use contractions? "Can not," "we will," ... Americans say "can't," "we'll. " Sounds like a Russian spy.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) December 16, 2015
"Why does Rubio not use contractions? "Can not," "we will," ... Americans say "can't," "we'll. " Sounds like a Russian spy." – @AnnCoulter
