Despite most media outlets gushing and fawning over the Occupy Wall Street protests, MSNBC's Chris Matthews and the Huffington Post's Howard Fineman see risks to President Obama and the Democrats supporting the movement.
The host of The Chris Matthews Show is even concerned this could be a return to 1968 when riots outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago played a huge role in Richard Nixon's victory that November (video follows with transcript and commentary):
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Howard, great question historically for you: What happens if the Democrats, the president, on down, the Congress, the Democrats, join up with the protesters? What's the risk?
HOWARD FINEMAN, HUFFINGTON POST: Well, there are two risks. First of all, despite what Dan said, it's also true that these protesters don't particularly like Barack Obama either. So he could be riding in to join an army that doesn't particularly want him. And of course the other side of it is Republicans are already positioning themselves - you showed a clip of Richard Nixon from a generation ago - as the law and order group. And if the president joins up with the protesters, and if by any chance the protesters do anything untoward, in the months ahead…
FINEMAN: Yes.
MATTHEWS: It’s going to be like the mid-60s. The Democrats got hurt by all of that in ’68.
Indeed they did. And as Britain's The Daily Mail reported Saturday, the protests have already taken on an ugly side with trash piling up all over New York City and participants finding peculiar places to relieve themselves.
With this in mind, Democrats and their media minions might want to temper their support for a movement that has the potential to spin out of control at any moment.
