The attack dog tone of journalists in the Trump era might make you forget a time when they gushed over another president, the previous one. Chris Matthews famously had a “thrill” up his leg over Barack Obama, but that wasn’t the only example of hailing the Democrat. Four years ago this week, on July 22, 2015, Matthews defended the “immaculate” Obama and his “perfect” family.
After Marco Rubio dared to deride the Democrat, the Hardball host fumed, “[Obama has] been immaculate in the presidency. Nobody has accused him of any corruption. His kids are perfect. His wife is perfect.... He’s done everything right.”
Of course, Matthews brought race into it: “He's done everything that these right-wing white conservatives say we're supposed to be in this country.”
For more examples from our flashback series, which we call NewsBusters Time Machine, go here.
A partial transcript is below:
Hardball
7/22/15
He worked hard in school. He got into the good schools. He got to be head of Harvard Business Review [sic]. In a blind test to get in. It had nothing to do with minority or affirmative action, none of that.
He got all the way through, and instead of going and grubbing the money on Wall Street, he went out to people and helped his community. He's ran statewide, faced the electorate the way we say you should do. Risked citywide and then statewide. He's done everything right.
He's been immaculate in the presidency. Nobody has accused him of any corruption. His kids are perfect. His wife is perfect.
He's done everything that these right-wing white conservatives say we're supposed to be in this country. He's done everything right. And this sleazy comment, that he has no class. What does that mean?!
I would love to get him under sodium pentothal and say, "Buster, what do you mean by no class?! What do you mean by that?!" And find out what he does mean. It's a cheap slur that works with the cheap seats in the Republican Party. You know it does. It doesn't mean anything, he has plenty of class.
I watched the guy last night on the Daily Show. He can take any shot, he smiles with it, he has charm, he's debonair about it. You don't have to agree with what he does or say he's a fantastic president, but class, I think he's got.
