Chris Matthews Plays Election Hardball at Harvard Kennedy School Forum

Chris Matthews, the colorful host of MSNBC’s Hardball and former Institute of Politics fellow (2001), compared television coverage of the presidential campaign to a three-ring circus during his address Monday night (May 5) at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum.

The circus is in full swing this election year, Matthews said, with this being “potentially one of the great change elections.” Matthews compared it in importance to the 1932 election, in which Franklin Roosevelt was swept into office, launching a new era in American politics. “We went from a country of stiff righteousness to a country of innovation and risk,” he said.

Matthews cited three problems that the next president will need to address: the mindset that got the country into Iraq in the first place, a lack of national unity, and a lack of curiosity.

“We want a president …who has manifested a curiosity about the world,” Matthews said. “I think people have said they want a president you can share a beer with. How about a president you want to share a planet with?”

Although he didn’t formally endorse Barack Obama, Matthews lauded many of his attributes as a candidate and a leader. He compared him to Robert Kennedy, the New York senator slain during the 1968 presidential campaign. Matthews also praised Hillary Clinton’s campaign in Pennsylvania for its ability to relate to average people, “Most people now think that Hillary Clinton got a G.E.D. from somewhere in Scranton,” he quipped.

Matthews has some political experience himself, having worked as a speechwriter for former President Jimmy Carter and as a top aide for former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill. When asked about speculation that he might run for a seat in the Senate in 2010, Matthews paused and responded by saying, “Let me get my words right … I have made a commitment to covering politics and engaging in it.” The questioner responded by saying, “you sound like a politician!”