As if his Bush ass-kissing weren't enough to get you to turn the channel, Friday's Hardball exchange with CNBC Street Signs anchor Erin Burnett is enough to turn your stomach.
Matthew's transcript isn't "up" yet on MSNBC.com but here is a rough version:
MATTHEWS: Yeah. Could you get a little closer to the camera?
BURNETT: What is it? Is it coming in strangely?
MATTHEWS: Come in closer...no...come in...come in further...come in closer...really close.
BURNETT: What are you...what are you doing?MATTHEWS: Ha, ha. Just kidding. You look great. Anyway, thanks.
Keep your hands on the table Chris! You're giving new meaning to "Hardball". For a second I thought I was watching Fox News.
Here's the video. WARNING: Not for the easily icked-out.
This isn't the first time Matthews has shown such outstanding professionalism. Here's part of his interview with Obamagirl, Hot4Hill and Giuliani Girl:
KRISTINA: And that's Obama girl. There I am. And there I am. And then there's us approaching. And there's us at the iPhone launch beating each other up in front of people in a cute way.
ETTINGER: There's us on the subway.
MATTHEWS: There you all are together in real live television right now. Do you think this actually--Do you dare suggest--Taryn, you first. You're giving me the peepers. I can tell. What are you doing here?
SOUTHERN: Peepers?
MATTHEWS: You are doing it. You are flashing your incredible eyebrows at me. Look at that. It's awful what you're doing.
Look, do you think this will affect the elections? Doesn't it scare you if it does, Taryn?
SOUTHERN: At first I thought that just seems ludicrous that me shaking my booty in a bikini is going to impact the election. But I guess from a broader scale, we're getting young people more interested in politics. They're going on Youtube and they're at least thinking about the election. I don't think we'll sway votes either way. I hope not. You shouldn't be--
MATTHEWS: Were you in any way, Adolina, encouraged by your beauty and participation and excitement and joy and spark--encourage one mind to look up the position of any one of these candidate on any issue?
KRISTINA: Yes.
MATTHEWS: How so? Explain the transition from looking at you in one of these crazy ads taunting the--you're taunting the Obama Girl. How does that excite the voter into participation?
KRISTINA: Well, I think.
MATTHEWS: I feel like Larry King tonight. Why do I feel like Larry King doing this. So, do you watch yourself in the pictures?
KRISTINA: Yes, I did. I think that--like you said, I don't know if it is going to sway the vote for the candidate. But I think that it definitely gets people interested. And with the lyrics that are in the song, it makes people go, what? Did that really happen?
For me, I went and looked up Obama was born in Hawaii.
MATTHEWS: Amber, you're walking down the street. You're beautiful.
But do people come up to you and say I've seen you in the video?
ETTINGER: Yes.
MATTHEWS: What do they say?
ETTINGER: They'll be like, oh, Obama girl! I'll be like, yes.
MATTHEWS: On site they recognize you.
ETTINGER: Yes, they do.
MATTHEWS: How many hits do thee guys have? Like 20 hits to memorize your face?
ETTINGER: I don't know.
MATTHEWS: They must have watched it more than once.
(CROSS TALK)
ETTINGER: When we hear that they haven't seen it, we're like what do you mean you didn't see it?
MATTHEWS: Right after this show is over--we're on live television, believe it or not. So be careful with the advances you are making with your eyes right now. I'm not a casting agent. Look, here's what I'm thinking, after this show we're going to do something that we do here and we're going to put it on iPod so people can watch it--what do you call it?
I don't know what the terminology is. Put it on the web so everybody that's watching HARDBALL on the web on MSNBC.HARDBALL.com can check you out. They don't have to watch me. Anyway, we've had some ads that viewers have made, submitted to the HARDBALL campaign ad challenge.
Flashing peepers? Ewww. Here's is one YouTuber's take on Chris Matthews.