Speaking on MSNBC’s Imus In the Morning show today, Chris Matthews said: “You only hear criticism of Hillary Rodham Clinton from smart, college-educated women. They’re the ones that always have a problem with her.” Matthews then explained that men “are afraid to talk like that.”
Bad grammar aside, Matthews’ statement is almost funny when you consider that he, a man, has practically made a second career of criticizing Clinton–not for her policies or her votes in the Senate, but for her gender. In December of 2004, Matthews said on Hardball that a Clinton candidacy would “motivate all the men in the country to vote against her.” In November of 2006, he wondered “What is she going to do about her husband? She makes an acceptance speech, and there he is, just standing behind her, smiling and applauding.”
And the very next month, Matthews wondered whether Sen. Clinton was “convincing” as a mom.
In his interview with Imus, Matthews made a big deal over his speculation that Clinton “puts up” with her husband’s lifestyle so that he will raise money for her. In other words, Sen. Clinton is a whore who will do anything to get elected, another version of the “Oh, my–Hillary is ambitious” song and dance we’ve heard from everyone from Matthews to Maureen Dowd.
Yes, Sen. Clinton is ambitious, as is Barack Obama, who had barely set foot in the Senate when he decided he should be president of the United States. Or Rudy Giuliani, who gives speeches against backdrops of the tragedy of September 11. Or Mitt Romney, who suddenly repudiated several values he had publicly held for years. Lucky them–no one is criticizing them for their ambition.
