Of course, Matthews had an opinion to share, regardless of whether anyone actually wanted to hear it:
Matthews: When Gorbachev became chairman of the [Communist] Party and ran, took over Russia [sic], a lot of us in this country said, this guy, by his very fact of coming to office has so changed Soviet history, Communist history. I love the guy. Because he came in there and knocked off that whole history of Andropov and Stalin and all those bums. He comes in there as an open door.
Matthews: Isn't the statement's he's [Obama has] made about torture, his opposition to the Iraq War, his statements of approval of the rest of the world, after Bush's chauvinism and cheap shots about French fries. After eight years of that nonsense, doesn't the world have a right to say, "Thank God, America is back to being America again"? [...]
Matthews to MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan: You guys on the right say America is great, but deep down you think it's not. [...]
Matthews: I am a big believer in this country and I'm proud of our president for receiving this award, and I think he deserves it for ending eight years, as the Europeans see it, of chauvinism -- that means our, my country is the only one that's any good -- smugness, which our last president was certainly guilty of, and, in going into Iraq, stupidity.
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I guess if believing in American exceptionalism translates into "chauvinism" these days, then please, consider me a chauvinist as well.
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