I like that he says “almost pluperfect” instead of “almost perfect.” Perfection, it seems, isn’t a grand enough concept to encompass the splendor of The One. But, laying aside the suggestion that ideological disagreement somehow shouldn’t influence personal likability (wouldn’t Matthews like self-made-man Rush Limbaugh more if Rush were a liberal?), is Ace right that Tingles is condescending to Obama in veiled racial terms here? Wouldn’t be the first time, if so: Remember, this is the guy who once tried to “compliment” the president on a speech by saying it made him forget for an hour that Obama was black.

I’m not sure, though. When I first watched it, all I took Matthews to be saying is that, even by normal politician resume standards, The One has a lot of “American dream” boxes checked. The implicit contrast, I thought, was with Bush: Obama was born with no advantages, studied hard — unlike Dubya, who’s a moron!!1! — and didn’t apply his talents to anything so venal as getting rich in business. (“He gave himself to his community.”) The part about raising a family was, I thought, just part of the “American dream” litany. But Ace makes a good point. There’s no one on cable, Olbermann included, who spends as much time obsessing about racial attitudes towards Obama as Matthews does. Why give him the benefit of the doubt this time? Click the image to watch.