On Monday’s Hardball on MSNBC, Chris Matthews gave President Obama’ an early Valentine, fawningly gushing over the political power of his toothy grin. “I think that smile of his is worth five to ten points in the general!” Matthews exclaimed. He added the caveat , “Hs campaign strategists might feel differently.”

On Wednesday evening’s Hardball, host Chris Matthews convened an infuriatingly one-sided panel to discuss the Obama administration’s recent decision not to permit an exemption for some religious employers to the contraception mandate. The Washington Post‘s Melinda Henneberger and Melissa Rogers of the Brookings Institution took turns trashing the decision, and the point of view of doctors, nurses, teachers, etc., who would be marginalized by such an exemption was not represented.

On Wednesday’s edition of Now with Alex Wagner, perpetual motion machine and Hardball host Chris Matthews showed up to liven things up. In a segment about the current slugfest between former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Gov. Mitt Romney in Florida, Matthews (seated next to former Obama spokesman Bill Burton) called out GOP strategist Phil Musser for being a “Romney guy,” and concluded the segment by throwing host Alex Wagner off, responding to her kind outro by saying “This is how you dump guys, huh?”

During a SOTU preview segment on Tuesday evening’s Hardball, MSNBC contributor Howard Fineman made an observation about a rankling trend among certain opponents of President Obama, the tendency not to address him by his hard-won title. Framing it in the context of those who question the President’s legitimacy, Fineman noted “I have never heard Newt Gingrich call President Obama ‘President Obama.’”

I thought I’d put Fineman’s claim to the test, using last night’s debate. The results were surprising.

On Tuesday’s Hardball, radio talk show host Michael Smerconish questioned whether it was time for the Iowa caucuses to walk through that mystic corn field and join Kevin Costner’s father in the sky.

MSNBC host Chris Matthews showed courage under fire after being overcome by multiple sneezes on the air — any anchors worst nightmare — and trudged on with nary a flinch. “I don’t know what that’s about!” quipped Matthews.

Chris Matthews chided Republican voters over Newt Gingrich‘s appearance on Wednesday’s Hardball, “Why does a guy with a diabolic grin — and I’m being completely objective here — a guy who doesn’t look like a presidential candidate, looks too nasty for one, why is the nasty guy doing the best of all the candidates right now? The one who is so obviously nasty?” “They want somebody who looks nasty like Jack Palance from Shane,” some nasty guy that the dogs walk away when they see him. You know what I’m talking about?”

Whether or not you find yourself in line, politically, with the opinions espoused by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, can we all agree here that, when the man is on, he is ON? I almost wish I could bottle his passion up in a bottle and spritz it on some of his more boring colleagues, who shall remain nameless… or on some influential names on the other side of the fence who either aren’t outraged at The Trumping of the GOP, or who are and choose to remain quiet.

When I first read that the DNC had released another ad beating the dead horse that is the “Mitt-flopping” narrative, my first thought was that they really need to call the guy who made this ad, which breaks fresh ground in the campaign against Mitt Romney. Then, I caught a bit of the ad on Hardball, and was shocked to see the ad make cheap use of an old Ronald Reagan clip. I was even more shocked to learn that I’m apparently the only one who cares.

On Friday’s episode of Hardball, host Chris Matthews gave something of a needle-scratch moment when he noted that the American media tends to “lean a little to the left.” Matthews and his panel were discussing what the future holds for Mitt Romney, with guest John Heilemann weighing in on Romney’s strategy for Iowa. “If you go out there as the frontrunner,” he said, “and now you’re playing in Iowa, I think the national media narrative is going to quickly become ‘Is Mitt Romney making the same mistake as he made in 2008 when he tried to do the same strategy – win Iowa, win New Hampshire, put the race away?’”

During an appearance on new MSNBC 12 noon offering Now with Alex Wagner, the newly-minted host turned to introduce guest panelist — and opinion media pioneer — Chris Matthews, who is not only an MSNBC stablemate, but also the author of a new JFK biography currently ranked third on the NY Times bestseller list. Wagner’s introduction, however, appeared to come up short in Matthew’s esteem, when she called his new book “one of the best” that’s been written on the subject. Matthews quickly corrected her, declaring “it is actually the best book,” adding for clarity “people who know their business say it’s the best book.”

Chris Matthews‘ son, actor Thomas Matthews, will play a producer in Aaron Sorkin‘s new series about a cable TV news show.

In an interview with Mediaite Tuesday evening, Hardball host Chris Matthews, talked about his place in the media landscape, saying his is a “fact-based, heat-seeking” show. Asked about his status as a media bogeyman with the political right, Matthews took to the title with relish.

“I love it,” he said, adding, “Gandhi was right. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, and then you win.”

“I love it,” he said, adding, “Gandhi was right. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, and then you win.”

America, Hardball host Chris Matthews has some questions about your Great Right Hope, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Why do you like him? What do you see in him? Let’s talk about it, America. Let’s talk about it with Chris Matthews:

Why do they like a guy who is so awful, who uses terrible language, yells at callers in call-in shows, uses terrible language with people, treats people like scum sometimes? But he’s perfect for the country, to run it! It doesn’t many any sense!

Chris Matthews posed an interesting question: do white voters hold black politicians to a higher standard than they do white politicians? Impressing that enthusiasm for Obama has waned in the second half of his term, Matthews wondered “if this is a phenomenon … this sense of, okay, you’ve got your shot, but let’s see you do it, if it isn’t really, really good, you know, you’re out of there.” Which is really all to ask, are voters racist? And if so, could race cost Obama the re-election?

Michele Bachmann‘s former campaign manager Ed Rollins was grilled by Hardball host Chris Matthews Wednesday about whether he still wanted her to be president. Rollins’ response was an ambiguous “she will evolve,” followed by a refusal to answer whether he wanted her to be Commander-in-Chief.

When questioned by Matthews on whether he is still involved in the campaign, Rollins lukewarmly said, “I’m available if she needs to call me and ask me for anything.”

Chris Matthews concluded his last program before September 11, 2011 with a heartfelt attempt to explain what had happened to the national consciousness in this past decade. Something was missing from the America he so dearly loved, he explained; the “national soul” had been replaced by partisan bickering and rendered the nation aimless along the way.

Former Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell (R-De) demanded an apology from MSNBC’s Chris Matthews via Twitter Thursday morning over comments the Hardball host made during MSNBC’s post-debate wrap-up. “Chris Matthews owes Bible belt an apology for elitist, rude remark about low IQ’s,” O’Donnell tweeted, adding, “Hannity would’ve been fired if he said it!”

Matthews did, indeed, mention Bible Belt voters and “minimal IQ levels,” but a review of the clip in question suggests O’Donnell’s anger might be misplaced.

During a pre-debate appearance on MSNBC’s Hardball, host Chris Matthews pressed former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs to explain where the President really stands on issues like Medicare reform, and bluntly asked, “Is President Obama a liberal?”

Gibbs took offense to Matthews’ suggestion that the President’s stances are unclear, calling Matthews’ accusations “crazy and unfounded,” and Matthews took offense right back.

Texan talk radio host Jim Hightower has emerged as a regular source for Gov. Rick Perry commentary since the latter launched his presidential campaign, not the least because he has some experience running against him. On The Last Word tonight, Hightower explained that the reason he lost to Perry in an agriculture commissioner election was really because his opponent in practice was Karl Rove, and that Perry himself is actually fairly “testy” and “thin-skinned”: “he puts the ‘goober in gubernatorial.’”

With the time for Sarah Palin to put up or shut up drawing increasingly near, those in the business of studying what her impact on a Palin campaign could mean for the field are working hard to figure out where the battle lines will be drawn for the other candidates. On yesterday’s Hardball, host Michael Smerconish and the panel predicted good things could come for Mitt Romney if Palin triggers a battle for the Tea Party vote Romney has already largely alienated.

Over the weekend, GOP frontrunner Rick Perry made a thuddingly poor comparison, equating the Civil Rights movement with the struggles of corporations and wealthy individuals. During a pitched Twitter battle with BreitbartTV Editor Larry O’Connor over whether Hardball fill-in Chris Jansing “lied” when introducing the Perry clip Tuesday (she didn’t), I noticed that Jansing’s introduction hewed suspiciously close to the headline of a Thinkprogress item on the same clip.

Rep. Maxine Waters came off a contentious public event with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to jump into a feud with Rep. Allen West, who responded to the caucus last night by comparing himself to Harriet Tubman and accusing Rep. Waters and others of running a “plantation.” On today’s Hardball, Rep. Waters begrudgingly responded, adding that the Congressman had sent his out-of-work brother to her town hall today to ask for help with jobs.

Chris Matthews is fed up. Sure, that’s sort of his shtick, but this time around, he’s taken a break from decimating Republican politicians and is reserving his ire for none other than Barack Obama. The Hardball host, after giving a brief rundown on Republicans’ support of laissez-faire economics (which consists, apparently, of telling the government to “get out of our face”), said he has no idea what the President’s policy happens to be or how it might differ from what Republicans are trying to do.

Texas governor Rick Perry has been a presidential candidate for about three days, but it’s been more than enough time for Chris Matthews to make clear he isn’t buying what Perry is selling. Tonight on the program, Matthews discussed his chances with radio personality Jim Hightower and reporter Wayne Slater, telling them that he believed he “smells birtherism about this guy” and agreed with a comparison made to Donald Trump.