In a single exchange with Keith Olbermann last night describing Clinton’s and Obama’s primary night speeches, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews managed to invoke nearly an entire day’s worth of ninth grade parochial school classes: from biology (Clinton and Obama performing a mating dance); to religion (a “reunification ritual!”); to P.E. (Clinton, in keeping with her new ballsy guy image, engaging in locker room antics). To wit:
Liz Cox Barrett is a writer at CJR.MATTHEWS: The tone is that of a person who wants to embrace her rival. I think we are seeing a political mating game going on here, a bit of a ritual here whereby Barack Obama was very outreaching to her, very magnanimous to her and she was back to him, in an even humbler way. It was fascinating to watch this — what I might call a ritual of reunification.
OLBERMANN: …I will argue one point, [Clinton] did invoke Sen. Obama’s tiebreaker comment [“Not too long ago, my opponent made a prediction. He said I would probably win Pennsylvania, he would win North Carolina, and Indiana would be the tiebreaker.”].
MATTHEWS: One slight towel slash, one last towel snap in the locker room.
