Chris Matthews Slams ‘Older White People’ for Still Having a ‘Problem’ With Obama

Appearing on MSNBC, Monday, to promote his new special on Barack Obama, Chris Matthews attacked “older white people” for still holding bigoted feelings against the first African American President.

{snip}

A transcript of the exchange, which occurred at 11:44am EST, follows:

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Well, it’s two years and tonight we’re honoring that as well as the Martin Luther King Day and it’s sort of an interesting overlay, the two of them. The first African-American president, no matter what we say, it’s non-ethnic, non-racial about the President, I think that’s appropriate 90 percent of the time, it is historically important and it will be marked I think by a lot of people in history books that he is the first African-American president and how well he did.

{snip}

JANSING: Let me play a clip from tonight’s program. Then we’ll talk a little more.

{snip}

UNIDENTIFIED: After the election, I think because some of the hard slogging and the politics, he [Obama] didn’t become that inspirational personality. Ronald Reagan in his first two years, he had more unemployment, he didn’t have a financial crisis, but Reagan was able to keep up that inspiration.

{snip}

MATTHEWS: Did you see the age difference there?

JANSING: What would you say it is?

MATTHEWS: It means–it’s significant. I think older Americans, older white people still have a problem with this guy.

{snip}

MATTHEWS: And I think that’s a generalization and I’ll stick with it. I think younger people do not see race as an obstacle. I don’t think–I think, they’re much more non-judgmental. In fact, about ethnicity, they just say that’s not relevant–In fact, they say it’s irrelevant and don’t even notice it, whereas older people notice it all the time.