Tweety Surfs! The Chris Matthews Tribute Tour.

Something is in the air.  Two major articles (well, the second is actually a reaction to the first) about Chris Matthews, and his place in our lives.  Is he really leaving us for greener pastures?  And, most importantly, will he still surf?

He was immersed in political history, political lore, political speculation, political calculation, political humor, and political craziness—and, then as now, he wasn’t drowning in it, he was surfing it.

That quote is from the original, longer piece.  It is by Hendrick Hertzberg in the New Yorker.  It is fabulous prose, dedicated to our favorite sport and one of its brightest stars.

I have more reasons than most to love Chris Matthews. When I first met him, thirty or so years ago, his hair was a different color, he was skinnier, and his neckties were more random, but he was otherwise pretty much the same political jabber machine he is today.

There is a rather disturbing photograph of the young Tweety in that link, and I would not want to scar you for life.  Fair warning. While you are deciding if you are brave enough, I will continue reveling in some of the best moments.  See, I agree with both of these articles.  Chris Matthews is one of the most engaging talking heads in the business.  Half of the time I am throwing my foam hockey pucks at his head, but I am loving every minute of it.  If he really is leaving for a political career, Ima miss him.

Jason Zengerle agrees, in The New Republic.

I rarely watch the cable shows, but when I do, "Hardball" is the one I turn to. That's mostly for the pure entertainment value of Matthews's "reckless freedom" (not to mention his rampant insecurity)--which is likely to produce any number of jaw-dropping, forehead-slapping moments. But it's also because the guy has spent a life in politics and, a lot of the time, he actually knows what he's talking about--which is more than you can say for most of the cable news talking heads.

In some ways, Hertzberg's tribute to Matthews reads like a eulogy. Maybe there's some truth to the rumors bandied about in that NY Times Magazine profile that MSNBC is on the verge of showing Matthews the door. While it's hard to argue that the world would be worse off with one less cable chat show, I know I'd be sad to see Matthews go.

Reckless Freedom and Rampant Insecurity all rolled up into one tweetish little package?  Word.

My wife and I started grooving on the Tweety act during the 2000 election, as our ballots were being trucked from Miami to Tallahassee in a U-Haul live on network TV.  This cycle has seen Chris Matthews throwing wobbly softballs drenched in rotten honey quite often, usually followed by a high hard one to the chin the next day.  I can see the potential accuracy of the conspiracy theories surrounding his imminent departure, but I kinda want it to happen AFTER November.  Love him or hate him (we do both) it won't be the same without him.  

Here is the first comment on The New Republic blog, by BHLnyc:

What I like most is that Matthews is an equal-opportunity offender. Left, right, center, he doesn't suffer fools gladly and that is unique in the world of cable punditry.

I must admit that Chris Matthews had a spell a few weeks ago where he had been spun into knots. For a while I was convinced he wanted an Obama/Rendell ticket so he could step in as Pennsylvania Governor.  In my view, he self corrected rather quickly, and the "appeaser" slam was surely one of his finest moments ever.

Now your turn.  What's your take on Chris Matthews?