Chris Mathews 2.0 (R, PA)

Once upon a time, Obama's oratory sent tingles of Chris Mathew's leg(s). Like many of us, his inner democrat was deeply moved by the refreshingly different approach Obama brings to our sully politics. This guy could be another Kennedy, he would chime.

Recently, though, his adoration has evaporated. Usually a minimally thoughtful, if commercial-driven boob, he’s devolved, as he’s been seemingly swept by the mob-like media hysteria known as "bittergate." Even more than the rest of the MSM, for Mathews, it seems deeply personal. Although 99% percent of Americans were unimpressed by the alleged offensiveness of those remarks (taken out of context or not), Chris Mathews is tenaciously gripping his bitterness. Today, while most of the roaring mob has slithered back to FOX, he even expanded his hurt to cover "G-d damn America Gate."

Loose paraphrase:

How dare Reverend Wright explain his side to Bill Moyers?!  Who gave him permission to speak? And to his uppity friend, Barack, who once lit my proverbial fire: shame on you, Barack Obama!

So whats changed?

What transformed Chris Mathews from a "hard-scrabble" native of Scrapadelphia, into an oversensitive, knee jerk, anti-elite, dairy-farming blue collarist?

He’s running for office! We’ve all heard the rumblings, but this is the surest sign—he has descended into a low-life, Washingtonian, one-track panderer. He’s not really offended; he could really give two shits about it, as he sips his latte and clings to his NY Times. But, like his hardscrabblian role model, Hillary Clinton, he’s confident that this is how he’ll swindle his own seat in Washington, since, like her, he can’t do it on merit.

Hat tip to my wife, who made this acute observation during Chris Mathew's latest segment, the Obama Elitist Watch.