2015 is drawing to a close, so unless some dark horse comes out of absolutely nowhere, Chris Matthews is a mortal lock for the DisHonor award for the year's worst analogy. On this evening's Hardball, Matthews argued that we shouldn't blame Islam for ISIS terrorist attacks since, after all, FDR, despite despising Mussolini, "never declared war on the Catholics."

Just a little difference: Italian fascism had no ideological affinity with Catholicism. To the contrary, it was rooted in notions of the revival of the Roman Empire of the Caesars. In contrast, you can't spell ISIS without "Islamic." To say that we are at war with radical Islam is simply to acknowledge the manifest truth. For Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to deny it is dangerous.

Liberal West Wing actor Bradley Whitford appeared on a special post-debate edition of Hardball, Tuesday, to trash the Republican candidates. However, he singled out one person for praise, cheering, “[John] Kasich was certainly agitated and seemed to try and, you know, bring the clown car under control, I thought.” Overall, however, the actor sneered: “Generally this field I feel...makes Ronald Reagan look like Abbie Hoffman and Herman Cain look like Winston Churchill.”

You'd think that back in April when, as Ken Shepherd noted, Chris Matthews talked about Blockbuster being about all that's left in Rust Belt towns, one of his assistants would have gently taken him aside and explained that Blockbuster shuttered its stores some time ago. But on this evening's Hardball, there was Chris committing the exact same gaffe. 

And in the very next segment, Matthews introduced MSNBC reporter Hallie Jackson, who is youthful and female, as . .  "Haley Barbour," who for all his great qualities is neither. But, hey, look at the bright side. The guest in the next segment was Republican lawyer Ben Ginsberg. At least Matthews didn't introduce him as . . . Ruth Bader Ginsburg!

Ken Shepherd pointed out Monday that Chris Matthews marched a hard line on Ben Carson’s memoir and the charge stories in it aren’t true: “you better damn well know they're true. Now, maybe you know you can't substantiate them right away. But they'd better be damn true, not sort of true.”

Soopermexican at The Right Scoop found Matthews jumped all over his MSNBC colleague Steve Kornacki before Friday night’s Rachel Maddow forum with the three Democratic candidates. Perhaps before the show, Kornacki dared to wonder how GOP voters might interpret the liberal-media attack, which set off Mr. Thrill Up My Leg. “Our job is to delineate the truth, and then let people react to it. You know, ‘we report, you decide’?”  

Gag me with a vuvuzela . . . You say, Obama and Mandela. I say, Obama taking flirty selfies at Mandela's memorial service with the Danish PM, much to Michelle's displeasure. 

But not Chris Matthews. On this evening's Hardball, Matthews said that Obama's post-presidential goal is to be "the next Mandela." You've got to be [insert unprintable modifier] kidding me.