On The Tonight Show, Matthews again predicted Giuliani victory in '08

Summary: On NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, MSNBC host Chris Matthews again predicted that "the next president of the United States will be Rudy Giuliani."

On the July 18 edition of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, MSNBC host Chris Matthews again predicted that "the next president of the United States will be Rudy Giuliani," the former New York City mayor and a Republican. Matthews also suggested that Giuliani is someone who is "really good on the streets, who's very good on giving the information as they get it, just like in The Godfather." As Media Matters for America noted when Matthews stated on July 12 that Giuliani is "not only running" for president in 2008, but is "going to win the whole thing," Giuliani is at least the third Republican Matthews has touted as a strong candidate for the party's nomination or as the likely winner in November 2008 -- a group that also includes Sens. John McCain (AZ) and George Allen (VA), whom Matthews has plugged as "the two top guys to watch" on the Republican side.

As Media Matters noted, on the April 30 edition of the NBC-syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, Matthews agreed with Newsweek chief political correspondent Howard Fineman's assertion that McCain is "likely to win" the Republican presidential nomination.

From the July 18 episode of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno:

JAY LENO (host): Let's talk about politics for a minute. Now, on the Republican side: McCain, Giuliani? Who do you think?

MATTHEWS: I believe that this country isn't going to go to the left next time or to the right. We're going to go deeper into somebody who's really good on the streets, who's very good on giving the information as they get it, just like in The Godfather.

LENO: OK.

MATTHEWS: Bad news immediately.

LENO: Right.

MATTHEWS: I hope -- well, I don't want to say hope 'cause I'm a journalist. I hope the American people take the next election very seriously and don't just vote partisan --

LENO: Yeah.

MATTHEWS: -- or personality or who has the happiest smile --

LENO: Right.

MATTHEWS: -- but picks the person that makes us feel the safest. And I know this guy is not perfect. I've not had a good relationship with him like lot of people. He's tough. I think the next president of the United States will be Rudy Giuliani.

LENO: Really?

MATTHEWS: Yeah.

LENO: That's interesting. OK.

MATTHEWS: Because I think that they want -- we want a guy who'll be tougher than the president we have now, quicker to tell us what's going on. He won't have a ranch. I know. I am tired of presidents with ranches. I want a guy that's working in town, you know. He's nearby. He tells us what's going on. It ain't three days later, they show him a movie of what's been happening. I just want a president who's there. Is that asking too much?

CUBA GOODING JR (actor): Somebody who lives in the ghetto!

MATTHEWS: Well, no, listen. Applaud the hood, but --

GOODING: You know what I mean?

MATTHEWS: -- how about in the city limits somewhere?

GOODING: Yeah, sure.

MATTHEWS: I really mean this. I think that, you know, the problem the president had with Katrina -- three days later, they showed him a DVD of what was happening. Well, everybody else knew from television what was going.

LENO: Right.

MATTHEWS: On 9-11 -- he was great on 9/14 --

LENO: Right.

MATTHEWS: -- three days late. He was dynamite when he hit the rubble. I loved what he did.

LENO: Yeah.

MATTHEWS: I was -- I thought the most inspirational thing in the world. But I think we want a president -- like, we grew up in a big city, you know, I grew up near Boston -- four-alarm fire, the police commissioner's there, the police, the fire commissioner's there, the mayor's there. They're standing on the street corner telling us what's going on as they look up at the fire.

GOODING: Yeah.

LENO: There you go.

MATTHEWS: I want a president who's there on the spot.

GOODING: Yeah.

LENO: Chris Matthews, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you, Chris, buddy.

MATTHEWS: Thank you.

LENO: And happy anniversary. Be right back with Ray Davies right after this.

—B.J.L.