Wash. Post's Kornblut: "[C]ertainly Chris Matthews has taken [Clinton] on quite aggressively over the last few weeks"

Summary: Responding to an online commenter who said that a lot of women are "getting incredibly angry about the progressively dismissive way" Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton "gets treated by the [New York Times columnist Maureen] Dowds and [MSNBC host Chris] Matthews of the world," The Washington Post's Anne E. Kornblut asserted, "I think there is something to that" and "certainly Chris Matthews has taken her on quite aggressively over the last few weeks."

During the January 9 "Post Politics Hour" discussion on washingtonpost.com with Washington Post national political reporter Anne Kornblut, a commenter wrote, "I know a lot of woman [sic] who may not like [Sen.] Hillary [Rodham Clinton (D-NY)] but respect her and identify with her, and they're getting incredibly angry about the progressively dismissive way she gets treated by the Dowds and Matthews of the world." Citing the headline of New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd's January 9 column -- "Can Hillary Cry Her Way Back to the White House?" -- the commenter asked Kornblut, "What do you think?" As the Poynter Institute's Romenesko blog noted, Kornblut replied, "I think there is something to that" and "certainly [MSNBC host] Chris Matthews has taken her on quite aggressively over the last few weeks." Media Matters for America has documented Matthews' recent remarks about Clinton.

From the January 9 edition of The Post Politics Hour on washingtonpost.com:

ROSELAND, NJ: You know why I think Hillary got such a huge surge in support? Columns like Maureen Dowd's today, written with headlines like, "Can Hillary Cry Her Way Back to the White House?" I know a lot of woman who may not like Hillary but respect her and identify with her, and they're getting incredibly angry about the progressively dismissive way she gets treated by the Dowds and Matthews of the world. What do you think?

ANNE E. KORNBLUT: I think there is something to that. There is no way for me to quantify it, but women on the campaign trail over the last couple of days expressed feeling empathy toward Clinton, especially after the debate. And certainly Chris Matthews has taken her on quite aggressively over the last few weeks (though I did hear him tell Howard Wolfson on air last night that he would never underestimate Sen. Clinton again). All that said, it is true: When Sen.Clinton shows her human side -- or plays the victim, depending on how you want to characterize it -- the tides tend to turn in her favor. The question is how she handles it.

—K.E.