On the April 28 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews asserted of Sen. Barack Obama and his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.: “They're different faces of the same guy.” Indeed, earlier in the program Matthews illustrated his point by conflating Obama with Wright. While referring to Obama and mentioning “his middle name,” Matthews seamlessly transitioned to refer to Wright's security detail as “defend[ing] him,” and “standing behind him,” and saying, “And didn't he get security from [Nation of Islam leader Louis] Farrakhan today?” prompting Matthews' guest Rev. Eugene Rivers to ask, “Who are we talking about -- Wright? Are we talking about Jeremiah?”

Discussing Obama and Wright, Matthews said to guest Ryan Lizza of The New Yorker: “Let me give you the problem, in a way of putting it in perhaps literary terms. It's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” Matthews continued, “Who was the bad guy? Dr. Jekyll was the good guy. Mr. Hyde was the bad guy, right?” He added: “So, every time you have a problem with Barack, because you don't really know him and he seems a little foreign to you, you think of -- you think of him as both these guys. They're different faces of the same guy. Jeremiah Wright, to a lot of people, is Barack Obama. They've become the same Chicago character running for president. One is the good doctor, the other one is the monster that shows up at night.”

Following Matthews' assertion, Lizza said to Matthews, “Look, I think there's a danger of that happening. But, as a journalist -- or, as journalists, I think it's our responsibility to make it clear.” Matthews responded, “OK, carve it apart. Separate the two. Try.” Lizza said: “This guy went to a church. This guy is the pastor of that church. Now one of those guys is running for president and has laid out a vision that is radically different than anything his left-wing pastor had to say. Yes, it tells you something about who he is. It tells you about -- something about the community he came from. But it doesn't tell you everything. And nobody should confuse one person's views with the other person's.” Later, Lizza said, “I'm not saying that this is not the way politics plays. I'm just trying to draw a distinction and be fair to the Obama campaign and fair to Wright, and distinguish between a candidate's views and his pastor's views. I'm not denying that the politics of this are terrible for Obama.” Matthews responded, “We're on the same topic, now that we're on -- I don't know what other topic you were on. I was sort of on politics. This is Hardball. We talk politics, Ryan.”

Earlier in the program, Matthews asserted, “You know, 13 percent of the American people believe that Barack Obama is Muslim. I don't know how that got started. Hillary Clinton, of course, gave that cute answer to Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes, saying, 'As far as I know' he's not Islamic.” Matthews has repeatedly mischaracterized Clinton's response during a CBS 60 Minutes interview to the question of whether she “believe[d] that Senator Obama is a Muslim.” Her first three words in response to the question were, “Of course not.”

Immediately following his mischaracterization of Clinton's remarks, Matthews asserted, “And you know -- and Jon Stewart had that yuck-yuck during the Oscars -- saying his middle name is Hussein. But clearly, there's some people out there who've allowed this to be perpetrated. But then today, didn't -- didn't the Fruit of Islam defend him today at the National Press Club? Weren't they standing behind him? And didn't he get security from Farrakhan today? I mean, am I crazy?” As Media Matters for America noted, Matthews has previously criticized Stewart and others for using Obama's middle name despite the fact that the first mention of Obama's middle name in a political context that Media Matters found in the Nexis database came from Matthews himself on November 7, 2006.

From the April 28 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:

MATTHEWS: Reverend -- Reverend, let me just bring this up to you, Reverend Rivers. You know, 13 percent of the American people believe that Barack Obama is Muslim. I don't know how that got started. Hillary Clinton, of course, gave that cute answer to Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes --

RIVERS: Right.

MATTHEWS: -- saying, “As far as I know” --

RIVERS: Yes. Right.

MATTHEWS: -- he's not Islamic.

RIVERS: Right. Right.

MATTHEWS: And you know -- and Jon Stewart had that yuck-yuck during the Oscars -- saying his middle name is Hussein. But clearly, there's some people out there who've allowed this to be perpetrated.

RIVERS: Right. Right.

MATTHEWS: But then today, didn't -- didn't the Fruit of Islam defend him today at the National Press Club? Weren't they standing behind him? And didn't he get security from Farrakhan today? I mean, am I crazy?

RIVERS: Who are we talking about -- Wright? Are we talking about Jeremiah?

MATTHEWS: Didn't the Reverend Wright? Yeah. Yeah.

[...]

MATTHEWS: Let me give you the problem, in a way of putting it in perhaps literary terms. It's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Just a minute. Who was the bad guy? Dr. Jekyll was the good guy. Mr. Hyde was the bad guy, right?

LIZZA: I'll trust you on that. I don't --

MATTHEWS: Well, I think so.

So, every time you have a problem with Barack, because you don't really know him and he seems a little foreign to you, you think of -- you think of him as both these guys. They're different faces of the same guy.

Jeremiah Wright, to a lot of people, is Barack Obama. They've become the same Chicago character running for president. One is the good doctor, the other one is the monster that shows up at night.

LIZZA: Look, I think there's a danger of that happening. But, as a journalist -- or, as journalists, I think it's our responsibility to make it clear --

MATTHEWS: OK, carve it apart. Separate the two. Try.

LIZZA: This guy went to a church. This guy is the pastor of that church. Now one of those guys is running for president and has laid out a vision that is radically different than anything his left-wing pastor had to say.

Yes, it tells you something about who he is. It tells you about -- something about the community he came from. But it doesn't tell you everything. And nobody should confuse one person's views with the other person's.

MATTHEWS: Do you think it might be hurting a good man like Mitt Romney and his family, and good members of the LDS church, that they're being embarrassed by this breakaway group down there in Texas in the last couple weeks? You don't think that story hurts Mitt Romney's -- Mitt Romney's chances of being on the ticket?

LIZZA: Absolutely. I'm sure it -- I'm sure it does.

MATTHEWS: Yes, it does. So, I'm saying, these associations, fair or unfair --

JILL ZUCKMAN (Chicago Tribune reporter): Right.

LIZZA: Right.

MATTHEWS: -- birds of a feather. It's the way people think.

ZUCKMAN: I just think -- Ryan, I think you're being a little high-minded here, because this is still politics --

LIZZA: Right.

ZUCKMAN: -- and his opponents are going to use this against him to raise questions in the minds of people who are undecided, on the fence, feel like they don't know enough.

LIZZA: Right. I'm just saying --

MATTHEWS: “God damn America”? That's one of the greatest quotes in history.

LIZZA: Absolutely --

MATTHEWS: This is going Bartlett's.

LIZZA: -- if Barack Obama had said it, he'd be out of this race.

MATTHEWS: This is going into Bartlett's.

LIZZA: If Barack Obama had said it, he'd be out of this race. I don't remember him saying it. A guy who was his ex-pastor said it, Chris.

MATTHEWS: Do you think if you miss church one Sunday and you're fairly good at going to church, and while you were gone that Sunday, you heard the priest or the minister or the rabbi said, “God Damn America,” you wouldn't have heard about that by Monday or Tuesday? Do you really believe he didn't hear about this?

LIZZA: I think one of the most fascinating things Wright said --

MATTHEWS: Come on, Ryan, you're a reporter. You think he didn't know about this?

LIZZA: I think he knew his pastor was a left-winger. I mean, basically, look at the totality of what Wright's saying. He's, you know, he's a doctrinaire left-winger. You find the views that he has all the time on the far left, right?

MATTHEWS: If you went to a left-wing church -- let me just ask you this: For years, the Democratic candidates for president and Democratic politicians have been lambasting -- is that the way you pronounce it? -- lambasting Republicans for hanging around with Jerry Falwell, the late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and their ilk. Now they're going after this guy Hagee, Pastor [John] Hagee, who doesn't like Catholics down in Texas. This is the way politics is played. You get the guy's associates.

LIZZA: You get the -- I'm not saying that this is not the way politics plays. I'm just trying to draw a distinction and be fair to the Obama campaign and fair to Wright, and distinguish between a candidate's views and his pastor's views. I'm not denying that the politics of this are terrible for Obama. But, finally on the politics --

MATTHEWS: We're on the same topic, now that we're on -- I don't know what other topic you were on. I was sort of on politics. This is Hardball. We talk politics, Ryan.