During MSNBC's January 19 coverage of the Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina Republican primary, Hardball host Chris Matthews interviewed Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, telling him: “You know, Mayor, for months now, I think I've been one of the troubadours for you out there in terms of your prospects. I have always seen the Giuliani advantage in a party that treasures leadership.” In stating that he has “been one of the troubadours” for Giuliani and that he has “always seen the Giuliani advantage in a party that treasures leadership,” Matthews continued a longstanding pattern of heaping praise on the former New York City mayor.

On the November 6, 2007, edition of Hardball, Matthews declared Giuliani “the person with the best shot to win the Republican nomination” Later, Matthews asserted, “You know why I've been saying this guy looks good for a long time -- looks like a potential winner? Because I've been talking to a lot of people in the South -- guys that go to lunches in the South, not necessarily church-y people, just secular Republicans -- they hear about lower taxes, law and order, they like him.” He added, “They can't spell his name down there, some people, but they love the idea he is a tough, kick-butt policeman, basically, in New York, a prosecutor.” Matthews also stated, “Rudy is this tough, kick-butt cop from New York. You know he's not a nice guy. You know he can be an SOB, but maybe that's what you want on the subway at 3 o'clock in the morning.” He continued, “Maybe that's what people feel like in their heads right now. It is 3 o'clock in the morning, and we want a tough guy on that subway with us, right?” On the March 1, 2007, edition of Hardball, Matthews similarly asserted that Southerners “can't spell his name necessarily, but they know Rudy was a hero.”

On October 4, 2007, Matthews professed: “I'm pretty independent, in terms of the two parties,” adding, “I have been just as tough on Bill Clinton and [Sen.] Hillary [Rodham Clinton (D-NY)] and Rudy and the whole bunch of them.” In order to ascertain whether this claim is true, Media Matters for America examined every evaluative remark Matthews made about either Giuliani or Hillary Clinton on Hardball during the months of September, October, and November 2007. The results demonstrated that Matthews has been particularly friendly to Rudy Giuliani and extremely hostile toward Hillary Clinton. Matthews made 10 negative remarks about Clinton for every negative remark he made about Giuliani and nearly three times as many positive remarks about the former New York City mayor as about Clinton. The ratio of positive to negative remarks was 3.5-to-1 for Giuliani, but 1-to-8.2 for Clinton.

Matthews also twice said in 2007 that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “deserves to be president.”

From the 6 p.m. ET hour of MSNBC's coverage of the January 19 Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina Republican primary:

MATTHEWS: You know, Mayor, for months now, I think I've been one of the troubadours for you out there in terms of your prospects. I have always seen the Giuliani advantage in a party that treasures leadership. The old line is, “Democrats fall in love; Republicans fall in line,” and I keep waiting for that to happen. Can you benefit from a continued failure of the party to find a leader until they get to Florida?