During Hardball's March 11 live coverage of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Memphis, MSNBC host Chris Matthews misrepresented the position of 2002 Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial candidate Shannon O'Brien, asserting that her “idea of the age of consent was, like, three.” In fact, O'Brien said during her campaign against now-Gov. Mitt Romney (R) that she advocated lowering the age at which a pregnant teenager could obtain an abortion without parental consent from 18 to 16, arguing that it should be the same as the state's age of consent for sexual relations. Matthews made his assertion during a discussion with MSNBC correspondent David Shuster about Romney's attributes as a potential 2008 presidential candidate compared with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN).

From the March 11 broadcast of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:

SHUSTER: Frist is one of these guys who, in person, he does very well; he doesn't translate so well on television. But what was so interesting about Romney, when you look at his speech there in the room, you think, “Well, does it connect? Does it not connect?” When we were looking at the tapes, Chris, on television Romney is electrifying, far more so than he seems in person. He's one of these candidates who just comes right -- comes across very well on camera. And in a television battle, I think that's where Romney perhaps may have an edge, because he looks great, he sounds terrific.

MATTHEWS: Do you think he did well in Massachusetts when he ran for office up there? He ran against a weak opponent, Shannon O'Brien, whose idea of the age of consent was, like, three.

From the October 30, 2002, edition of The Boston Globe:

It was one last chance to make an impression on live local television -- and both gubernatorial candidates clearly came prepared.

In a relatively civil encounter, Democrat Shannon O'Brien and Republican Mitt Romney strived to offer a more substantive discussion.

There was still some of the he said-she said exchanges that have characterized past encounters, and they talked over each other several times. But during last night's final gubernatorial debate, O'Brien and Romney staked out their positions on several key issues. The following are excerpts from the hourlong contest.

[...]

On whether the age that a woman can get an abortion without parental consent should be lowered from 18 to 16:

O'Brien: “The age of consent for having sexual relations is lower than the age of 18, so I certainly think that if someone is able to engage in that activity that they should be adult enough to make the decision. ... Understand that this right on the national level is in jeopardy. We need to make sure a woman, every young woman, has the opportunity to control her own health care decisions. They should be adult enough to make that decision. And in cases of child abuse, frankly, sometimes a young woman doesn't feel comfortable going to her parents.”

Ronmey: “Protecting a woman's right to choose, I've been very clear on that. I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose and I'm very dedicated in honoring my word. I will not change any provisions in Massachusetts on pro-choice laws. And as far as considering the age of consent, it is currently 18 years old. If one wants to have an abortion younger than that, one has to have a parent go along and go to a judge or justice.”