On the November 4 broadcast of NBC's Nightly News, MSNBC host Chris Matthews claimed that if the November 7 midterm election “breaks bad for the president,” the “world press, which is anti-American already, will jump on this and say [President] Bush has lost his control over his own government. It'll look bad for the president and world diplomacy.”

From the November 4 broadcast of NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams:

JOHN SEIGENTHALER (anchor): Chris, we saw the president out again on the campaign trail today. What's at stake for the president in this election?

MATTHEWS: Control of his own government. If you look at the world press in the hours after this election is counted, on Wednesday morning, from Rangoon [Myanmar] to Reykjavik [Iceland], the headline's going to read -- potentially, if it breaks bad for the president -- “Bush loses control of government over Iraq issue.” The world press, which is anti-American already, will jump on this and say Bush has lost his control over his own government. It'll look bad for the president and world diplomacy.

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