Chris Matthews asks Eric Cantor about Bob McDonnell trying to move away from the right and presenting himself as some sort of moderate in the Virginia governor's race and when Cantor tries to say he wasn't running away from his "conservative values" Matthews asks Cantor why McDonnell didn't want Palin to campaign for him.
Matthews: Let me ask you about the big question here for you tonight. McDonnell…let’s put a real prize around him. I think McDonnell’s great claim to fame is he ran a positive campaign. The other guy was going after his term papers from 30 years ago and McDonnell talked about his daughter’s fighting for the U.S. as a servicewoman over seas on Iraq and a Norte Dame graduate, as a R.O.T.C. person—I thought he really sold the positive and that’s why he won.
Cantor: Well, I agree with you that his campaign was incredibly well run and the message was positive and I think it does say something about the voters of Virginia. They want to have a better prospect for the future and Bob campaigned and focused on jobs. It was clearly an economic message that won the day here in Virginia. And when you look at where people’s minds are here 85% of the people are concerned about the economy. They’re looking for another way. They’re rejecting the policies coming out of the Congress and the White House towards the economy. So it was, you’re right, a very positive agenda for the future that Bob McDonnell won the day on.
Matthews: Why did Bob McDonnell keep Sarah Palin out of the state? He let her use the robo-calls but no reference to him personally. Why would you…I have a theory that Virginia may not be a liberal state and certainly never will be probably, but it’s certainly not a whacko right wing state either. And I don’t think it would ever go for a Sarah Palin over a Barack Obama, but I may be wrong. In lousy economic conditions anything’s possible.
You wouldn’t call Virginia a Palin state, would you?
Cantor: Virginia has always bean a common sense, conservative state. There are millions of voters here who embrace Sarah Palin, obviously millions who are embracing Bob McDonnell. You know our state is one that is a center-right state. I think it is reflective of where the nation is and that’s why we are very excited about what this win tonight will mean for our prospects in November of ‘010.
Matthews: I’ve got it. You go home and check with your voters Congressman. A lot of your most trusted voters who like you personally are scared to bejesus out of Sarah Palin. She’s a theocrat. She’s a…she’s so far out in terms of basic American notions of pluralism that your voters would think she was frightening.
Cantor: Chris you’ve just said that Bob McDonnell won the day on a positive message.
Matthews: Right.
Cantor: Well here you go again. (crosstalk)
Matthews: No I’m just saying you wouldn’t let her in the state. (crosstalk) Did Bob McDonnell over rule you when you tried to bring Sarah Palin in the campaign for him?
Cantor: Absolutely not. She’s welcome in this state. I’m sure Bob McDonnell would say she is and again it’s that kind of negativity that’s been rejected here in Virginia and I…you said so yourself Chris.
After rightfully calling Palin out for being as extreme as she is, Matthews goes on to kiss Cantor's butt to make sure he gets another interview with him somewhere down the pike. Earlier in the broadcast Matthews did his best to give McDonnell cover for those "term papers" which he wrote when he was 34 years old, hardly a child and tried to pretend he was some kid that can't be held accountable for them now. Matthews threw Palin under the bus tonight but did his best to give McDonnell a bit of a white washing for his extremist views.
