Chris Matthews lies. There was never anything patriotic in Obama’s rhetoric.
He dissed the flag pin (although he’s back to wearing one now that his poll numbers are in the tank and mid-term elections are here).
He has repeatedly dropped references to The Creator from who our basic rights come.
His wife said that she’d never been proud of this country in her adult life until he became president. He’s spent all of his time abroad dissing this nation and every president who ever came before him.
He doesn’t exhibit patriotism. He isn’t manning up to the job of America’s President.
I think Mathews is coming to terms that tomorrow will be a political tsunami of historic reality.
Some people would argue with you when you say "never." You'd have to go back through every speech to establish that.
But this was more of an "eye of the beholder" thing. Matthews didn't respond to what Obama was actually saying, but to the image he imposed on Obama of the second coming of Kennedy and King.
It was like that with a lot of Obama voters. They wanted and needed him to be patriotic, inclusive, intellectual or heroic and they just assumed he was those things and more.
Something like that happens in many elections, but the gap between what people convince themselves is true and the evidence they actually have supporting their belief is rarely if ever so large as it was in 2008.