Excited Chris Matthews: Have Republicans 'Given Up Beating' Hillary 'Altogether?'

[For more, see video cross-posted at NewsBusters.] Barack Obama may have given Chris Matthews a "thrill" up his leg, but the MSNBC host is pretty excited about Hillary Clinton in 2016. Matthews is so worked up that on Monday night wondered if Republicans have "given up on beating" Clinton. Unsurprisingly, the cable anchor is unimpressed with the current crop of Republican contenders. After discussing Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, he derided, "Have Republicans on the right given up on beating Hillary Clinton in the center? Have they given up on beating her altogether?" Speculating as to whether Republicans think voters will follow them "all the way to the ticked off outskirts" of where Paul and Cruz live, Matthews disbelievingly wondered, "Do they really think America is ready for a dance in the moonlight with one of those guys?" The host later speculated that 2016 could be like the landslides of 1964 and 1972.