Over at Media Matters, Eric Boehlert details the backlash that engulfed MSNBC's Chris Matthews over his aggressive and often sexist commentary about Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the New Hampshire primary. But more important than the analysis of the "blog swarm" against Matthews is the prospect that his ham-fisted oafishness helped propel Hillary Clinton to her surprising victory. Chris Matthews may well be the Rick Lazio of 2008.

Back in 2000, First Lady Hillary Clinton was locked in a very tight New York Senate race with Long Island Rep. Rick Lazio. Prior to their first debate in Buffalo that September, Clinton trailed Lazio by 46% to 43%. But in that first encounter, ironically moderated by Matthews' NBC colleague Tim Russert, Lazio tried to bully Mrs. Clinton into signing a pledge to forego soft money.
But his gimmick quickly backfired among New York voters. Women in particular recoiled as Lazio walked over to her podium and tried to intimidate her into signing his gimmick document. That was the turning point in the race which Hillary Clinton ultimately won by 12%.
Fast forward to 2008 and the Lazio effect seemed to once again be at work for Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire. There, Clinton reversed a double-digit deficit in the final polls to defeat Barack Obama. As I suggested afterwards, "in a nutshell, Hillary's voters originally made up their minds a long time ago, and on Election Day, they came home." While the apparent double-teaming by Barack Obama and John Edwards in the final debate may have something to do with it, Boehlert's piece suggests a backlash by women voters against a different bully: Chris Matthews.
That Matthews had a rich history of badgering Hillary Clinton is beyond dispute. As Jamison Foer documented, Matthews' juvenile and sexist rhetoric towards Clinton predated his final offense that "the reason she's a U.S. senator, the reason she's a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around":

Matthews has referred to Clinton as "She devil." He has repeatedly likened Clinton to "Nurse Ratched," referring to the scheming, manipulative character in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest who "asserts arbitrary control simply because she can." He has called her "Madame Defarge." And he has described male politicians who have endorsed Clinton as "castratos in the eunuch chorus."
Matthews has compared Clinton to a "strip-teaser" and questioned whether she is "a convincing mom." He refers to Clinton's "cold eyes" and the "cold look" she supposedly gives people; he says she speaks in a "scolding manner" and is "going to tell us what to do."

As the startling numbers rolled in on primary night in New Hampshire, Matthews and his colleagues struggled for an explanation to account for his Hillary Clinton's come from behind victory in the face of polls that universally predicted a thorough defeat. As Boehlert recounts, Air America host and MSNBC regular Rachel Maddow was quick to offer a theory for the massive movement of women voters to Clinton at the polls. Contrary to Pat Buchanan's claim that Granite State voters "body-slammed" the press corps, Maddow argued instead for a Matthews backlash:

"You want to know who they're blaming for women voters breaking for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama? Who they're blaming for this late showing in a big vote for Hillary Clinton? They're blaming Chris Matthews. People are citing specifically Chris as a -- not only for his own views -- but also for as a symbol of what the mainstream media has done to Hillary Clinton."

The rest, as they say, is history. Her campaign resuscitated, Hillary Clinton went on to win Nevada. For his part, Chris Matthews was inundated by a blog swarm and ultimately issued an apology of sorts. But should Hillary Clinton go on to win the nomination, Chris Matthews - the Rick Lazio of Campaign '08 - will have had a major hand in it.