Chris Matthew continues his efforts to suggest that Barack Obama is different and not a “regular” American:

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews criticized Sen. Barack Obama’s expression of patriotism, asserting that Obama “thank[s] America” because he “got certain things from it,” rather than, Matthews claimed, “express[ing]” “that gut sense of Americanism,” which, Matthews said, is “a hard thing for someone like Barack Obama … to express.” He also purported to distinguish Obama from “regular” Americans, saying: “People that don’t have anything, including beautiful families and Ivy League degrees, know what they got. They’re Americans.”

…As Media Matters has also documented, Matthews has a history of purporting to identify actions by or characteristics of Obama that he has suggested demonstrate that he is not a “regular guy,” including playing pool, ordering “weird” beverages like orange juice, and his bowling skills.

Similarly, National Review Online’s Greg Pollowitz objected to the playing of U2 at Obama’s rally Tuesday night because the group isn’t American
(via TNR’s Ben Wasserstein):

U2’s “Beautiful Day” is playing at the Barack Obama rally. No Americans write music Obama likes?

Now that Obama is the nominee, we’re going to see a lot more of this garbage.