There's a great line from an old episode of The West Wing, where President Bartlett (the best President ratings can buy) has a momentary pause from the apocalyptic crisis of the moment. He greets a newly elected Congressman and says, with a twinkle in his eye, "Welcome to the show (or was it circus?) that never ends."

Matthews has a similar sensibility, and so do I. It's a fascination with the Machiavellian intrigue that affects everyday lives, and with the players who seem larger than life and who, every now and again, actually are. (That's why guys like Matthews worship at the alter of Winston Churchill, and you can put me squarely in the middle of that choir).

He's not always great, and occasionally he's a bit of a buffoon, as this recent Slate piece describes (though I would argue he's at his worst when the stakes are low). Matthews is at his best when the stakes are high, when a close election is coming down the wire, or a new star is on the rise.

Matthews has developed professional friendships with enough political heavyweights that you can at times feel as though you're eavesdropping on a substantive but fun conversation between two people in the know. John McCain, Joe Biden, and Ed Rendell fall into this category. He has a great camaraderie with his many political analysts: Ron Reagan, Howard Fineman, and (even) Pat Buchanan are among my favorites (I have a lot to say about the political leanings of cable talkshow panels, but I'll save that for a different post). He can also drop the hard questions from time to time (dropping the hammer on Michelle Malkin this summer in the midst of the Swift Boat Veterans insanity was classic) though I'll be the first to admit that he can do more of this. There are also some great moments of laughter (if you're a big political geek like me, that is) or lunacy: if you've never seen the clip of the Matthews / Zell Miller "duel" you owe it to yourself to check it out.

If you have a passion for politics and stomach cable news (or cable, or news) check out Hardball.

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