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Just when you thought MSNBC's Chris Matthews couldn't stoop any lower he magically finds new ways to trash his political opponents while praising the man that gives him a thrill up his leg. On Wednesday's “Hardball,” the host in his concluding segment attacked Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich as the Joker looking “for ways to manipulate public opinion, interrupt the TV news, and bring his evil intentions and motives and instincts into reality” while praising President Obama as “our hero” Batman full of “goodwill, generosity and glamour” (video follows with transcript and commentary): CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me finish tonight with the Joker. Remember him? He was played by Jack Nicholson in that great “Batman” movie by Tim Burton. He was the key to the movie. Why? Because his dark world of malevolence and revenge set in contrast the goodwill, generosity and glamour of our hero. He was to the movie on the bad side what Batman was on the good. Batman stands on tall buildings looking for evil to be perpetrated, people to be saved. The Joker looks for ways to manipulate public opinion, interrupt the TV news, and bring his evil intentions and motives and instincts into reality. Maybe the President today is our Batman, trying to do good, a bit mysterious, a bit cool and technocratic, a bit removed from the world of emotions, but right, right there on the side of good, always using his brains and wit to look out for the people in trouble. Well, maybe he's not that good. No, Newt Gingrich is a far better Joker than Barack Obama is our Batman, that wide demonic smile of his, too much smile, not even a twitch of heart behind it, all guile, all dark delight in the menace he can dredge from the afternoon newspaper, the fears of people on the street, the midnight dread of what might be coming in an uncertain world and time. Newt Gingrich, like all the bad guys of the Batman world, has now gotten caught up in his own nasty ploys. He’s just so instinctively looking for the next chance to attack he loses control even on his own bad attitude. “Life’s been good to me,” the Joker tells us on his comeback from the past, his face repainted to cover the horror, his smile deluding none of us instead being an unintended warning. The joker is out there again, and no one's safe from his menace, least of all himself. Are you kidding me? The former Speaker of the House is a malevolent, vengeful, manipulative, evil, demonic, heartless menace and Obama is our hero? Is this really the level of discourse acceptable to a division of NBC News? Where does this end?