It seemed as though Chris Matthews' election analysis hit rock bottom a couple of weeks ago when he expressed an inordinate interest in Fred Thompson's odor.

But it turns out, his reports can still manage to get a little more troubling.

On the June 24 edition of the NBC-syndicated Chris Matthews Show, during a discussion about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), host Chris Matthews asked Kathleen Parker, a syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group, if "being surrounded by women" makes "a case for commander in chief -- or does it make a case against it?" [...]

Asked by Time managing editor Richard Stengel, "What are you suggesting by asking does this diminish her as a commander in chief by being surrounded by women?," Matthews replied: "No, the idea that it -- well, let me just get historic. We've never had a woman commander in chief."

As a follow-up to his question, Matthews said: "But isn't that a challenge, because when it comes down to that final decision to vote for president, a woman president, a woman commander in chief, will be an historic decision for people. Not just men, but women as well." Turning to New York Times reporter Elisabeth Bumiller, Matthews added: "Elisabeth, you're always thinking about these things." Bumiller referred to Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher -- women who were elected to lead Israel and the United Kingdom -- and said: "[W]e all remember these women.... I think we can get there." Matthews responded, "But we've got Patton and John Wayne on our side."

As Atrios put it, "It's one thing to project misogyny onto the public-at-large and question whether they're willing to support a woman for president, it's quite another to question whether the mere presence of women makes one unfit to be president."