Matthews' Odd Analogy of the Night: Palin Just Like Liberace

Chris Matthews is becoming a master of the odd analogy. In the past Matthews has compared favorites of the left like Bill Clinton to Jesus and Barack Obama to God and those on the right like Rush Limbaugh to a walrus and Dick Cheney to the Hussein brothers. Well on Tuesday's Hardball, Matthews added another strange comparison to his collection as he claimed former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin reminded him of the extravagant pianist Liberace. During his "Sideshow" segment Matthews cited $12 million as his "Big Number" of the night, claiming that is what the former Alaskan governor has earned since leaving office, which caused Matthews to blurt: "As they used to say of Liberace...another person who took some licks for over the-top-behavior he laughed all the way to the bank."

The following Matthews dig at Palin's expense was aired on the April 13 edition of Hardball:

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Now for the "Big Number" tonight. It's a lesson to always follow the money. Since leaving public office in July of last year how much has Sarah Palin has earned through her book deal, paid speeches and TV appearances? Well according to ABC News over $12 million. Which, by the way, is about 100 times what she made in one year as Alaska's governor. Sarah Palin's $12 million pay day, tonight's "Big Number," a very big number. As they used to say of Liberace, another fella, another person who took some licks for over-the-top behavior, he laughed all the way to the bank. Of course Liberace just played the piano, he never told us how to run the country.

-Geoffrey Dickens is the senior news analyst at the Media Research Center.