MSNBC "Hardball With Chris Matthews" - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC "Hardball With Chris Matthews"

MR. MATTHEWS: Pennsylvania U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah is an Obama supporter.

Congressman, I am always impressed by the diversity in the crowds of people supporting Barack Obama. I was out at the Main Line. You know that area out in the better sections of the city out there, on City Line Avenue the other morning -- 35,000 people. Some people think it was twice that number. What are your feelings and thoughts about these numbers of people showing up for Barack?

REP. FATTAH: Well, look, we've been down in the trenches and we've been out and about, and I can just tell you that we are very optimistic that Senator Obama's going to do very, very well. I tell you, key in on Scranton. Senator Obama was there last night. He was there this morning. You saw Senator Clinton backtrack to Scranton; you know, Senator Bob Mellow and some of the other Democratic leaders in that northeastern corner of the state, about 15 counties there, nobody's paid any attention to. Senator Obama is doing very well.

We're going to work hard. Obviously Clinton's got a home-court advantage. But, you know, the Sixers beat Detroit on their home court yesterday, so you never know how this might turn out. We're going to work hard --

MR. MATTHEWS: I knew you'd say that. I knew you'd say the Sixers beat the Pistons; pulled the upset.

REP. FATTAH: We're going to work very, very hard. And I think that clearly, in terms of delegates, you know, we're going to do very well. Of the 19 congressional districts, my district has the largest share of delegates available, and Obama's going to win it by a large margin. And Senator Obama is finishing the night in Pittsburgh after visiting the DeMont (sp) Valley. You see Senator Clinton finishing up at the Palestra in Philadelphia.

So Obama's where they say he's weak, in the west, and Senator Clinton is in Philadelphia, where this should be Obama territory. So I think both of them are working in each other's bases. And you can tell by the intensity -- forget the polls -- this is a very close contest.

MR. MATTHEWS: Well, let me ask you about this. You know, it's not an ethnic thing, because about two or three to one, the voters who vote for Barack Obama are white people, and there's tremendous support. What is going on, do you think, in cities like Reading, Lancaster, York, those cities all run by mayors who are pro-Obama? They're out of the city. They're not part of the metropolitan area. What's going on with those guys?

REP. FATTAH: We're going to carry York, Reading, Lancaster. We're going to carry Norristown and Allentown. We're going to carry Homestead, Pennsylvania. I think that you're going to see a lot of surprises along the route here. I think the big thing is that with Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters are working hard. SEIU is working real hard.

The Clintons have a lot going for them, and mainly it's Ed Rendell, people like Mayor Nutter that are working hard. And the Clinton brand name is great in Pennsylvania. But there's still a lot of room here for Obama. There were tens of thousands of people lined up along the train route on Saturday, and there's a genuine excitement about changing our country and changing our politics.

MR. MATTHEWS: What do you think Barack Obama has to do tomorrow night? Does he have to win, or lose by less than eight, or what? Where would you put it? What is your over-under number? What does he have to achieve in terms of success tomorrow night, your candidate?

REP. FATTAH: Well, our biggest supporters in the state are people like Senator Casey and Congressman Pat Murphy, Patrick Murphy from Bucks County. All we're hoping for is that everyone who supports Obama comes out and votes. Vote for him. Vote for his delegates. And if they do that, he's going to be the Democratic nominee. As long as we hold it close here, under five points, I'll be very happy.

MR. MATTHEWS: Under what? What do you have to keep it --

REP. FATTAH: Under five points; a Clinton win that's less than five points.

MR. MATTHEWS: Okay, thank you very much, U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah of Philadelphia.

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