MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript

Interview

MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript

MR. MATTHEWS: Joining me right now is U.S. Congressman Artur Davis. He's a Democrat from Alabama and an honorary co-chair of President Obama's inauguration. Steve Hildebrand, sitting right next to me, is the deputy national campaign manager for President Obama.

Let me start with the congressman. Today's event, the historic meaning of this today, what happened? What matters coming out of today, this history as we live it?

REP. DAVIS: Chris, as someone who's from the South, this is a remarkable validation of the American spirit today. I was thinking about older African-Americans who fought for their country in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, who served their country valiantly, came back home to a country that in some cases literally sent them to the back of the bus, and certainly sent them to second-class status in American life. They loved their country anyway. They fought for their country anyway. And so many of the dreams and ideals they had for their country were validated today.

MR. MATTHEWS: Steve Hildebrand, how do you take today's inauguration parade and everything that goes with today and have it mean something a year from now, 10 years from now?

MR. HILDEBRAND: Well, I think, you know, we've got a lot of work to do and a lot to prove and a lot of problems to solve. And I think what we saw today and heard today was a very serious guy, knowing the seriousness of the office that he's going after, or coming into --

MR. MATTHEWS: He's in it, buddy. (Laughs.)

MR. HILDEBRAND: He's in it.

MR. MATTHEWS: You're there. You won. It's over. You won. You had the inauguration today.

MR. HILDEBRAND: And the serious problems that we face in this country. And, you know, we've got a lot to prove. We've got a lot of work to do. But I think his call to the American people, to say, "We're in this together; we've got to do this together; we succeed or fail together," and he's going to constantly call on the American people to help pass his agenda in Congress, to solve problems out in America, to get involved in your communities, to -- you know, it really was a call to service in a lot of ways, Chris, and I think that's the kind of president he's going to be for the next four or eight years.

MR. MATTHEWS: Let me ask an ethnic question, Congressman Davis. How does this change black politics in America? Does this open the door, at least theoretically, to going statewide for a lot of people, not to simply be limited to the aspirations of a politician representing a constituency, but does this open the door to -- I mean, I still know the odds, but does it open more people to perhaps taking a chance on a statewide race who are black?

REP. DAVIS: Well, Chris, two things. First of all, if Barack Obama governs well -- and I have no doubt whatsoever that he will -- if he governs from the center, a lot of white Americans are going to see his excellence in the White House. They're going to see his skill on display every day. And, yes, that inevitably will make it easier for them to consider voting for someone of color.

The second lesson of Barack Obama, as far as black candidates go, is if you're a black candidate in most states, whether it's myself in Alabama or Steve's client, Kendrick Meek, in Florida, the Democratic Party establishment is almost always going to say, "You don't need to be the one who runs. You're black. You're the less electable of the alternative candidates that we have."

You know what? All that was said about Barack Obama, even when he ran for the Senate in Illinois, much less when he ran for the presidency. I hope that he will galvanize some people to say that local political establishments aren't the best judge of who's the most electable candidates.

MR. MATTHEWS: Okay, let me go back to Steve Hildebrand. Let me ask you, how do you activate -- you know, everybody knows who covers politics that this has been a really participatory campaign. A lot of people that never worked in politics were out there going door to door. A lot of people were involved online in the new politics of voter financing, of election financing and voter organization and the whole thing. How's that going to continue now that you've won?

MR. HILDEBRAND: Well, several million of them showed up today to experience this phenomenon. And, you know, people didn't just work in the campaign to win the election. They worked in the campaign to change America. And I think people really understand that November 4th was a date that was pretty important. January 20th is important. But the next four years is what matters.

And people want to solve these problems. They're scared. People have lost serious amounts of income. Pre-retirees are devastated in the stock market; the housing, the job losses. You know, people are scared. People in my home community of Sioux Falls, South Dakota are scared about the future. And that's all over the country. I don't think it's going to be hard to keep people involved. And I think people are going to keep Democrats and Republicans in Washington accountable for solving these problems. They're tired of it.

And I've got to make this comment about your question to Congressman Davis, because I don't believe that the American people are looking at the same profile of politician that they've always looked for. If we're going to look for a bunch of middle-aged white men, a lot of American people look at the middle-aged white men who sit in Congress, and women, and believe that they're part of this big mess that they've created. They're not the only part, but they're a part of it.

And so I think that Barack's success in predominantly white states is just the start; the mayor of my hometown of Mitchell, South Dakota -- probably five other African-Americans in this small town of 14,000 -- African-American, for 14 years. He's no longer with us, but I think you see that all over the place, Chris. You see it in legislative races, in mayors. You know, you see it in a lot of congressional districts.

So I think that the color of skin, the gender of a person, is not going to be the first thing that people look for. They're going to look for somebody's going to pay attention to the real problems that we face and whether or not they're going to get their hands dirty when they get to Washington and make bold choices.

MR. MATTHEWS: Okay, we'll be right back. Thank you, Congressman Artur Davis. Thank you, Steve Hildebrand.

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