This week, Kathleen Matthews, the wife of MSNBC host Chris Matthews, announced her candidacy for the U.S. Congress. On his show, Hardball, that night, Matthews told viewers he would be transparent on TV, and would do whatever he could to help his wife on the air.
Connie Schultz has some suggestions on how Matthews can help his wife in her campaign: wear beige, never look bored, and watch out for the media:
If your wife is the one giving the speech, stop talking. Just stop. That goes double whenever you’re tempted to interrupt her. She is not a guest on your show.
AdvertisementAlso, whenever you attend one of her speeches, look at her, always, and with the face of the class nerd who can’t believe his luck. Whatever you do, don’t look bored. Reporters and trackers will be all over that with their smart phones and the next thing you know you’re a caption contest on Twitter.
Shultz, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist in Cleveland and the wife of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, writes in Politico that Matthews may find himself being urged to fade into the background. “You like patterned shirts, I’ve noticed. That’s great if you’re trying to draw attention to yourself. You’re not supposed to do that anymore. You might even start hearing the word “beige” a lot when campaign staffers with opinions you didn’t solicit start brainstorming how to make you look invisible, or at least harmless.”