Chris Matthews hits 'pusillanimous' Obama for 'thinking small'

MSNBC host Chris Matthews on Monday accused President Barack Obama of being too timid in his rhetoric and political agenda.

"I don't understand why he thinks small," Matthews, who is generally supportive of the President, said on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

"Why doesn't he say, 'Look, we brought back the auto industry. Why don't we bring back the highways?... Why is everything falling apart? Why don't we invest in our public sector while interest rates are practically zero, and all of these unemployed people out there, this is a good time to do stuff.'"

Matthews said it was a mistake for Obama to pass up the chance to build the Keystone XL pipeline over environmental concerns. He described the trans-national pipeline as a "good job creation program" but said Obama could still focus on future construction projects.

“You have an auto industry," he continued. "Where are you going to run the car? I mean, he has to be big and noisy and loud like me, I guess, instead of this pusillanimous talking about Bain. That’s below him. Talking about Massachusetts? Who cares about Massachusetts 20 years ago? He’s got to focus on the future."

Watch video, courtesy of MSNBC, below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy