To celebrate President’s Day yesterday, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews opened his show with an important question. Is President Obama one of the greatest presidents in history?

“Let me start tonight with this big one,” Matthews boldly asserted in his opening monologue.  “Is Barack Obama going for it? Is he suddenly becoming one of the great presidents in history?”

Matthews went on to explain that Obama was focused on becoming a “transformational” president by reaching out to key racial demographics and women and boldly opposing the “right wing.”

“Can he bring on an era of Democratic, even liberal dominance, for years to come?” he asked. “Could this president be the president of our time?”

Matthews dampened his enthusiasm by clarifying for the audience that he wasn’t “talking about Mt. Rushmore but perhaps the level right below it.”