Chris Matthews: It's Been a 'Terrible Year' for Obama

After a year of problems with headlines about Obamacare, the Benghazi bombing, NSA spying, and the IRS targeting of conservative groups, MSNBC "Hardball" host Chris Matthews said Friday it's beginning to feel like a "very long presidency" for Barack Obama.

"It feels like a very long presidency now. It feels like the seventh or eighth year of a presidency. It doesn't feel like the fifth," Matthews said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"It's a terrible year for the president," he added.

Matthews, a longtime vocal supporter of the president, admitted it wasn't "just a bad year, in terms of the [Obamacare] rollout." He explained there was an "erosion in interest" in President Obama.

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Matthews interviewed the president earlier this month before a student audience at American University. In recent months, he has been more critical of the president's leadership skills.

A sense of enthusiasm has been lacking since he was reelected last year, Matthews observed.

"There wasn't that rejuvenation that comes with a reelection. There was no sense of 'Wow.' I think that's hurt him a lot," he said.

Matthews said previous presidents who had served two terms managed "to come back, just in terms of survival, the last year or two" of their second term. He said Obama would have to "come back with some gusto" if he is to be one of them.

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