On the Nov. 17th. edition of Hardball, Chris Mathews interviewed former Bush 
advisor Ron Christie.

Christie was bloviating along, using the usual left-handed slap of referring 
to the Democratic Party as the 'Democrat Party.'

Suddenly, out of the clear blue sky, Mathews said "It's 'Democratic Party.' 
Why can't you say that?  What's the matter with you?"

Christie gave a sarcastic apology but was so flummoxed by getting called on 
this typical right wing bit of political pubescence that he started 
self-checking himself through the rest of the interview, saying things like 
"Democrat...excuse me Democratic Party."  By the time the interview was 
finished, Christie was virtually stuttering.

It was fun for me after having watched the GOP play that ridiculous little 
game since the days of Ronald Reagan.  I can still remember watching Bob 
Dole, whose career straddled the era of the 'new republicanism,' stumbling 
through his campaigns, sometimes referring to the opposition as the 
"Democrat Leadership" sometimes saying "Democratic Leadership"

It wasn't big...but it was.