MSNBC’s Chris Matthews is not hard on everyone who plays “Hardball.” When actor Morgan Freeman, who has recorded the voice-over for the intro of Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News, came on the show this afternoon, Matthews played softball with him.

Not that we don’t like Freeman, we do, but it’s noteworthy to see stars in Matthews’s eyes whenever stars come on his show.

After asking what was in Freeman’s “soul” when he made his movie, “Invictus,” (which was slightly choke-worthy), he asked, “What’s the role of leaders?” Freeman replied: “I think everyone should watch the movie and take a lesson.”

Matthews asked about President Obama.
Freeman gushed. “When Barack was elected president of the United States I shed a tear for our growth … and I think we’re going to continue marching ahead,” he said.

As for race relations, Freeman remarked, “I think we do have something to show the world in terms of race relations — we’re not finished.”