gave an interview on Hardball in support of the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain. In speaking of Senator Barack Obama, Bachmann said: "we know that he is the most liberal senator in the United States Senate and that's just after one year of being there ... [with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid] you have a Troika of the most leftist administration in the history of our country." In reference to Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's comment about "pro-America areas of this great nation", Bachmann was asked which areas are anti-American and responded, "I don't think it's geography. I think it is people who don't like America, who detest America ... you’ll find them in all walks of life all throughout America." When asked by Matthews about Democratic Speaker of the House Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid, Bachmann said, "I am not going to say if they are anti-American or pro-American." When asked, "How many people in the Congress of the United States do you suspect as being anti-American?", she replied, "What I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating exposé and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an exposé like that." Bachmann's comments had an immediate impact on her re-election campaign. A campaign urging Congress to officially censure Bachmann was launched with over 35,000 signatures in the first 24 hours after her Hardball appearance. In less than 72 hours, her congressional election opponent Elwyn Tinklenberg received $740,000 in donations. Tinklenberg said that he heard "in that kind of a call echoes of the House Un-American Activities Committee." However, Bachmann defeated Tinklenberg 46.4% to 43.4% in the November 4, 2008 election. Confrontations Michelle Malkin On August 19, 2004, conservative commentator Michelle Malkin appeared on the show and raised the question of whether Democratic candidate John Kerry's Vietnam War wounds could have been "self-inflicted", saying that such questions were "legitimate". Matthews repeatedly asked Malkin if she thought that Kerry "shot himself on purpose" in order to avoid combat or to gain accolades, noting that such an act would constitute a criminal offense. Matthews challenged Malkin to "say to me right now that you believe he shot himself to get credit for a