MSNBC's commentator Chris Matthews sparked criticism Wednesday night when, while assessing President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, said he forgot the President was black.

He is post-racial by all appearances. You know, I forgot he was black tonight for an hour, Matthews told Keith Olbermann Wednesday Night.

After the comment generated a big buzz online, Matthews made another appeareance at the Rachel Maddow show to explain his remarks and said it was meaningful to note that a black president was addressing a room of mostly white people and how this aspect didn't seem to be an issue. Matthews said he considered it a development in a country that has been divided up by racial divisions and that the issue of presidency and race got lost.

I think he's done something wonderful, Matthews told Maddow. I think he's taken us beyond black and white in our politics, wonderfully so, in just a year.

Watch Matthews' comments below:

Watch Matthews' explaining his comments below:

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