Ben Affleck, political expert

(Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Director Ben Affleck, whose movie "Gone Baby Gone," opens on Oct. 19.

Ben Affleck -- actor, activist, and Cambridge native -- played a new role this afternoon -- serious political commentator.

Sounding more like James Carville or George Will than a hero from one of his action movies, Affleck held court on MSNBC's "Hardball," expounding on the Iraq war and presidential politics.

Affleck, who is supporting Democrat Barack Obama, said that Obama had a "really good" op-ed piece in the New Hampshire Union Leader today warning that a resolution declaring Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group could lead to giving a blank check to President Bush to launch a military attack, just as he did in Iraq after a congressional vote in 2002.

"We definitely have to be very cautious about giving the president and vice president a lot of leeway to make the same mistake again," Affleck said.

He also analyzed the contest for evangelical voters among the Republican candidates, and predicted that Rudy Giuliani would be tough to beat for the GOP nomination.

Affleck complained that the "one really bad thing about American politics" is that presidential candidates are so overmanaged and overpackaged that they become neutral nobodies. Former Vice President Al Gore, who could win the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his anti-global warming crusade, became "more appealing" when he left office and the campaign trail and could do and say what he wanted.

"Hardball" host Chris Matthews asked what the candidates are afraid of.

That a controversial remark "will be the lead item on your show," Affleck replied.

Despite the mild jab, Matthews was smitten with the square-jawed heartthrob.

"He knows as much as anyone on this show about what's going on," Matthews said.

At the end of the appearance, Affleck managed to also plug his new Boston-based movie, "Gone Baby Gone."