Why Doesn't Chris Matthews Run For The United States Senate?



And the winner is ... Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Junior Senator from the state of New York insinuated strategically -- if not actually -- that MSNBC's hyperactive and lovable "Hardball" host Chris Matthews was a certifiable sexist (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). Unfortunately, a largely unsympathetic NY Times magazine profile soon after added to the media myth of Chris' sexism. Now there is no stopping that meme.

Poor Chris. Despite running an informative -- if occasionally gassy -- program, he is now being painted with the same brush as Keith Olbermann, only without the love of the base of the Democratic party or the financial bennies. From Page Six:

"NETWORK execs mollified the cantankerous Keith Olbermann as they demoted him by promising to sweeten his $4 million-a-year contract. But his more professional MSNBC co-anchor, Chris Matthews, didn't get anything but half the blame. David Gregory was given the job of anchoring MSNBC's political coverage, following a firestorm over the cable news outlet's liberal bias and on-air squabbling between its prima donna pundits. Olbermann told reporters he initiated the demotion. 'So he threw Matthews under the bus,' said one insider, who added, 'This has [GE chairman] Jeff Immelt's fingerprints all over it - if not his fists.'"

The Corsair actually does like Matthews, who generally tries to pitch it straight down the middle. He is just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got pasted by History. While, yes, Chris' hyperactivity can be cloying, we generally leave "Hardball" with a little more information on the backroom maneuverings in Washington than we had had going in.

Maybe it is time for Chris to take the big pile of GE money and just make a solid run for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2010. It is what he has always wanted anyway, and this is the perfect opportunity to stop being chicken shit about going for it. Is it really worth the continuous hassle to be at MSNBC, a cable station that just doesn't seem to honor his particular contributions? And considering the drift of the cable network, it doesn't seem as if Matthews' future is secure anyway.

Another gritty Philadelphia conservative Democrat in the Senate would not be a bad thing. And as charming and principled as Arlen Spector is, he is supremely vulnerable.