Tweety to Run Against Arlen Specter in 2010

by Damozel | Like Nora Ephron, I am practically in love with Chris Matthews despite his many, many flaws and excesses.  Watching him when he isn't talking but listening causes a thrill to go up my leg.  So  I am trying to decide how I feel about this. 

  Specter's one of the few Republicans in Congress who has actually taken the concept of "oversight" seriously during the Bush Administration, and presently---i.e., two years prior to the actual election---has a double digit lead over Matthews.  Still, some of us remember---without affection---his conduct during the Anita Hill hearing and the role he played in getting Clarence Thomas for the Court.  And he's going to be 80.

FiveThirtyEight says Matthews is staffing up.  Steve Benen remarks:

As for Matthews' chances, your guess is as good as mine. I glanced through Media Matters' recent hits on Matthews' on-air comments, and it's safe to assume the MSNBC host would have a lot of explaining to do before Pennsylvania Democrats gave him the nod. (via Memeorandum)

HuffPost considers his prospects.

Recent polls suggest that Matthews will have a hard time unseating Sen. Arlen Specter. Quinnipiac gives the Republican incumbent a double-digit lead:

In an early look at the 2010 U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter leads TV commentator Chris Matthews, a possible Democratic challenger, 45 - 33 percent. Sen. Specter leads 72 - 9 percent among Republicans and 45 - 27 percent among independent voters, while Matthews leads 55 - 25 percent among Democrats.

Specter gets a 62 - 25 percent approval rating and by a 56 - 23 percent margin, voters have a favorable opinion of him.

For Matthews, 60 percent say they don't know enough about him to form an opinion.

The LA Times adds that Matthews will likely face stiff competition for the Democratic nomination.

Leading the pack of prospects -- at least in celebrity -- is Chris Matthews, the MSNBC "Hardball" host and a former Capitol Hill Democratic staffer. The Philadelphia native has been toying with a run for months, and this week he sat down with state Democrats to discuss the prospect of taking on the five-term GOP senator.

Others considered in the mix include Rep. Joe Sestak, who is sitting on $3 million in campaign funds; state Rep. Josh Shapiro; and U.S. Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, a two-term Philadelphia area lawmaker who has moved up quickly on the Hill and has a Rolodex full of prospective donors from her unsuccessful 2000 Senate run. "We'll see," she said about a repeat bid.

"There are a lot of compelling reasons why serious Democrats would aspire to run in 2010," said Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney, who said Matthews had been in Pennsylvania Monday meeting with other Democratic leaders.

At Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog---Coates thinks it might be a bad idea based on just one of Tweety's many, many videos-- one commenter unimprovably remarked:

The thrill going up Chris Matthews' leg has now turned into political priapism. Don't call Obama's organizers, Chris, call a doctor.

I assume he'd have to resign from Hardball---right?  Justin Gardner (who has posted the most endearing photo of Chris Matthews EVER)---writes:

Justin Gardner asks a question that occurred to me.

[L]et’s say Matthews gets the nomination…doesn’t this introduce an odd problem for the Republican challenger? Because how much will Matthews use Hardball to push his message before, during and after his announcement to run? And will Republicans cry foul even after all of their chatter against the Fairness Doctrine?

The commenters at HuffPost and elsewhere have already said everything else that needs to be said on this score..

All his primary opponents have to do is play clips of Matthews praising Bush's leadership :

" He won the war. He was an effective commander. Everybody recognizes that, I believe, except a few critics."

http://mediamatters.org/items/200604270005

Matthews massive ego may lead him to believe he's senatorial material but he won't get anywhere near the Democratic Party's nomination for the position. [johnnynyc]

Horst said:

Matthews won't be able to function in the Senate as one of the unwritten rules is that you don't interrupt a fellow Senator.

To which another replied:

Chris Mathews would interrupt Lincoln at Gettysburg.

Which:  yeah, absolutely. 

SteveMDFP said:

Big story. I think he'd be of real value in the Senate, he's exceptionally well-informed and has the cajones to say what needs to be said, to do what needs to be done.

So much so that he does a poor job on Hardball....he often doesn't let guests complete their sentences. A move to the Senate might be a good thing for MSNBC, for the Senate, and for the nation.

Initial polls may show him trailing Specter, but that's pretty meaningless at this phase. He's surely way ahead of any other potential democratic challenger right now. Any face-to-face debates will strongly favor Matthews for the same reason that the Obama-McCain debates favored Obama: a more vigorous candidate appeals.

But expatstudent said:

As a born and raised Pennsylvanian, it is my official opinion that Ted Kennedy will lose in Massachusetts before Arlen Specter loses in Pennsylvania, regardless of age.

We've got a Democratic governor and one Senator. The Republicans (the people in the state living outside of Greater Philly and the Pittsburgh city limits) will cling to Specter.

But good luck - open democracy and all that.

Adore Tweety though I do, and deplore him as I so often must, I just don't know how to respond to this.

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