Chris Matthews (born December 17, 1945) hosts a nightly, hour-long talk show called Hardball with Chris Matthews on the American cable television channel MSNBC, formerly on CNBC.
Matthews, a Philadelphia native and Roman Catholic, graduated from La Salle College High School and The College of the Holy Cross, and did graduate work in economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He then served in the Peace Corps in Swaziland as a trade development advisor.
Matthews has worked for four Democratic politicians. He was a presidential speechwriter for four years during the administration of Jimmy Carter. He served as a top aide to long-time Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O'Neill for six years. He worked in the U.S. Senate for five years on the staffs of Senators Frank Moss and Edmund Muskie before running for U. S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
Matthews worked as a print journalist for 15 years, spending 13 years as Washington Bureau Chief for The San Francisco Examiner (1987-2000), and two years as a nationally syndicated columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle.
Hardball features pundits and elected officials as guests whom Matthews doesn't hesitate to interrupt; often to disagree (i.e., playing "hardball" and forcing them to answer his questions).
On April 11, 2006, it was reported on The Huffington Post that Matthews is considering a run for the United States Senate in Pennsylvania.
