Chris Matthews

This article is about the MSNBC talk show host. For the musician, see Christopher Matthews (musician). For the Australian cricketer, see Chris Matthews (cricketer).

Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews, October 2007
Born	Christopher Matthews (1945-12-17) December 17, 1945 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Spouse	Kathleen
Website	http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/

Christopher Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC. On weekends he hosts the syndicated NBC News-produced panel discussion program, The Chris Matthews Show. Matthews makes frequent appearances as a political commentator on many NBC and MSNBC programs.

Early life, education and family

Matthews, a Philadelphia native, is a Roman Catholic of Irish descent who attended La Salle College High School. He is a 1967 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, and did graduate work in economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Matthews served in the Peace Corps in Swaziland from 1968 to 1970 as a trade development advisor. In doing so he avoided service in the US military during the Vietnam War to which he was opposed. In 2002 he was hospitalized with malaria, which he evidently contracted on one of his visits that year to Africa or Texas. He has also had other health problems, including diabetes and pneumonia, of which he spoke briefly on his MSNBC TV show Hardball with Chris Matthews on August 19, 2008.

Matthews is married to Kathleen Matthews, who anchored News 7 on WJLA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C, before accepting a position as an Executive Vice President with J.W. Marriott. The couple has three children: Michael, Thomas and Caroline. His brother Jim Matthews is a County Commissioner in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Political career and views

As a young man Matthews supported Barry Goldwater, but was inspired to become a Democrat by Eugene McCarthy's anti-Vietnam war platforms. When Matthews first arrived in Washington he was given a patronage job as an armed officer with the United States Capitol Police. In Washington Matthews worked for four Democratic politicians. He worked in the U.S. Senate for five years on the staffs of Senators Frank Moss and Edmund Muskie before he himself campaigned for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, losing his party's nomination to Pennsylvania Congressman Joshua Eilberg in the Democratic primary in 1974. Matthews received about 23% of the vote. He was a presidential speechwriter for four years during the Carter administration. Matthews later worked six years as a top aide to long-time Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O'Neill, playing a direct role in many key political battles with the Reagan administration. Despite having worked for Democrats, Matthews said, "I'm more conservative than people think I am. ... I voted for George W. Bush in 2000." Matthews has been accused of having panels of guests that skew to the right by liberal media watchdogs and of supporting Republicans in his own questions and comments. Conversely, he is also often criticized by conservatives for his opposition to the Iraq war among other stances he takes against the Bush administration. Conservative watchdog groups also accuse Matthews of constantly taking Democratic Party positions. Matthews made repeated statements against the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq (examples include "George W. Bush disappointed a lot of us when he went to war...I voted for the guy in 2000." and "When are we going to get to vote against this damn war?").

He has spoken in support of Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, leading many to question his professionalism and ability to represent NBC News as an anchor of major political events such as primaries, conventions and election returns. On February 12, 2008 on MSNBC he said: "The feeling most people get when they hear an Obama speech...I felt this thrill running up my leg." He also said, "Obama comes around, and this is the new testament."

Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann were replaced by NBC News correspondent David Gregory as anchors from the election coverage of MSNBC after controversy following on-air comments during the 2008 Republican National Convention. Matthews and Olbermann continue as analysts.

Author, journalist, and talk show host

Matthews during a special edition of Hardball

Matthews worked as a print journalist for 15 years, spending 13 years as Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief for The San Francisco Examiner (1987 – 2000), and two years as a nationally syndicated columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle.

In 1997, Matthews was given his own talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which originally aired on CNBC but is currently on MSNBC. Hardball features pundits and elected officials as guests whom Matthews will not hesitate to interrupt, often to disagree (i.e., playing "hardball" and forcing them to answer his questions.). Matthews has been singled out for negative commentary on Hillary Clinton during the 2008 campaign. In contrast, conservative watchdog groups accuse Matthews of taking Democratic Party positions, pointing, for example, to his offering high praise for Bill Clinton. Discussing the media's coverage of the Iraq war, Matthews said, "During [the] course of the war, there was a lot of snap-to-it coverage. We're at war. We have to root for the country to some extent. You're not supposed to be too aggressively critical of a country at combat, especially when it's your own."

In 2002, The Chris Matthews Show began airing in syndication. The show is formatted as a political roundtable consisting of four journalists and Matthews, who serves as the moderator. He is estimated to earn more than $5 million a year.

Matthews is the author of five books on politics and history. The first, Hardball: How Politics is Played, led to the creation of his signature TV show. The second, Kennedy and Nixon: The Rivalry That Shaped Postwar America, detailed the careers of the two future political adversaries from the 1940s through the 1960s and followed Nixon through his presidency.

The third, Now Let Me Tell You What I Really Think, is the first where he discusses his real political views on various issues. His fourth book, American: Beyond Our Grandest Notions, is a history of famous and/or influential Americans and how they rose from humble and/or immigrant origins. His fifth and most recent book, Life's a Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success was published in October, 2007. He was skewered quite intensely on the book by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show on October 2, 2007.

Speaking at the tenth anniversary party for his show, Hardball, Matthews was critical of the Bush Administration, claiming that the Administration had been "caught in their criminality." He did not specify what such "criminality" consisted of. During the same speech, he stated that the Bush administration had pressured his bosses to silence him.

2010 Senate run

Main article: United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, 2010

On the April 14, 2008, edition of The Colbert Report, Matthews alluded to a possible run for the United States Senate from Pennsylvania. When directly questioned by Stephen Colbert about his intentions, he stated that there is a difference between celebrities and those who work for the people, and it's a greater thing to work for the people. He also said that his boyhood dream was to be a Senator. Four days later, on April 18, 2008, Matthews told Bill Maher that he has "made a commitment to covering politics, starting in 1987, and [he is] honoring that commitment, not getting involved in it." The seat in question would be the one held by Arlen Specter, whose term in the Senate ends in 2010.

Bibliography

• Matthews, Christopher (2007). Life’s a campaign : what politics has taught me about friendship, rivalry, reputation, and success (1st ed. ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 9781400065288. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |edition= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |origmonth=, |accessmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)
• Matthews, Christopher (2002). American : beyond our grandest notions. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0743240863. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |origmonth=, |accessmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)
• Matthews, Christopher (2001). Now, let me tell you what I really think (1st ed. ed.). New York: Free Press. ISBN 0684862360. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |edition= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |origmonth=, |accessmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)
• Matthews, Christopher (1999). Hardball : how politics is played, told by one who knows the game (1st Touchstone ed. ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684845598. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |edition= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |origmonth=, |accessmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)
• Matthews, Christopher (1996). Kennedy & Nixon : the rivalry that shaped postwar America. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684810301. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |origmonth=, |accessmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Chris Matthews at IMDb
• Hardball with Chris Matthews
• The Chris Matthews Show
• Motivational quotes from Chris Matthews's graduation speech at Fordham University
• The Matthews Monitor from Media Matters for America
• Profile by the NY Times Magazine
• Chris Matthews Talking About His Book 'Life's a Campaign' - Plum TV