Christopher John 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, and a syndicated panel program called The Chris Matthews Show on weekends.

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, DC 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).

Matthews is married to Kathleen R. Matthews, who anchors News 7 on WJLA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C. The couple has three children: Michael, Thomas and Caroline. He was the commencement speaker at the University of South Carolina on May 5, 2006, where his wife was awarded an Honorary Doctorate; the next day his wife was the commencement speaker, and he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate.

Political views

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Despite having worked for Democrats, Matthews has 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 (^*)." target="_blank" > Conversely, he is also often criticized by conservatives for his opposition to the Iraq war among other stances he takes against the current administration. Conservative watchdog groups also accuse Matthews of constantly taking Democratic Party positions [http://newsbusters.org/taxonomy/term/206?from=90. "George W. Bush disappointed a lot of us when he went to war...I voted for the guy in 2000."

SNL

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Comedian Darrell Hammond performs an impersonation of Matthews on Saturday Night Live, portraying Matthews as hyper, aggressive and encouraging of and excited by his guests' most outlandish statements. Matthews has said he finds the impression amusing, and he frequently plays clips from the sketches on his show.

Trivia

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His brother, Jim Matthews, is the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania in the 2006 elections.

1945 births | American television talk show hosts | Irish-Americans | Living people | Roman Catholic entertainers | The Today Show | MSNBC