Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s “Hardball”, receives his fair share of criticism. He can be a little loud, a little weird, a little aggressive and misogynistic. But I’ve always enjoyed his enthusiasm for the blood-sport of politics, and I usually like to hear his take on the news of the day. “Hardball” is one of the ratings winners for MSNBC, and it makes sense that the NBC/MSNBC family would want to keep Matthews around. As it turns out, Matthews wants to stay around too.

Matthews announced to his MSNBC family on Wednesday that he would not be running for the Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2010. The seat, which is currently held by Sen. Arlen Specter, would have been a tough but interesting race for Matthews.

After months of will-he or won’t-he speculation, MSNBC “Hardball” host Chris Matthews has opted not to run for the U.S. Senate in his native Pennsylvania.

Matthews told his producers during a meeting just before Wednesday’s “Hardball” that he isn’t seeking the Democratic nomination for the seat occupied by moderate Republican Arlen Specter, who is up for re-election in 2010.

He is now said to be mulling a contract renewal offer from MSNBC. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in mid-December, MSNBC president Phil Griffin said he expected Matthews to stay at the news cable channel “for a long time.”

Matthews, Griffin and “Hardball” executive producer John Reiss declined to comment Wednesday.

Matthews has hosted “Hardball” since the late 1990s. Although he’s not the most popular personality at NBC and was a lightning rod of criticism for some remarks about Hillary Rodham Clinton in early 2008, “Hardball” saw its highest ratings ever last year.

[From Reuters]

It’s within the realm of possibility that Matthews declined to run because he didn’t want all of his old quotes to come back and haunt him during a long Senate campaign. He’s said and done some wacky things over the years, things that could destroy the careers of twenty men. Within the last year, Matthews was the recipient of a feminist firestorm for the belligerent and sexist way he covered Hillary Clinton’s Iowa loss, and his MSNBC bosses actually made him offer private and public apologies to women in general, and Hillary in particular. But, as I said, “Hardball” is one the jewels of MSNBC’s programming, so it’s no surprise that Matthews is currently in contract negotiations. He’s probably trying to get more money than Keith Olbermann.

Chris Matthews is shown on 7/20/08. Credit: WENN