Senator Matthews, D-MSNBC?

But if the situation drags on, Tyndall says, MSNBC staffers are "going to have a really hard time because they've been identified as cheerleading for the Democratic side."

Specter told CNN on Sunday that he expects a close race no matter who runs: "I long ago adopted the philosophy of Satchel Paige, the old pitcher, and that is I never look over my shoulder, never look behind. Somebody may be gaining on me."

Pennsylvania's Democratic governor, Ed Rendell, hasn't exactly talked up Matthews's chances. "Nobody beats Arlen Specter, except in a Republican primary. And I told Chris that," Rendell said on MSNBC in October.

Matthews, a Philadelphia native, ran for a House seat from that city in 1974. He was a speechwriter in Jimmy Carter's White House and served as a top aide to Tip O'Neill, then the House speaker, before becoming a San Francisco Examiner columnist in 1987.

His wife Kathleen, a former anchor at Washington's WJLA-TV, told the Harrisburg Patriot News in July that her husband "loves politics, and I think the idea of being a U.S. senator is one of the most romantic things he can think about, so he's got to make a tough decision."

Some women's groups assailed Matthews in January for what they called a history of sexist remarks about women. He apologized for saying that the reason Hillary Clinton was a senator and a presidential candidate "is her husband messed around."

Matthews openly boosted Barack Obama's candidacy, saying he felt "this thrill going up my leg" when the Illinois senator spoke. Days after the election he sounded more like a Democrat than a journalist, telling viewers that "I want to do everything I can to make this thing work, this new presidency work."

Saul Shorr, a Democratic consultant in Pennsylvania, says Matthews would likely be "a pretty appealing candidate, a Northeast Philadelphia guy made good. It's a question of whether he'll be disciplined enough" after a career in cable news.

But former Democratic strategist David Sirota wrote in the Huffington Post yesterday that he hopes Matthews is "humiliatingly obliterated in a Democratic primary," adding: "The sense of entitlement that this blowhard personifies is truly stunning."

At the Washington Monthly, Steve Benen has this reaction:

"For what it's worth, I don't doubt that Matthews is giving this serious thought, but I also suspect he expects his celebrity status to propel him to the front of the pack. If so, he's mistaken -- Matthews doesn't even own a home in Pennsylvania, he's rightly perceived as a creature of the Beltway, and popular in-state Democrats like Reps. Allyson Schwartz and Joe Sestak, and state Rep. Josh Shapiro, have all expressed interest in the race. If Specter is seen as vulnerable, and I believe he is, the field could grow quite a bit."

Back to the president-elect: Not only is the right someone muted about Obama right now, almost no one -- there are always exceptions -- is carping about the incoming secretary of state. In the Daily Beast, John Bachelor examines why that is: