Back last April, Chris Matthews, the host of MSNBC's "Hardball" started speculation that he might run for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2010 against Republican incumbent Arlen Specter. Matthews said on The Colbert Show (about 4 1/2 minutes into his appearance), "Did you ever want to be something your whole life, besides this? When you grow up, some kids want to be a fireman. I want to be a Senator." And, in fact, Matthews once did try to run for Congress in Pennsylvania in 1974 and lost in the Democratic primary.

Now, Public Pollicy Polling says a survey of Pennsylvanians it conducted Oct. 31 - Nov. 2 gives Matthews a fighting chance. Specter leads 40 percent to 27 percent with an understandably large (at this point) 33 percent undecided. At this early stage, Matthews confronts the problem of bolstering Democratic support behind a potential canddidacy, since 35 percent of Democrats say they would support him and 30 percent say they would support Specter. Specter's own support among Republicans is higher than that of Matthews among Democrats, but at 50 percent for an iincumbent, it leaves something to be desired.

"Arlen Specter would definitely start out as the favorite if Chris Matthews challenged him," said PPP's Dean Debnam. "But this poll provides clear evidence that a Matthews candidacy is not a non-starter."