The host of MSNBC's nightly talk show, "Hardball," had to cancel his appearance yesterday at the Mon Valley YMCA due to a bout with pneumonia.

But even a canceled appearance keeps alive the question of whether Chris Matthews plans to run in Pennsylvania for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate and challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in 2010.

During his lunchtime address at the YMCA in Carroll, Washington County, U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, offered only a vague hint about Mr. Matthews' intentions.

He said Mr. Matthews has Type 2 diabetes, and he had hoped the Philadelphia-area native would attend yesterday's event to discuss his struggle with the disease.

Mr. Matthews arrived in Pittsburgh Monday after being diagnosed with pneumonia, but the illness forced him to cancel his appearance and return home.

Attempts to reach Mr. Matthews or an MSNBC spokesperson were unsuccessful.

"I haven't talked to him about [the Senate race], but we talked about diabetes," Mr. Murtha said. "This would be a good forum for him [to discuss] how he's coped with diabetes."

Mr. Murtha said Mr. Matthews would be a worthy candidate with his extensive political experience.

"Chris has a real talent for public-media type service," he said, indicating it might transfer well to the political stage.

Before his talk show career, Mr. Matthews served as President Jimmy Carter's speech writer, spent five years on the staffs of Sen. Frank Moss, D-Utah, and Sen. Edmund Muskie, D-Maine, and later served six years as top aide to Thomas "Tip" O'Neill Jr., the Massachusetts congressman who was speaker of the House from 1977 through 1987.

During his speech, Mr. Murtha advocated more federal funding for diabetes prevention and a better strategy to persuade people to reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes with dietary improvements and exercise.

He pointed to the local YMCA's new program to coach people in fitness and dietary changes as one way of reducing the incidence of diabetes in the Mid Mon Valley.

"We have to work to try eradicating what I consider to be the most severe illness in the United States," Mr. Murtha said.