Philadelphia Inquirer TV columnist Gail Shister notes today that Dan Rather, the new public face of HDNet's news coverage, will be a panelist for the next two installments of Chris Matthews' syndicated half-hour weekend show. (Hat tip: Romenesko.)

Not a few NewsBusters readers probably will salivate over the liberal bias to come after reading the following from Shister's column:

"We assume he'll be fabulous," says Matthews, who's been looking to book Rather for months. "Now that he's not constrained by the anchor role, he can say what he thinks. We don't know how far he's going to go."

First topic: the role of presidential power. "I'm sure he has an opinion on the rise of President Bush," Matthews says. "The topic will provoke his passions."

Unlike most Sunday programs, The Chris Matthews Show, distributed by NBC Universal, pays non-NBC panelists to appear.

"It's an appropriate stipend," Matthews says, offering no details. "People who've spent their careers developing knowledge should be paid for sharing it."