Following Keith Olbermann's abrupt exit from MSNBC earlier this week, the network is looking for a marquee name to add its line-up. The network's top choice: none other than 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin. Popeater's Rob Shuter reports:

"He's already part of the NBC family, has a huge fan base and is very respected for his long term passions for politics," a network source tells me, adding that Alec is very high, perhaps even No. 1, on the wish lists of MSNBC bigwigs.

The idea isn't completely out of left field; Baldwin spoke to Eliot Spitzer on his CNN show earlier this month about having political aspirations in the future:

"Yes, it's something that I'm very, very interested in," Alec, 52, answered when the governor-turned-host asked if politics was a "game" he wanted to enter. "To quit (acting) now when it really feels good and doing it feels good would be an enormously difficult thing to do. However, I do believe that people want to believe that someone who deeply cares about the middle class ... would like to seek public office."

For now the MSNBC gig is merely a rumor, but for a taste of what Baldwin would be like as a political host, see how his 30 Rock alter-ego handled an appearance on the fictional show the Hot-Box. It's safe to say the liberal Baldwin would have a different take on politics than right-winger Jack Donaghy:

Read the full story at Popeater.

Of course, this isn't the first time life has imitated 30 Rock:
Life Imitates '30 Rock': Rich People Collect Weird Things
Life Imitates '30 Rock': Subway Hero / Cable-Hating Congressmen Edition