Mad About Maddow

I love Rachel Maddow.

No, really, I love her. Not IN love with her, but I do love her.

It's not just because Maddow does a radio show and then hustles off to host the best political news analysis show on TV on MSNBC. It's not because she's refreshingly charming, witty, fun, and intelligent. And it's not a birthday present from me (she turns 36 today).

Well, OK, it IS because of all that -- except the b-day present part. But it's also because of this: Maddow is on MSNBC, and the radio, and on my mind right now -- because she worked her tush off to get there.

I knew Maddow was smart. Anyone who watches her program for longer than thirty seconds -- if THEY have any intelligence at all -- can figure that out. I just had no idea of the scope of her smartness.

A quick click over to her bio at Wikipedia brought to the fore the following:

1. a degree in public policy from Stanford
2. at graduation, offered the John Gardner Fellowship
3. recipient of a Rhodes scholarship
4. Doctor of Philosophy in political science from Oxford University

Then, armed with all that education, it still took winning a radio contest to get her first job on the air. That was at WRNX in Holyoke, Mass.

From there, Maddow climbed the ladder, taking more radio gigs and then beginning to appear on television as a panelist on MSNBC's Tucker in 2005.

I'd rather this not be a simple recitation of her resume, so I'll just ask you to click here to read it for yourself.

Oh, and she just happens to be the only openly gay political talk show host on TV.

But I don't care about that. I'm much more impressed with Maddow's being openly smart. Openly funny. Openly challenging. And cute as a button.


Maddow: no other female political host on TV even LOOKS like her

Of course, it helps that Maddow shares my political views, which are left of center for the most part. But even if I disagreed with her often, I think I'd still appreciate her personality and brains.

I can't find anyone, for example, on the right who possesses all of what Maddow has and flaunts every night on MSNBC.

In a world of stuffiness on the airwaves, it's fun to watch Maddow, who hosts her program as if she's letting you in on the joke that everyone else seems to be missing. There's some sarcasm, for sure. But she's no clown. Think back to high school. The "class clown" and the "wittiest person" were almost always two different people.

Maddow debuted on MSNBC on September 8, just as the political election season was heating up. The two national party conventions had just taken place. Two months were left until Election Day. And here was Maddow on the tube, with her short hair (that's different for female hosts, too) and her little smirk and her clear understanding of the issues of the day, combined with that razor sharp wit and college-style sense of humor.

It was like being delivered the news by a mutation of Katie Couric and Joy Behar, in terms of cuteness and tongue.

There's a reason why Maddow's show is the only political one linked on this blog.

Because it's the only one worth linking.

And that's why I love her.

No April Foolin'.