The Rachel Maddow Show

The Rachel Maddow show is excellent. When she's there! Which isn't very often I honestly don't think a week goes by that she's nowhere to be found for at least part of that week. As of this writing, she's been gone for an entire week and that's in addition to multiple days she's been MIA during the last several months.

Hopefully, her health is good and that's not the reason that she now works part-time. What's ironic is that her mentor and benefactor, Keith Olbermann (whom she promptly forgot she knew once she had her own show and he was let go by NBC) pulled the same nonsense. There one day, gone two...there a full week, gone the next week.

What is it about Phil Griffin that he allows such liberties to be taken by these multi-million dollar part-timers? Maybe he's not there either and doesn't know that he's got hosts who consider it a right and not a privilege to be handsomely paid for so very little air time!

Rachel is the real deal. She FAR exceeds any other talking head in acumen and intelligence, and actually puts in the grueling hours and painstaking research required to earn her very impressive "truth percentage rating" in comparison to the tabloid noise we see on FOX and CNN. But, as with any minority voice that seeks to wade through the morass that is American politics, MSNBC is NOT being awarded by the American viewership for its decision and daring to remain THE Progressive Voice for this country. Alas, those that at least try to find truth are NEVER popular. Nor are those who chuckle at the AMAZING amount of base ignorance that resides in rural RED State America.

No, MSNBC is struggling...and likely will continue to suffer low viewership numbers and "ratings", because of an important difference that sets them apart from CNN and FOX: their ongoing refusal to rely on an old, reliable "news" approach that seeks to grab attention and evoke an emotional response.

MSNBC's level of fear-based PANDERING is lower than other networks. Thank GOD for that.

Rachel and MSNBC are both undeniably partisan, and just as determined to get their message out as FOX or CNN....but they resort LESS to pedantic and immature fear-mongering to try and sway opinion, and are sometimes the ONLY Cable News Network to avoid being drawn into aiming to stir our predictable, human base impulses or sling silly and crass American myths and legend out to the public masqueraded as truth and "patriotism." The recent Ebola-driven events that all news agencies breathlessly covered as it arrived in America are a clear example of the distinction MSNBC supplies when it comes to panic-stirring. MSNBC's stubborn refusal to denigrate the CDC wrongly, or to create unwarranted fear and panic by endorsing what NEVER remotely presented any threat to average Americans is what exemplifies courage in reporting the news.

What you won't find on Rachel's Show are "are YOU a REAL American" or "are you PATRIOTIC enough" litmus tests that remind historians of 1933 Germany and the Nazi Party's Goebbelized approach to using demonization of a particular demographic in order to summon up a mythical Bogieman and then drive a false, fear-based pandered narrative.

Rachel Maddow IS MSNBC....the network's main political taproot, and the major attraction. She has had to overcome the continual myopic and silly RIGHT-WING's hate-driven anti-gay narrative, and their cadre of childish sexual stereotyping that seems so common, emanating from the hetero haters in the world.

Rachel has responded to adversity and challenges with the utmost class and authority, and despite the Right's blatant sexism and misogyny, Rachel has emerged as a hero among both normally-adjusted heterosexuals and gays, alike. All of the FOX News nasty asides and envy-driven criticism of Rachel has only exposed the crank-call maturity level that sane Americans ascribe to all folks foolish enough to spew sexual- orientation-based personalized attacks.

Bottom Line: Rachel's approach to informing Americans is fact-based, accepts challenges when they are warranted, provides humility and story revision when mistakes are made or discovered.

As the Huffington Post recently remarked: "We would be lost without Rachel Maddow. Indeed!

(Note: Reviewer is an older, White, straight Independent male)

I know back in the day when I listened to Air America that Rachel Maddow was something special. She impressed me then as someone who had a keen grasp of what was happening and could translate it into terms that anyone could understand.

I believe that it is not only her impressive academic credentials that contribute to this, but a serious work ethic that causes her to do copious research on a subject.

This was evident as I watched her tonight. She knew her stuff! She is a charming personality that makes the news worth watching. The mainstream media on every evening during dinner can learn a lot from her.

So, skip Charlie and Brian and Katie, and get you news from Rachel. You will be a better informed American.

Rachel is a sort of relief for me. After years of hearing extreme views coming out of America, I'd given up on the country. Rachel and before her, Keith Olbermann were and are proof that Americans aren't completely of their rockers. Sanity ensues.

One of the greatest moments on the show was when Rachel took one of the verbal droppings of the McCain campaign and said: "Wait, should we call this just ... LYING!?!"

Well said, Rachel, it's about time someone called these jokers out.

While Olbermann is really well spoken, eloquent and very passionate, Rachel is more toned down, has more of a sunny disposition and is in general more fun to watch. Olbermann is good too, but his subjects are sometimes so dark, which of course isn't HIS fault, that I get away feeling upset and depressed. Aww, it's hard to choose between them, love, love, love em both!!!

PS Someone who thinks Coulter is funny, is sick and twisted and a pox on all your seven houses.

Rachel Maddow is brilliant, well educated, very hard working and just a nice person. It shows in all her work. If you want to hear the news that is important she scours all the major news sources for the stories and homes in on the stuff that really matters. Her commentary is erudite and daring. She takes on the B.S. fearlessly and is expert in adding context that shows up deception, spin and hypocrisies. She is humble enough to admit when she is reporting something outside her area of expertise and readily admits it when she makes mistakes. To top it all off she has a goofy-gentle sense of humor that makes the news fun. If all newscasters were as good as her we would live in a country that really would be a shining beacon on the hill.