Rachel Maddow Redefines Progressive Television Conversation

WINGS OF JUSTICE

Rachel Maddow

She has got an affability that disarms barbed right-wing guests, and a charm that can defang Pat Buchanan.

Yet, Rachel Maddow never compromises her principles or holds back on her candor. She's redefined the framework of progressive conversation on television in a way that is unthreatening, but not diluted.

That's quite an accomplishment for someone who just a few years back was a DJ on a small radio station in the Berkshires who connived her way onto Air America. Maddow is terrific on the radio, but there are certain people that the medium of television loves - and Rachel is one of them. She just makes viewers feel downright comfortable and relaxed, even when she is spending so much time "edifying them."

A former Rhodes Scholar, Maddow told us in an interview awhile back that she prepares hours a day for her radio program. Lord knows where she finds the extra time to plan for her television show.

If Obama is the first post-racial president, then Maddow is the first post-gender television news commentary host. Her self-confidence and quick ripostes are energizing.

Maddow merits this week's Wings of Justice Award because she has shown that perseverance, talent, knowledge, and a natural television presence can redefine the liberal message in a way that is both inclusive and cogent. Her MSNBC program has only been around a short time, but we already know that we would feel an aching void without it.

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