The Return of Rachel Maddow!

Image from source, MEDIAite

Hey, it's a new month, and I haven't run a Rachel Maddow blog post in many days. Mostly because she's been on vacation of course. But if you've landed at this blog, there's a better than average chance that you share some of my interests.  The article excerpted below is an excellent write-up on Rachel, and explains her appeal in a way I've attempted to in the past (less successfully, I'm sure).  Check it out.

[Excerpt]

Rachel Maddow: The New Voice Of The Left, From Cable News To Capitol Hill

In his New York Times column last week David Carr notes that there have been times of late when it seems that the “Democrats picked up talking points from Rachel Maddow.” Carr places Maddow in a group that includes Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, whom he describes as having “become an important source of political wisdom for many Americans.” While one suspects this is perhaps not company that Maddow would prefer to keep, it is interesting to see Maddow included in the upper echelon’s of media’s political heavy hitters. . .

Read more at: MEDIAite

The Daily Show Roasts the Pundit Class

If there is one group of humans that deserves to be taken down a peg or two, it's pundits. Who are these people? What makes them so special. Occasionally, the pundit you're watching is a highly educated person, an expert in his or her field. More often, they're just a semi-familiar face, somebody who can jibber jabber on any subject, and sound like they've said something.

FOX "News" has a whole stable of them, and will trot them out for any subject, whether the pundit knows anything about it or not. Why else would Ann Coulter show up on so many of their shows on such a wide variety of topics. She's a lawyer. What does she know about business, gay rights, or "B. Hussein Obama?" Worse, there is no punishment for a pundit if he or she is wrong. Repeatedly. Even all the time, if the pundit in question is Bill Kristol.

Anyway, enough preamble. Here is Comedy Central's take:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Pundit School

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Nov. 4: The Predictions are In

Image from source, Huffington Post

The pundit class, long squeamish about being nailed down on predictions for election day have weighed in. And the good news (provided you are a Democrat), is that nearly all of them (at least in this list)--left, right and center--have predicted Barack Obama to be the overwhelming winner. In addition, almost all predict heavy wins in both the House and the Senate for Democrats.

There was one lone hold out: Fred Barnes of FOX "News," who has John McCain the winner, in what he guesses will be slightly less than a squeaker. I'm not sure what the precedent is for this many predictions to nearly all be wrong. I'm hoping it is remote. And remember, how ever much a sure thing this election looks to be, if you haven't early or absentee voted, be sure to cast your ballot on Tuesday. Again, only if you're a Democrat. Heh.

[Excerpt]

Election Predictions: Pundits Weigh In

George Will

Winner: Obama

Electoral College: Obama 378 McCain 160

Chris Matthews
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 338 McCain 200

Morton Kondracke
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 379 McCain 159

Read more (with video) at: Huffington Post

Rachel Maddow Still Getting Buzz for Own TV Show

Image from MediaEyeblast.org

Greenlee Gazette favorite pundit, Rachel Maddow, keeps getting positive notices in the press. And the clamor for her to be given her own MSNBC television show keeps growing. I'm here cheering at the sidelines. Go, Rachel!

[Excerpt]

Rachel Maddow ‘on short list’ for own MSNBC show

Political analyst Rachel Maddow may be an openly gay, former AIDS activist who doesn’t own a TV set. But her smarts and self-assurance have catapulted her to the forefront of cable TV’s talking heads, and made her a likely bet for her own time slot on MSNBC. . .

Read more at: Muckety

The Experts Agree: The Democratic Race is Over

It seems nearly unanimous among the pundit class: Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee for President. Hillary Clinton hasn't gotten the memo (or, she probably says her fax machine was out of toner, or her emails got bounced in to spam or something).

Of course, we know that pundits can be wrong--in fact some, like Bill Kristol have made a career out of being wrong. But I'm thinking this time, they got it right. Can we move on now? Soon?

Top Political Pundit in America: Karl Rove?

Image from source, Telegraph.co.uk

Karl freakin' Rove? Are you kidding me? Pundit isn't even in the top fifty words I'd use to describe the man. Saying that the sight of him makes me physically ill may be a stretch, but not by much. There is so much this man has done to harm America, figuratively, literally, and in the eyes of other nations--often in concert with many of the others on this list--that it remains one of my fondest wishes to see him frogmarched away in handcuffs.

That said, notice how many of the people in this list are right-leaning or full-blown conservative wing-nuts. Then see how many of the whole 50 that you can definitively nail down as lefties.

[Excerpt]

The most influential US political pundits

1. KARL ROVE

Dubbed the “architect” and “Bush’s brain”, Rove plotted to rise of George W Bush and departed the White House after the disastrous 2006 mid-term elections. Successful punditry is a combination of real political experience, intellectual nimbleness, a provocative turn of phrase and a coherent point of view. Rove, a Fox News commentator and contributor to Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal, has all these qualities. . .

Read more at: Telegraph.co.uk