Rachel Maddow: Number 50 With a Bullet!

As I reported earlier, The UK Telegraph is rolling out its list of the 50 Most Influential US Pundits, but I didn't have to go far to find my favorite, Rachel Maddow. From my 4/18/08 story (I don't know if it's tacky to quote yourself, but it sure sounds fun) :

Rachel Maddow has a prepossessed quality that a lot of liberals lack, a way of stuffing an opponent and cutting to the chase while looking completely reasonable that has made her a popular contributor to MSNBC. She recently filled in for Keith Olbermann on Countdown, after having taped a pilot for MSNBC, leading many to speculate that a Maddow show is on the horizon.

I've been a Rachel Maddow fan since Air America first went on the air. She was co-host of Unfiltered, along with Chuck D and Lizz Winstead. Alas, the show was disbanded in favor of Jerry Springer, a move akin to replacing Lou Gehrig with Wally Pipp.

Thankfully, the future for Maddow is so bright, she's gotta wear shades, and cut down on her carbon emissions.

I contacted Rachel about landing on the list, and she was generous enough to indulge me.

Update: This is for you, Rachel. Thanks.

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Here is our exchange, over the course of 2 emails: .

Tommy Christopher: Rachel, you were named to the UK Telegraph's Top 50 Most Influential Political Pundits list. What's your reaction?

Rachel Maddow: My reaction can be roughly summed up by the phrase "Woohoo!". Nice to be noticed. I was particularly thrilled to see myself described as "cute" -- before I reread it and realized that what they actually said was that I was "acute" -- I'll take it anyway.

Tommy Christopher: Do you think the number 50 spot is a little low, maybe a nod to your newcomer status on the tube?

Rachel Maddow: I think they're trying to subtly highlight the fact that I'm on the younger side of 50 -- a rare thing in the pundit world. It's numerical irony, maybe?

Tommy Christopher: As a follow-up, what about Mary Matalin at number 49? Do you really think she's more influential than you? This decade?

Rachel Maddow: Mary Matalin is very fancy. I aspire to her level of influence and panache. She oughtta be way higher than 49 -- she should appeal the rankings.

Tommy Christopher: What about the fact that only 3 of the 20 named so far are women?

Rachel Maddow: There's a woman running for president who can't go three days on the campaign trail without some supposedly serious pundit opining on the state of her marriage, her ability to "control" her husband, or how her looks are faring as she ages. In that context, I think 3 women to 17 guys is probably a par-for-the-course ratio.

Tommy Christopher: You've been on a roll, all over the TV lately. Is there a Rachel Maddow Power Hour on the horizon?

Rachel Maddow: Three hours of radio and as much television as I can cram into every day probably adds up to more Rachel Maddow Power Hours than anyone can stand, but if the media gods give me another inch, I'll take a mile...

Tommy Christopher: I think the line for what constitutes a political news story has all but been erased. Both the Wright and Ayers stories bubbled beneath the surface for many months, but no legit media would report them until ABC made it O.K. by framing them as "voter concerns." Is there still a line?

Rachel Maddow: There are differences between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on gas prices, on Iran, on Iraq, on diplomacy, on nukes, on health care -- but explaining those differences requires some care, some attention, some time, and some expertise.

When you're trying to make politics entertaining... it's easier (and cheaper) to ignore policy and instead make the election about personality, so that's what we've been treated to. Not a new phenomenon, certainly, even if it does shortchange us as voters.

But in the era of shrinking newsrooms and the expanding blogosphere, the prioritization of the entertainment value in politics has also turned into a race-to-the-bottom for what's too low, too scurrilous to report.

My shorthand description for guilt-by-association and rumors and innuendo used to be "The John McCain Has a Black Baby Stuff" -- the implication was that there was a seamy underside to politics (particularly Republican politics) that involved untraceable evil rumors turning up on flyers tucked under windshield-wipers. Candidates would decry or ignore the slime, but they knew it was often consequential on the margins.

Now there *are* no margins. The slime I call "The John McCain Has a Black Baby Stuff" is front-and-center on cable news and is even brought up at actual Presidential debates.

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