Hope Maddow does some serious foreign policy and economic analyses too

[zazen]

Cleverly deriding the McCain campaign is helpful but in a way it's more of the same. Whatever we do that's entertaining AND _elevates the substance of the discourse_ works in our favor, not theirs. They depend on the ignorance of the American people. If the mainstream gets EDUCATED while simultaneously having her shrewdly identify the rightwing failures, we're in better shape. If she keeps focusing on media-centered punditry, even with her entertaining, clever personality, she's participating in the stupidifying framework that ultimately serves their need for widespread ignorance.

She's got the quickest real-time analytical mind I've seen in "journalism," perhaps ever, in terms of politely, brutally, and incisively calling out people on their BS. (Jon Stewart would also do this more thoroughly if he weren't in a comedy format.) And I'm glad her show unabashedly slams this administration. But two nights in (and consistent with her week replacing Olbermann) it's been electoral, electoral, electoral. We do have to get down in the gutter with them to win this thing. But I'd hate to see her show totally devolve into just snarky, cynical mocking, just because the liberal audience is so hungry to actually see these bastards publicly derided. Sure, a nightly dose of that is useful--but don't do it the whole time.

I hope her show can actually be an incubator for introducing the realities progressives talk about all the time but that are typically unspoken in the mainstream press. She'd be unusually good at bringing on experts, say on Georgia/South Ossettia or Darfur or China or peak oil or global economics, and subtly introducing more progressive, substantive soundbites that capture the profound recklessness, corporatism, etc, etc, of Republican control. I also hope she gets people as subversive as Mark Crispin Miller, James Kuntsler, and Naomi Klein, on the show. And inviting an occasional right-winger--especially the handful of smart ones--will only make her look more intelligent. I don't need to see her mock Dobson (although maybe that's useful for some of the population.) But I think it'd only generate pity. I want to see her go head to head with some "respected" neocons in and out of the admin and call them out, ever so politely, on their ideology. They probably wouldn't go on her show for that reason.

[islandmkl]

1. i am not disagreeing with the basis of your post....

i would only say that in this extremely volatile election season, viewer interest = attention...

the bottom-line for the outlet is viewers, and the cesspool exposed and explained by someone as smart and astute as Rachel is refreshing (if that is not too incongruous)...

unfortunately, the presentation must be entertaining or many will tune out...

on the other hand, Rachel is VERY entertaining, and is probably as well-suited to delve into areas generally not touched on by broadcast media...but this election season is highly emotional, and emotional issues reign...

she is so damn smart, her show will eventually head into waters others won't...that is my hope...