Friday, September 19, 2008

My Weekend Crush

It's been an auspicious week for lesbians on the butcher side of the spectrum. First Ellen DeGeneres gets her easy, breezy on as the new face of CoverGirl. And then Rachel Maddow does the seemingly impossible. She beat her MSNBC cohort, series lead-in and perennial ratings king Keith Olbermann in only her second week on the air. On Tuesday, Maddow's show scored 1.8 million total viewers to Olbermann's 1.6 million. She also got 25,000 more of the much-coveted (by advertisers, anyway) 25-54 demographic. How much do you want to bet 24,999 of those 25-54 year olds were lesbians harboring serious crushes?

After only a fortnight of holding court, the former Rhodes Scholar is already a force to be reckoned with in the political landscape. While she is unabashedly liberal, she isn't blindly partisan. Talking points are the anathema of her show. Her winning mix of unstoppable smarts, persuasive passion, hilarious incredulity and adorable dorkiness make her any thinking gal's dream date. But what really makes her so good is that she cares. She cares deeply about politics. She cares about who is telling the truth. She cares about who is lying. She cares about what works. She cares about what doesn't work. She cares because she knows that political decisions matter in people's personal lives. Some line-item in a 200-page bill could actually means something in your everyday life. It could mean you finally get health care to cover your child. It could mean your company gets a tax break to ship your job overseas. It could mean that your government can deny you even the most basic protections simply because the person you love happens to be of the same sex.

Lots of people hate politicians, and with good reason. But politics doesn't have to be about strife and division. It should be about working together to find ways to make sure our government truly work for the people it represents. Rachel knows that. And that's why she cares. Happy weekend, all.


p.s. Damn, how sexy is that smarty?

20 comments:

Lezlie Mac said...

"I swear, this has never happened to me before".
Genius.
Smarts IS sexy.
Dorothy, could you post more awesome vids like this one for the MSNBC-deprived european folks ?....

Collins said...

right on! nice pick for the last weekend of summer.

i love me some rachel maddow. seriously. so much so i actually made sure to have satellite tv installed-- even though i hadn't had cable for over 10 months-- before her show premiered just to make sure i could watch it. and i do. every night. it gives me the warm fuzzies before i hit the hay. and that hasn't happened when it comes to the news in a long time.

madmags said...

How could I not watch and carefully listen to this woman? She is the whole, perfect package. Brains, beauty and that sense of humor!
Glad to have been part of her big ratings numbers and intend to continue.
Now wouldn't she look great in the Oval Office? Just saying.

Sue J said...

Well done, Dorothy!

Anonymous said...

Why is it that the book-world, and the NY publishing world in general is not taking notes from TV when it comes to making and taking, and allowing lesbians to become more mainstream?

Now why didn't Obama choose Maddows as his running mate? Hmm...how about Rachel and Hilary? :)

Anonymous said...

Already towing the partisan MSNBC line, I see. Not sexy.

Anonymous said...

She is too Sexy-Smart!

D- you're going to have to have
Maddow Monday...
Tina Tuesday...

you get the drift!

Thanks for all site!!

Anonymous said...

*swoon*

Anonymous said...

Phoah! This is the first time I've seen her in action. (I live in Canada). She is phenomenal! And that smart nerdy brain of hers?

SEXY.AS.HELL.

ps. anyone know if she show airs in Canada? and if it does - which channel?

Anonymous said...

Rachel is not only intelligent, witty, adorably cute and extremely talented, she's also what so many people in the political TV world aren't--she's nice.

It's so great to have someone bring back "smart" to our political discussion these days.

Go! Rachel! Go!

Anonymous said...

I'm all for the visibility of smart, savvy lesbians...but what makes me *happier* about this development is having someone, *any*one call out the BS that poses for journalism and politics these days! Rachel has an inbuilt BS detector and she's not afraid to use it - no matter who its aimed at. Some sign of rational thought in the public discourse? Always welcome!! Go Rachel!

Anonymous said...

Oh, the look she gives at the end. *swoon* If only her show was broadcast on Canadian Basic Cable.

Christopher said...

The first out butch dyke to get a cosmetics contract was k.d. Lang for M.A.C cosmetics, over 10 years ago for their Viva Glam campaign. We have come a long way baby!

Anonymous said...

Maddow is without a doubt sexy smart. Thanks for choosing her for the weekend crush.

I'll second the nomination for "Maddow Monday". You can write new lyrics for her to the tune of "Manic Monday".

As an ardent fan of Tank Top Tuesday... You know there are photos of Maddow in a tank... It's just all about finding them.

Anonymous said...

I am loving her show, and am glad to see Kent Jones is getting input. I really like the "Talk me down" segments so far. Especially the one with Louise Slaughter about offshore oil drilling. That said, I must now confess that for the first time I can go to the salon to get my hair cut, and ask for "The Rachel" and it doesn't refer to the "Friends" character's shaggy do.

Anonymous said...

I've been watching every night now too. It's informative, funny, and so much less rant-y and scream-y than the other shows.

P.S. - And teh sexy ain't bad either.

Boltgirl said...

I have run out of words to describe my, uh, let's say "extreme admiration" of this woman. She is completely amazing. And if you can't access MSNBC on your cable, you can go to the MSNBC Maddow website for comprehensive video.

Anonymous said...

Boring, annoying and biased.

A sarcastic version of Keith. Very unoriginal.

And the neckline? Wayyy too long.

madmags said...

Well, Anonymous - and I don't blame you for remaining that way - it is amazing that you should find someone more sarcastic than Keith? I fully agree that there is no accounting for bad taste and therefore I do excuse yours.
Yes, our dear Rachel is indeed biased, but I choose to use the word correct. Boring? Even silence, when accompanied by her playful little smile, could never be construed as boring. And if she is annoying, let me be driven mad. I will watch her happily. You, may turn the channel.

Anonymous said...

Rachel is absolutely everything described in this post. I definitely have a hard-core crush on her.