Liberal Talkers: the Good, the Bad, and the Crazy…

Someone recently made fun of how little I commute.  It’s only around an hour a day, which I admit is pretty small for someone in Silicon Valley.  On the other hand I used to work at home, so any kind of driving is frankly objectionable. And with time – like the cost of gas – a little bit each day starts to be noticeable over the course of a month or 12.

As result I am intimate with Air America radio programming. Our local affiliate seems to change its schedule every few weeks, so I have been exposed to a wide range of voices. I have ranked my favorite hosts on three criteria – intelligence, passion, personality – which I hope will be of use to casual listeners or to the Air America programming department. Take notes if you’re out there.

Intelligence is very simple: does the host know their stuff? When they talk to callers or interview guests if they have the facts at their fingertips and can address the talking points then they get a thumbs up from me. Passion says whether they care about the progressive cause and are willing to fight for it. Personality is a matter of being likeable, which matters a remarkable amount when I’m considering if I will listen to someone chat with strangers for half an hour.

So here’s my countdown, Olbermann-like, from worst to best:

7) Mike Malloy does not lack of passion. Too bad he’s a nut. He knows the superficial facts of the news stories he covers, but he has no depth, and his passion for the cause allows him to accept uncritically some of the most embarrassing garbage that his callers spew forth. Personally he seems a little crazy, and I don’t really enjoy listening to him.

6) Ed Shultz is supposed to personable – the host you’d like to have a beer with. I guess, if you like sports. The whole “I’m an outdoorsman who’s also a liberal” shtick could be pretty good if he didn’t keep jamming his ego into everything. His passion for progressive causes seems to be limited to that which can benefit Big Ed. My main problem with him though is that he’s just not well prepared. He’s so easily derailed by right-wing callers that he’s almost the proverbial liberal straw man all by himself. They just call in with their absurd arguments and knock him over.

5) Lionel (who’s named after .. what, the train set I had as a kid?) seems quite smart and has definite passion. But he’s also kind of a jerk. I’ve not heard him much, but his snooty attitude makes me un-inclined to seek him out. Also I’m not so sure we even align ideologically.

4) Randi Rhodes used to be one of my favorites. She’s smart and funny, and employs both assets dispatching trolls most effectively. If someone had a right-wing argument that I couldn’t refute I’d say run it by Randi – if she can’t tear it apart then maybe you have something we should seriously consider. Recently she has fallen in my esteem, however, because she’s starting to sound, well, a bit crazy. Perhaps it was the lawsuit, perhaps it’s personal, I don’t know. It’s just not as fun to listen to her anymore, and I don’t think it’s just me.

3) Thom Hartman is about as smart as they come. He talks like some kind of professor or something, which is great if you think that academic arguments are sufficient when dealing with wingnuts. Unfortunately despite his obvious personal charms, they are not. If he could crank up the passion enough to find a little genuine outrage when it’s called for he could be a great host. I’d urge him to take off the tweed jacket and put on some boxing gloves.

2) Sam Seder has gotten a really raw deal. When his actress co-host Janeane Garofalo ditched him to, you know, do acting, he was probably wasn’t quite ready to be anchor of a high-profile radio show. But he’s matured fast. He’s sharp dealing with callers, personable on his own and as passionate as anyone could ask for. I try to find his show when I can; I only wish he had more than three hours a week.

1) Rachel Maddow is my new hero. I cherish her show when I get to hear it, which is rarely since at the moment it doesn’t coincide with my commute too often. She’s so smart that she not only knows today’s talking points, she has three or four humorous or ironic takes on each one. She (and her staff) range from highly personable to side-splitting, and the passion is implicit. They don’t have to talk about liberal causes and issues – they embody them. If you can’t embrace some aspect of being progressive after enjoying the show, you’re a lost cause. ‘Nuf said.

- jack *