First of all, so excited for my blogging hero, Heather Armstrong, to have been named #26 in the Forbes Most Influential Women in Media! Pretty impressive and not too shabby for a mom from Salt Lake City.

I must must must shout my outrage, horror, disbelief and overall WTF-edness at how on earth did #13 Kathie Lee Gifford come in above #15 Rachel Maddow? I mean that is just wrong on every front.
Stupid vs. Brainy. Old Hat vs. Cutting Edge. Annoying vs. Adorkable.
I don't think I need to go on.

At any given time you can tune in to this site and feel the love I have for Rachel Maddow. I mean let's be honest---she is awesome.
Last Thursday night on her MSNBC show she proved her awesomeness again by very nicely putting Pat Buchanan in his place as he had yet another case of Racist Tourette's.
Just look at how Rachel takes Uncle Pat's arm and guides him ever so gently into the venue that makes him all tingly inside: bigotry
The segment ran over 10 minutes, but honestly it is pure joy to watch and I won't even mention her adorableness, sigh.

Wowee of the Year 2008

Looking back on a year of Wowee Wednesdays I thought it appropriate to choose a special Wowee from the bunch that stood out just a little bit woweeier than the rest, sort of a Wowee of the Year. My pick?

Rachel Maddow

Unless you are living under, or are, a rock you'd be hard pressed to miss this dynamo on the political field this year. Lord knows I have done my best to promote her so at least 5 more people know now!

In the last few months Rachel has been featured in a number of magazine articles including The New York Times, The Advocate, Mother Jones, New York, and even an adorable video giving us a cocktail mixing lesson on Grub Street.

The nerdy, wonky, dorkiness of Rachel have made her the secret crush of most everyone including guys, straight girls, sometimes straight girls and, of course lesbians. Go read any bulletin board comment section on Rachel and the second most identifiable theme is "I have a girl crush on Rachel" or "I don't know why I find myself so attracted to this lesbian, but I like it!"

That, my friends, is called charisma and Rachel has a truckload of it!

Get your fix of the Wowee of the Year nightly on MSNBC and Air America.

Wowee Wednesday

Rachel Maddow I have been listening to/yearning to be Rachel Maddow since 2004 when she quietly began to turn Air America upside down with her ecstatic and loyal fan base. Heard daily on Air America, The Rachel Maddow Show gives a fast paced view of the headlines and a splash of humor. After listening for a few minutes, the phrase that will leap to your mind is "Wow. This girl is no dummy." Thus, here I am at the crossroads of cute/smart girls,...again.

I get such a charge listening to Rachel delve deep into stories that may not be getting much traction in the mainstream, but are pertinent nonetheless, and she does so with style and intelligence. Another charge? She's a lesbian. Yep, smart, and on my team! Yay!

Rachel has become the regular fill-in on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and it is so nice to see someone step into big boy shoes and not only fill them nicely, but spit shine them and do a little jig. You can also catch Rachel very regularly on MSNBC's Race to the White House throwing elbows to the Boys Club that includes the likes of Pat Roberston and Joe Scarborough. Take a look at this excellent example of Rachel getting the best of blowhards like Scarborough. Watch the whole clip for the silent tantrum from Joe.

The Nation magazine ran a fantastic article on this Wowee this week. (thanks Allyson!) Take a look. Man she's a smart cookie. Rachel with her own MSNBC show? Squeeel! Don't tease me!