Don’t get me wrong, I’m somewhere to the left of Maddow so this is not a political thing. It’s just that I can watch any of the other MSNBC shows but I can’t stomach him. I think the problem is his interview style. He seems to decide what he wants the answer to his questions to be and if the interviewee answers anything differently he simply screams over them that they are not answering his questions. While this may be mildly entertaining with say Orly Taitz, it was downright annoying with Condaleeza Rice who whatever else you may think of her is certainly capable of giving a concise, reasoned opinion without being screamed over. Am I the only one who just wants to tell him to shut up, let the interviewee talk and hang themselves with their own words? I want to hear their opinions and THEN see them get torn apart with the facts.
not just you. i find him way too aggresive to watch.
i may watch and be amused should he ever get the chance to interview mrs palin. other than that, no.
Yes. I want to like him and would more if he was less partisan and agressive. It’s not that I mind the direction that he leans but that he leans at all. I watched for a bit then wrote him off, disappointed in his style.
In his defense, Taitz and Rice each had a narrative that they were there to present, and neither was willing to engage in an actual discussion. Neither has much willingness to listen to the interviewers actual question other than as an opportunity to deliver a pre-digested chunk of their spiel. This is SOP for political interview shows, and O’Donnell wasn’t willing to let them get away with it. Rice has about as much connection to reality as Taitz, the only difference is she is better educated and more eloquent. I would have preferred to see Rice be interviewed by Maddow though.
Basically, O’Donnell is the Bill O’Reilly of the Left.
It is Ed Schultz I actively hate watching. Lawrence O’Donnell doesn’t bother me so much, I just don’t give a damn what he has to say. Rachel Maddow on podcast is pretty much all of the talking head political shows I can take at this point in the political cycle.
I liked Lawrence O’Donnell when he was a guest commentator on other MSNBC shows. I can’t stand his show, though.
I agree with this.
What I hate most about his shows is the people he’s managed to get on it then proceeds with his aggressive partisan questioning. They could have been awesome interviews.
I don’t mind partisan and I don’t mind aggressive but combining them just makes his show intolerable.
What I find most annoying about him is that he is always accusing people of lying. Even when he admits they believe what they are saying, he still calls them liars. Isn’t it enough to call them wrong, Larry?
As I said, O’Donnell is the Bill O’Reilly of the Left. Same style, same attitude, probably are from the same neighborhood.
I’d say he fills a need, though he is no Keith Olbermann.
Personally, I think Olbermann was worse.
I just love Rachel Maddow, though. She makes up for all the other prime time doofusses she shares the network with.
I rather like Larry O’Donnell; I like having a public vent for outrage, and at least he’s well informed about it. Don’t care for Shultz; his populism is a bit too disingenuous for me.
But Rachel Maddow is just sunshine on a stick. Always maintains high standards and good humor, and her background knowledge is impressive.
I’ve never heard this phrase before. I had to think about it some before deciding it was a compliment. 
Little about her that is unimpressive - first openly gay Rhodes Scholar, Doctorate in Political Science from Oxford and the ability to maintain a friendly and cordial attitude with anyone, no matter how much she might disagree with them or how obnoxious their views.
I have to confess, if I were required to speak with Orley Taizt or Condaleeza Rice, I would probably be less cordial than Lawrence O’Donnell. I would probably insist the interview be done in person, and security would have to restrain me from beating the holy shit out of either of them. By my standards, telling them to “shut up” is admirably restrained, and if I had my own church, Rachel would be a saint.
Update: …and in fairness, Condaleeza Rice could probably wipe the floor with me.
To the best of my knowledge, the phrase spontaneously popped into my head to describe Rachel when her show first started on MSNBC. It may have been inspired by Emma Thompson’s describing Liam Neeson as ‘sex on a stick’ (an opinion I also support).
I was away from TV for a week, so I’m catching up with old episodes of The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. The one from June 10th, he was indeed a jerk, but it was in the service of taking a much bigger jerk, Donald Trump, down several notches. Classic TV.
I agree with most of the sentiments expressed in the thread. But the MSNBC host who really bothers me is **Cenk Uygur, *the guy is a total hack and a bit of a douche. * I would be a better host than he is, and I would be a TERRIBLE host of a show.
Unconvinced he’s a douche? Need more proof? I had to google him to make sure I got his name right, so I pulled up the wiki on him…which is where I learned that his son’s name is* Prometheus Maximus. * I rest my case.