::::::::
Back when they were not on the air at the same time, Rachel Maddow used to appear regularly on Tucker Carlson’s show on MSNBC. She reminded her listeners the other day, that Carlson took the brave step of bringing her on, despite some resistance at the cable network. Now she appears with great frequency on MSNBC, especially Countdown with Keith Olbermann and with Dan Abrams’ show that follows.
I remember those earlier shows with Tucker and Rachel. They, of course, had completely opposing viewpoints on most things, but they had an almost magical rapport. Perhaps part of it was that they are closer in age than Rachel’s current frequent sidekick on MSNBC, Pat Buchanan. But, despite the fact that Tucker Carlson can sometimes be snide, or even outrageous, he’s able to rise to Maddow’s intellectual level. In fact, she seems to get him to step back and analyze an issue in an objective way, and even acknowledge that the liberal point of view may be right.Maddow often jokes, on her show, about feeling like Pat Buchanan is her “boyfriend,” or that they are chained at the hip while on the MSNBC set. The network’s decision to pair them, is reminiscent of the rule seen played out so often on television - that men are allowed to age on the air, while women are not. The result is the odd juxtaposition of youthful, well-coiffed female anchors and guests, and “distinguished,” gray-haired male ones.
Tucker Carlson’s appearance the other day on Maddow’s show, reminded me of how much I enjoyed seeing them together on the air. I think MSNBC is missing a great opportunity - they should create a new show with the two of them, that gets around the scheduling conflicts that exist now.
