MSNBC Election Coverage Fan

I'm a fan of MSNBC's Presidential Election night coverage ... have been since the 2000 election when we all stayed up until the wee hours of the morning watching the drama unfold in Florida. George W. Bush conceded the election to Al Gore, then retracted his concession when it appeared the networks got their calls wrong, subjecting us to the pain of having to wait for a Supreme Court decision.

The election anchor at the time was Chris Matthews, the clear-headed analytic commentator who hosts "Hardball" on MSNBC. Man, was he good. He was polite to all of the guests, had cogent observations, guided the coverage well, and made me a fan not only of him, but his cable station as well.

Since then, I've watched his show off and on and believe me, he does play hardball. Hell, if I were on his program and he picked me apart the way he does some politicians and analysts, he'd probably make me cry, he's that good.

This past Tuesday night, I watched MSNBC's election night coverage once again. They had a terrific panel, of which Matthews was a member, but he wasn't the anchor. This time it was a woman who, quite frankly, I'd never heard of before – Rachel Maddow, host of the Rachel Maddow Show, a news/opinion program that airs every night on MSNBC.

She was the perfect host … she talked fast but clearly, everything she said led up to a logical point, and she expertly juggled guests, panelists, election calls and results, consequences, breaks. Everything was presently clearly and professionally, and her panelists were afforded every courtesy to express their views, analyses and opinions.

Now, I have to say I don’t watch MSNBC a lot, but when it comes to elections with national implications – especially presidential elections – I have come to depend on MSNBC. They leave me feeling mighty good about the American process when I turn off the tube.

Like I said, I’m a fan.