Rachel Maddow just did an on-air interview of David Frum, and Rachel showed a quick intelligence, a deep and facile knowledge of the media environment she occupies, and a self-possession and self-love that became a perfect mirror of the calm, centered "knowledge-from-life's-experience" that our candidate,
Barack Obama has shown on a tumultuous campaign trail for the past couple- or five years.
Lest you not know him, David Frum is the author of the phrase G. W. Bush used in that infamous "State of the Union" address to Congress, the Grey-Mein Wise Men gathered, and us Americans, watching: "The Axis of Evil." And, with Frum's catchy slogan, set our Nation's Wheel of Fortune spinning on wars you and I will have to pay for in the blood of our children and the health-care, retirement savings and our infrastructure rebuilding; jobs may be lost to us for years past when they would have been in our grasp, otherwise.
That David Frum.
I've listened to Frum on KCRW's Left, Right and Center as the spokesperson for the Right, before he got too busy with better paying gigs, and know that he's pretty smart about how to sabotage a scheduled interview or discussion forum with an un-scripted twist.
On "Left, Right and Center" he was set against Arianna Huffington (A Cambridge-trained International Economist that knows how to deal with a political "twist") and Robert Sheerer (who not only knows his mind, but knows Labor- and Political/Economic history to the Chapter and Verse, as well as knows many of the 20th Century Actors personally) and was moderated by the hapless, clueless "Liberal Centrist" child-intern brought into Bill Clinton's White House, Matt Miller, that knows very little history [a personal conversation with the man was proof enough for me] and is pretty clueless about established political forces in our Body Politic and the strength of history in understanding their influence upon events. Miller is seduced by personalities and star power, in the main).
David Frum has been a formidable spokesperson for a "reasoned neo-con vision" of the world and our time in many forums. He used the platform of his White House speech-writer position to forward his agenda as long as it was on the ascendant, and then he left the White House (just in time).
Frum became a "Right Wing" spokesperson on "Left- Right and Center" for a while, then he disappeared, to be replaced by the more conventional "Conservative," Tony Blankley (the last name not necessarily indicative of his world view, but, yes, he's kind of a Blank when it comes to the economic challenges we face, now, and pretty clueless about what someone of his "give me mine now and screw everyone else" ideology should suggest to Mr McCain as his Party Leader, these daze...)
But David Frum is now, apparently, making himself available, and let me tell you: he knows how to talk to a Cable News show producer and agree to an arena of questioning by an anchor of that news show in the pre-on-air interview, sit in his chair on camera, and while the lights come up and his facial sweat is patted down with powder, come up with a "twist" on the interview that will take the Anchor totally off the through-line of her planned news show story.
He's very adept at throwing an on-air curve at the very center of his host's ethics -- a "bean ball", if you will -- and back her off the plate.
Rachel dodged the head shot and hit a hard liner right back at Frum, who found himself scrambling to save his sorry ass.
What a duel! What an incredibly self-possessed and wonderfully endowed woman is Rachel Maddow!
I've not seen, nor heard better deconstruction of the media, of 21st Century Political Campaigning, or a more trenchant Post-Modern Deconstruction done in real-time by two very adept practitioners!
It was a wonder, done with good humor [her sense of irony engaged like she was channeling Abbie Hoffman and his American flag sewed to the seat of his pants while testifying to the House Un-American Committee], and I'm proud of my girl, Rachel!
UPDATE w/ video:
I doubt that any of my other "Heroes" of Broadcast Journalism could have done better, ever.
"Atta girl," Rachel.