Lisa Rogak - Rachel Maddow: a biography

FOR JUST ABOUT her entire life, Rachel Maddow has been hard to miss.

Whether it was the day when she was only three years old and nonchalantly picked up the newspaper and started sounding out the words, or when she was accepted as a Rhodes Scholar and dyed her buzz cut bright blue to celebrate, or as a five-foot-eleven adult whos happiest dressed in her favorite self-described third-grade-boy attire of jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers, shes always stood out in one way or another.

But shes become most prominent for her intelligent banter and lightning-fast wit, as well as her ability to convey information to others in an entertaining way, whether shes defending her doctoral thesis, calling out a list of snow-day school closings on local radio in Massachusettscomplete with sound effectsor explaining on her TV show the most plausible reasons why a certain president would be using Russian talking points during a cabinet meeting.

Rachel Maddow has taken a truly unorthodox path to stardom, and she has never apologized or changed who she is to get where she is today. Indeed, in many casesparticularly concerning her sexualityshes openly flaunted it: This is who I am, take it or leave it.

I dont make apologies for who I am, and I dont hold back, shes said.

She considers herself to be an outsider, first and foremost, and this has shaped her philosophy and career like nothing else. I never feel like I fit in, and thats my superpower, she admitted. That forces me to struggle out of insecurity, which somehow results in success. I still feel like a criminal, like Ive stolen some more deserving persons television show.

Her reputation for overpreparationa rarity in the world of fast-paced cable and broadcast newsis famous throughout the industry. Even when she was guest hosting for Keith Olbermann on Countdown, shed arrive at MSNBC at nine in the morning to prepare for a show that wouldnt air until eleven hours later; indeed, there are many hosts who glide into the studio an hour or two before airtime, largely leaving the sausage making to the staff. Not Rachel. Ive been in the TV game a long time, and Ive never seen anyone prepare like she does, said Bill Wolff, executive producer of The Rachel Maddow Show.

While she loves nothing more than to impart new informationor a new twist on an old topicto millions of viewers, she is a loner at heart and works best by herself, behind a closed door where she can have time alone to indulge her curiosity, dig for obscure facts, and write an opening monologue that is both entertaining and informative and provides a new spin on a well-worn headline. Shes also been open about her personal struggles, including the fact that she suffers from depression.

I am not a model of mental health, shes admitted.

And she openly acknowledges that what motivates her is the fear of failure. Its very boring and sad, but I want to convince myself that my existence matters, she said, which is hard to fathom given the years she spent as an activist fighting for people with AIDS. Rachel, as I knew her, has always been about making a contribution, said Cory Booker, the former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and now the junior senator from New Jersey, who was friends with her at Stanford and Oxford. She wanted to change the world.

Shes unique, said Matt Delzell , managing director at The Marketing Arm, a branding agency. She refuses to toe the line when it comes to any party, while remaining loyal to liberal values in the true sense of the word. Her uniqueness and her underdog appeal draw people in, regardless of whether they agree with her opinions, he added. Shes not afraid to criticize liberals despite being a liberal.

Indeed, she relishes her role as an equal opportunity critic. Im interested in making fun of bad ideas, regardless of who has them, she said, adding that she has long welcomed the staunchest of conservatives onto her show, where she has been honestly curiousand eagerto hear what they have to say. We just click, said Michael Steele , former chairperson of the Republican National Committee. She listens. Its one of the reasons I love going on her show. And when its all said and done, no one is angry, no one is bloody.

I certainly dont agree with her politics at all, but shes a really nice person, said Tucker Carlson , who regularly invited Rachel onto his show, The Situation with Tucker Carlson [later changed to Tucker] between 2005 and 2008, to debate the topics of the day. Its very hard to find people who can argue well, who can argue from principle. Shes a person of principle.

She is also hugely patriotic and has been known to tear up whenever she hears The Star-Spangled Banner play. I am a person who feels personally aggrieved by people who undermine our constitutional republic, she said. I think the Fourth Amendment is personally wired into my DNA.

Despite her obvious excitement when talking about certain stories on camera, Rachel maintains that shes oddly calm, especially when working on a story that has everyone else up in arms. I dont have an emotional reaction to the news, she said. Its like if youre a surgeon whos removing brain tumors. While youre doing the surgery, do you feel sad for the person having gotten the tumor? No, youre working on taking care of the tumor and fixing it.

Underscoring everything is the clear fact that she respects the intelligence of her audience, which can be a hard thing to find on any network or cable show out there today. If you assume that your audience is as interested in what you are talking about as you are, youre going to connect with your audience in a much better way, she said.

Despite these contradictionsor maybe because of themmillions love her and tune in regularly for her honesty and willingness to say what few other public figures will say, and for not hiding her glee whenever crooked, incompetent, or just plain mean peoplepoliticians and otherwiseget caught. But even in these moments, she never belittles the scoundrels.

Even though I can be harsh in my criticism and I can be strong in my beliefs, I try not to be mean, she said. And I dont have a very high tolerance for other people who are cruel or personally insulting in a way that I think is meant to humiliate people.

Youd have to be a really miserable specimen of a human being to not like her, said Keith Olbermann, who encouraged MSNBC to give Rachel her own show.

I have always felt like my job is to chart the waters, she said. And we are at sea.

At the same time, she has never tried to conceal her ambition; after all, she dreamed of having her TV own show for many years before it actually happened. You reach people in television in a way that allows you to make more of an impact, she said. If thats the game youve decided to play, you might as well try to win.