Air America lives

It seems that reports of Air America Radio's demise have been greatly exaggerated. And thankfully so.

I'm the first to admit that when Air America launched on March 31, 2004, I was very enthusiastic, specifically because of Al Franken's involvement. When Franken left the network on February 14 of this year, I canceled my subscription to the network. (A small fee every month gets you an Air America Premium account, where you have unlimited access to podcasts of every Air America program.)

However, after hearing good things about Thom Hartman, Franken's successor, I figured I'd listen to him on a trial basis. After listening to one episode of the show, I re-upped my subscription and haven't looked back.

There are many progressive talk-shows hosts I respect and admire on a consistent basis - Stephanie Miller (more on her in a separate post later this morning), Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes, Bill Press and Rachel Maddow, but Hartman sits firmly atop the list.

Hartman's an encyclopedia of political knowledge, and not just about liberal stuff. The author of 19 books, he has been in radio since 1967. The best part about Hartman's show is that it's not about tearing people down and denigrating them. (If you want that, listen to The Sean Hannity Show or Rush Limbaugh's daily rant.) Hartman's show is about debating the issues, and he often has on conservatives to discuss issues and a (mostly) civilized manner. Opposing opinions are respected and sometimes vigorously debated. But, in the end, listeners can weigh both sides and decide for themselves.

And Hartman won't go down the smear and fear road, either. Recently, when one caller began making comments about Newt Gingrich's character flaws (like those are hard to find), he cut the caller off, saying, "I'd rather stick to the issues."

Bravo, Tom - you're a bigger man than me.

If you haven't listened to or considered Air America Radio lately, give it a go - you'll be happy you did.