The 2008 election was historic—not only did we elect a black president, we crowned a lesbian Rhodes scholar as America’s queen of political commentary. Rachel Maddow took the media world by storm with her irreverence and intelligence, sending Marie Claire, New York magazine and countless bloggers into a girl-crush tizzy.

After years of policy-level AIDS activism and odd jobs that ran from the classic coffee shop gig to wearing an inflatable calculator costume, Rachel landed a show at Air America, the progressive talk radio syndicate started in 2004 to counterbalance the right-wing Rush Limbocracy of the radio waves. There, she honed an unapologetically liberal position from which to question Bush-era politics, and started getting invited to provide left-wing punditry on various media outlets. She told the New York Times about her rise:

If you want a left-right fight, in 2004 or today, there’s this roster of dozens, if not hundreds, of conservative talk-show hosts to book. On the left there’s Alan Colmes. Oh, wait a minute, he’s taken. I think I got booked, initially, by default.

In late 2008, she brought her Jon Stewartesque wit, her Bill O’Reillyish ferociousness and her Oxford Doctorate of Philosophy to primetime MSNBC, filling in for Keith Olbermann. Viewers responded to her knowing smile and her laser-sharp analyses, and MSNBC decided to make her a permanent fixture. On the dawn of getting her very own primetime show, The Nation raved:

What’s remarkable about Maddow’s ascension is not its velocity--Hurricane Katrina made Anderson Cooper in less than a week--but the shifts in media it may demarcate. Maddow is one of the few left-liberal women to bust open the world of TV punditry, which has made icons of right-wing commentators like Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin. Unlike her beautiful, bilious conservative female counterparts or the cocksure boys-on-the-bus analysts, however, Maddow didn’t get here by bluster and bravado but with a combination of crisp thinking and galumphing good cheer.

And we all noticed--The Rachel Maddow Show doubled the ratings for the 9 pm time slot in just one month, and repeatedly beat out Larry King Live for that sexy 25-to-54-year old demographic.

How did she do it, folks?

Well, she skewered Sarah Palin in pajama pants, scored exclusive interviews with the likes of Nancy Pelosi, and kept it real by wearing awesome shoes to public interviews. Keep your eye out for these puppies when she talks news and views with Jeff Greenfield at the Y on Sunday, April 26.