Rachel Maddow

MSNBC has decided to return "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann to work on Tuesday, meaning that his much-discussed suspension for making unauthorized political donations will have lasted all of two work days. In a statement released late Sunday, MSNBC President Phil Griffin said: "After several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night's program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy. We look forward to having him back on the air Tuesday night.

Rachel Maddow, MSNBC's newest pundit, continues to score for the cable news channel. In this month, her 6 p.m. program beat CNN's "Larry King Live" among 25- to 54-year-olds, the key advertising demographic -- the first time that MSNBC has beaten CNN at that hour. Among all viewers, Maddow wasn't far behind, drawing an average of 1.89 million to King's 1.96 million, according to Nielsen Media Research. They were both surpassed by Fox News' Sean Hannity, who held on to first place with an average of 3.26 million viewers for the month.

A glimpse of political oblivion has suddenly inspired at least some Republicans to push for comprehensive immigration reform. But this does not guarantee that, six months from now, an immigration bill will be sent to the president or that, even if it is, Republicans will be saved from approaching demographic doom.  Latinos gave President Obama 71% of their votes in the 2012 election and helped add the electoral votes of Colorado, Florida and...

The Early Show Neil Patrick Harris. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today Tony Dungy; Anna Kendrick and Jason Schwartzman. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC KTLA Morning News Mark Wood and the Parrott Head Band performs. (N) 7 a.m. KTLA Good Morning America Ali Fedotowsky; Katie Melua performs. (N) 7 a.m. KABC Live With Regis and Kelly Cat Deeley ("So You Think You Can Dance"); Mike Posner performs. (N) 9 a.m. KABC The View David Perel; Geri and Colby Brin; Chris Hardwick. (N) 10 a.m. KABC The Oprah Winfrey Show 3 p.m. KABC Dr. Phil 4 p.m. KCBS Tavis Smiley Tony Hsieh, Zappos.

  On Thursday night, Rachel Maddow had some harsh words for presidential candidate Mitt Romney, calling his campaign a “totally incoherent mess” in response to the Supreme Court's decision in favor of “Obamacare” last week. The ruling has put Romney, whose overhaul of Massachusetts' healthcare system provided the model for Obama's plan, in the difficult position of defending his record while criticizing his opponent's.  So far, says Maddow, he's been doing a pretty terrible job. As evidence, the host played footage from a 2008 Republican primary debate in which then-candidate Fred Thompson (remember him?

A presidential campaign is never just two people slugging it out on the national stage. It is always a battle of narratives, and the struggle, when all is said and done, is over which candidate can craft the most persuasive story. For Mitt Romney, the story is about a businessman with sterling credentials and a profound knowledge of how jobs are created, facing off against a nice guy who is in over his head, has no idea how to fix the economy and is spending the country into oblivion.

It was a strange, stuttering year for television. It's no knock against collective bargaining to point out the writers strike made a constitutionally skittish medium even more erratic than usual. On the broadcast networks, shows came and went and came and went confusingly through the winter, spring and summer; fall, when it arrived, was underwhelming. (Premium and basic cable were somewhat inured to those shocks, but it was a slow year there, too.

Cable news channel MSNBC ended its turbulent relationship with its most-popular anchor, Keith Olbermann, with a terse statement saying that Friday night's show was his last. In a six-minute farewell sign-off at the end of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," the forceful liberal commentator didn't volunteer a reason for his abrupt departure from the channel that became an ideological counterbalance to the rival Fox News Channel. The only hint Olbermann offered for his exit was an admission that over the last couple of years there were "many occasions" when the noise and heat surrounding the show "was just too much for me. " But, he added, it was a supportive, unwearying audience that "required that I keep going.