The Air America Factor: Are You Listening?

If there were ever an opportune time to launch a liberal-minded radio show in the United States of America, it's now. We're at the beginning of what may be the bitterest presidential contest ever; American troops still die daily in Iraq; the economy is stagnant; and the testimony coming from the 9/11 Commission is the talk of the nation.

The new radio network Air America has big goals: It hopes to change the political landscape and become the counterforce to conservative talk radio predominance. But can a 17-hour-a-day, five-day-a-week talkfest with entertainer notables Al Franken, actress Janeane Garofalo, rap artist Chuck D and writer/comedian Lizz Winstead quench progressive thirst for verbal vengeance?

True to talk radio's credo of irreverence and outrage, Air America frontman Al Franken hit the airwaves Wednesday afternoon with "We're angry!" But after stating his goal to "Take back America" by using his radio presence to influence the upcoming election, he proceeded to lambaste his personal competition, talk divo Rush Limbaugh, who has an estimated 14.5 million weekly listeners. "We will do this show drug free," jibed Franken, whose show airs the same time as Limbaugh's.

Named to bait the host of Fox Television's "The O'Reilly Factor," "The O'Franken Factor" (airing weekdays noon to 3pm) initially blended satiric skits with political commentary culled from an impressive guest lineup. On day one, Bebe Newirth impersonated neo-con personality Ann Coulter, screaming about being locked in the Green Room.

By day two, "The O'Franken Factor" sounded more like NPR, thanks to co-host Katherine Lanpher (formerly of Minnesota Public Radio), who steered the show's focus away from the host and toward their illustrious guests: Former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey (now serving on the 9/11 Commission), Vice President Al Gore, Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, New York Senator Hillary Clinton, former Counterterrorism Coordinator Richard Clarke, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, Senator Joseph Biden, as well as G. Gordon Liddy, Ben Stein and Michael Moore. Also present was NPR reporter Jo Ann Allen, who gave straight news, without commentary.

The Line-up

Air America Radio is banking its success not only on Franken – a former Saturday Night Live writer and performer, and author of the bestseller, "Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" – but on pairing entertainer personalities with radio professionals.

"Morning Sedition" (airing weekdays from 6 to 9am) brings together Mark Riley and Sue Ellicott – both veteran radio professionals – with Marc Maron, a stand-up comedian.

The next program, "Unfiltered" (airing weekdays 9am to noon) teams Rachel Maddow, Chuck D and Lizz Winstead. Maddow holds a doctorate in politics from Oxford and has radio experience. Chuck D, leader and co-founder of the rap group Public Enemy, is an ubiquitous force in today's hip hop scene. Lizz Winstead, a successful stand-up comedian, was the co-creator and former head writer of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."

"Unfiltered" shows the most promise so far. Chuck D cleverly riffed the English language; Lizz Winstead mingled politics with ironic insight: "Now you should carry around an EPT test before you assault a woman," she snapped in reference to President Bush's signing of "The Unborn Victims of Violence Act," which makes it a separate crime to injure the fetus of a pregnant woman. "They [the administration]," she added "should carry a sign that says menstruation is murder."

"Unfiltered"'s impressive two-day guest lineup included writer Christopher Hitchens, Harper's editor Lewis Lapham, former marine Christian Bauman, lawyer Mike Papatanio (who hosts Air America's weekend show "Champions of Justice"), musician John Cougar Mellencamp and director Spike Lee. If "Unfiltered" can keep the star power rolling across the airwaves, it could make a real dent on morning radio.