Rachel Maddow Battles Dick Armey in Her First Debut on Sunday's "Meet the Press"

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Rachel Maddow appeared on "Meet the Press" for the first time on Sunday, August 16th and was spectacular. On a panel with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Maddow held her own. When Dick Armey said he took no responsibility "whatsoever" for the virulent protests against President Obama and compared it to MoveOn.org running an ad comparing President Bush to Hitler, Maddow interjected that that never actually happened. Later in the show, Maddow said that major conservative groups had speakers going around the country comparing Obama to Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin and asking supporters to put the fear of God in their congresspeople. Of course, the Republican party and its operatives deny those allegations with a straight face.

There's another priceless gem for the Democrats to use against the Rethuglicans. When Armey said that he denounced violence, Maddow was quick to point out that his organization, FreedomWorks, was in a coalition whose website was promoting the violent fight at a Tampa town hall as a good thing.