Rachel Maddow is 40 years old today.

She is a Rhodes Scholar, has a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in political science from Oxford, is a writer, and is the undisputed queen of the liberal talk shows every evening on prime time television on MSNBC. Rachel is also the first openly gay Rhodes Scholar from the United States and the first openly gay anchor of a prime-time news program in the United States.

I like her intelligent commentary, her quick wit, and her unique and poignant outlook on current events. Her program is always witty and insightful and she has an endearing, non-threatening and humble manner of expressing her views – in stark contrast to some of the arrogant buffoons we often see on television.

Below you can see the Facebook post about Rachel’s book by a United States military general, Martin Dempsey.

If you write a book about the U.S. military, and the top brass is challenged by the book and posts praises about it on Facebook, you have arrived. Congratulations, Rachel Maddow, and Happy Birthday.