MSNBC's 'Rachel Maddow Show' Can't Find Indiana on the Map

If you're going base an entire TV show on taking potshots at conservatives and Republicans for anything and everything, you might try to get at least the simple things right - things like grade-school U.S. geography.

MSNBC's Oct. 13 "Rachel Maddow Show" must not have read that memo. After launching into a Keith Olbermann-esque tirade criticizing Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain's geographic campaign strategy, the best and the brightest couldn't correctly label the state of Indiana, mistaking it for Illinois - which ironically is Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama's home state.

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Maddow said vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska would be campaigning in the "red, red state of Indiana." But her map highlighted Illinois, labeling it incorrectly as Indiana.

"If being this far down in the polls is just where you want to be Senator, where would you not want to be," a smug Maddow said. "Rhetoric aside, I'm guessing that where the McCain/Palin campaign does not want to be right now - specifically, I mean geographically, is campaigning in states that George W. Bush won easily."

So far this presidential election cycle, liberals are struggling with geography. In May, Obama said there were 57 states.

"The Obama/Biden surge has McCain and Palin forced to defend their turf in fire engine red states across the country rather than trying to pick off any of the blue states that John Kerry won. A quick look at the map might tell you everything you need to know about the current state of the race."

According to RealClearPolitics.com, McCain has nearly a four-point lead in Indiana. Obama has a substantial lead over McCain - averaging around 17 percent - in his home state of Illinois.