Michelle Malkin writes:
My dictionary defines "moderator" as "the nonpartisan presiding officer of a town meeting." On Thursday, PBS anchor Gwen Ifill will serve as moderator for the first and only vice presidential debate. The stakes are high. The Commission on Presidential Debates, with the assent of the two campaigns, decided not to impose any guidelines on her duties or questions.
But there is nothing "moderate" about where Ifill stands on Barack Obama. She's so far in the tank for the Democrat presidential candidate, her oxygen delivery line is running out.
In an imaginary world where liberal journalists are held to the same standards as everyone else, Ifill would be required to make a full disclosure at the start of the debate. She would be required to turn to the cameras and tell the national audience that she has a book coming out on January 20, 2009 – a date that just happens to coincide with the inauguration of the next president of the United States.
The title of Ifill's book? "Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama."Nonpartisan my foot.
Malkin also documents charges of pro-Obama bias during her coverage of the Democratic and Republican National conventions.
Fox News Channel's Greta Van Sustern reports that the McCain-Palin campaign did not know about Ifill's book when they agreed to have her as a moderator.
UPDATE 5:45pm: John McCain discussed the Ifill controversey today, and the senator referred to her as "a professional."
UPDATE October 2: Now McCain says it was a mistake for Ifill to serve as moderator.
UPDATE October 3: I thought Ifill did a pretty good job last night. Perhaps it was the fear the she would appear biased that kept her in check in St. Louis. Still, the fact that she did not tell the Commission on Presidential Debates about her upcoming book is a serious error in judgement by Ifill.
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14 comments:
Now THAT issome vetting!
I'll bet FatAss Olbermann is shaking his jowls in indignation as we . . .giggle.
Load the Dice? Naw, it's a fair roll!
You'll have to provide more evidence than that. So a journalist who writes a book about a historic moment in our nation's presidential politics makes them biased?
And I bet you weren't complaining when Bob Schieffer moderated the debate in 2004, even though he acknowledged that he frequently golfed with Bush and went to baseball games with him. And that his brother was a partner with Bush in the Texas Rangers. Sounds a little more cozy than your example.
Aha! You got me.. Actually no. Schieffer worked for CBS News...the same network that employed Mary Mapes and Dan Rather...y'know, Rathergate.
CBS would be better off if they kept him in the anchor's chare rather than Katie Couric.
"The Age of Obama..." Puh-leaze.
Have you read the book? No, I didn't think so, but don't let that stop you from making a judgment about it.
Speaking of reading, did you catch this scinitillating exchange with your V.P. candidate?
Couric asked Palin what newspapers and magazines she read regularly before becoming McCain’s running mate “to stay informed and to understand the world.”
Here is her response:
Palin: I’ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.
Couric: What, specifically?
Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.
Couric: Can you name a few?
Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn’t a foreign country, where it’s kind of suggested, “Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?” Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.
Seriously, is this the best your party has to offer? If you asked the average American what their source of news is, they'd say something, like The Wall Street Journal, the NY Times, the Economist, their local newspaper, etc., unless they don't read anything. Oh, I guess that explains it.
Stacked or not - well, Palin is nicely stacked, to begin with, but that is neither here, nor there, except to me. . . .sorry, Palin will do great and I hope that if Ms. Ifill gets too cute by half , as she is wont to do, that the Governor gives her a Wasilla Kiss*.
* ( cousin to the Dublin kiss - where one snaps his/her forehead into the bridge of the nose of an idiot/amlefactor)
What are you whining about? This is a win-win for you. If Ifill asks her tough questions, like "What would you do with regard to Pakistan?" you can complain that she's being too tough on Sarah. (As McCain and Palin did recently when she was asked that question by a voter and they argued it was "gotcha journalism"). Alternatively (and more likely) Ifill will bend over backwards to appear fair and balanced and will just ask her softball questions. Of course, I'm not sure what would qualify as a softball question for Sarah when she can't even respond coherently to a question about what newspapers and magazines she reads. How much easier can you get? Ask her to recite the alphabet?
It doesn't really matter as most of the media are unpaid flacks for the DNC.
Plus, my opinion that a question to "my" candidate was a gotcha and blatantly unfair one is considered the exact opposite by those supporting the opponent.
Get rid of the moderator bullsh*t altogether and go back to the Douglas/Lincoln style. Just 2 candidates up on that stage going back and forth for 3 hours on the issues of the day. Who needs a moderator?
Have you read the book?
No, it hasn't been released yet, which I noted in my post. However, you can tell a book by its cover (see Harlequin Romances) or title.
You have no idea what the book says, so I can only assume that you're deducing something merely from the fact that an African American wrote a book about the first African American presidential candidate for a major party.
Oh, yeah, and you're also trying to create a distraction from the actual debate by making an issue out of something that isn't.
And by the way, you can tell nothing from a title--heck I would think "Obama Nation" was a flattering book about the candidate instead of a ridiculous screed full of falsehoods.
Typical Republican whining and moaning about how everything is just so unfair. Blame it on Nancy Pelosi, Gwen Ifill, whoever, just don't ever blame yourselves.
Full title of Corsi's book:
The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality
As for the "typical whining," well, since the mainstream media, with an exception here and there such as Tapper with ABC News, that only give me a window of opportunity.
Such the martyr, John. Boo hoo.
Ifill was quite harsh in her line of questioning during the 04 debate... But that was probably ok since it wasn't Cheney she went after.
You kool kidz need to take your tinfoil hats off every now and then and let that brain cell breathe a little. ;)
If Obama wins, don't you think here book will sell better?
If this election continues along this line, we "Bible and Gun clingers" will probably be making good use of both, and as an example, I have plenty of both.
I'm beginning to be truly frightened.
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