VP Debate Moderator needs to be removed

[faceking]

The moderator of tomorrow's vice-presidential debate is writing a book to come out on the day the next president takes the oath of office that aims to "shed new light" on Democratic candidate Barack Obama and other "emerging young African American politicians" who are "forging a bold new path to political power."

Gwen Ifill of the Public Broadcasting Service program "Washington Week" is promoting "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," in which she argues the "black political structure" of the civil rights movement is giving way to men and women who have benefited from the struggles over racial equality.

Ifill declined to return a WND telephone message asking for a comment about her book project and whether its success would be expected should Obama lose. But she has faced criticism previously for not treating candidates of both major parties the same.

PBS viewer Brian Meyers of Granby, Conn., said he was "appalled" by Ifill's commentary directly following Palin's convention speech.

"Her attitude was dismissive and the look on her face was one of disgust," Meyers said. "Clearly, she was agitated by what most critics view as a well-delivered speech. It is quite obvious that Ms. Ifill supports Obama as she struggled to say anything redemptive about Gov. Palin's performance."

Columnist Michelle Malkin, in a post on her blog today, wonders how Ifill can objectively moderate the debate tomorrow night with the personal interest she has in the election's outcome.

"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.

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What a racket... and she gets to pick and choose what questions she wants to ask... let me guess which ones she won't ask, and which ones she does and how she asks them.

She needs to step down. Even Katie Couric would be better. Scratch that.

 

[houtx48]

poor caribou barbie, who does she have to sleep with to get a break in this town?

 

[quercusone]

I guess the question is why didn't McCain's people know about the book. Its been public knowledge for quite a while. Incompetence comes to mind...

 

[pym]

Maybe Bill O'reilly would be be a more FAIR and BALANCED moderator? HMmmm.....

 

[Qua]

McCain's camp probably doesn't really care. Ifill moderated the VP debate in '04, and I don't recall much bias beyond what one normally sees, apart from refusing to give Cheney more than 30 seconds for an answer in a manner liberals took to mean she was chiding Cheney...it didn't strike me as such. I think she's as capable of pretending to be disintrested as any other news figure.

It'd be very funny if her "Age of Obama" was reduced to Obama as a well-spoken, but otherwise mediocre first term senator.

EDIT:

CNN: "The McCain campaign said it had not seen Ifill's Post interview [where she describes the book], or been aware of her book, until Tuesday. McCain told CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez that the situation concerned him but that he was sure Ifill would be professional."

Also of grave import: "Ifill made news Tuesday after it was reported she broke her ankle in her Washington home while carrying debate prep material.

Ifill said that would not hinder her from traveling to the debate."

 

[uncutguy37]

She should step down, just to avoid the fact that it looks bad, and does not pass the smell test, one more case of the Obama media,

I'm a Dem, but I'm voting for Mccain and Palin, He is a good senator who has served his country well, and is a war hero who loves his country, and after all these years still has a good reputation, I do not agree with all of Palin's views, but I do agree with spending cuts and getting rid of corruption, ( even when its a Rep.) and I like her, the Dems are afraid of her , and the media have made her out to be an idiot, which she clearly is not, ( but the Tina Fey thing is very funny), she has an 80% approval as Gov of Alaska, she must be doing something right?

Obama is a empty suit and a phony, and even as a Dem, I think Mccain is the best choice,

people may disagree, and thats cool, the good thing about this country is a choice to vote how we want.

 

[BiItalianBro]

This smacks of Steve Schmidt's 'Whaaambulance" tactics. All the moderator does is ask questions and clock responses. I doubt Jim Lehrer is a major contributor to the RNC and he did a good job.

 

[D_Davy_Downspout]

You have 2 options here:

1) The McCain camp didn't know about this, and is seriously incompetent
2) They did know, and chose to wait until now to make it an issue, to poison the well, since they know how weak Palin is.

 

[edonline]

What an ingenious way to call off the VP "debate".

 

[B_starinvestor]

What an ingenious way to call off the VP "debate".

This is like the '84 Bears against the '08 Bengals. If this debate is even close, I can't wait to hear the excuses. Biden started a sentence when he was conceived and he still hasn't finished the fucking sentence. Palin is great with bird-watching and fishing. She'd lose in poly-sci freshmen debating class at Auburn. If Biden can't dominate this, that's on him and the Dem party.

 

[D_Davy_Downspout]

This is like the '84 Bears against the '08 Bengals. If this debate is even close, I can't wait to hear the excuses. Biden started a sentence when he was conceived and he still hasn't finished the fucking sentence. Palin is great with bird-watching and fishing. She'd lose in poly-sci freshmen debating class at Auburn. If Biden can't dominate this, that's on him and the Dem party.

The bar for her is so low at this point, if she doesn't completely fuck it up, the media is going to call it a victory. Either way, the Democrats will call it a win for him, and the Republicans a win for her. Just like I said they would on the Obama/McCain debate.

I have no idea how she managed to become governor without the ability to bullshit, but these interviews I've been watching make it pretty clear she did.

 

[B_New End]

this is nothing more than preemptive damage control.

 

[Phil Ayesho]

What a racket... and she gets to pick and choose what questions she wants to ask... let me guess which ones she won't ask, and which ones she does and how she asks them.

She needs to step down. Even Katie Couric would be better. Scratch that.

Wow- a republican complaining about a racket?


Oh- I see- sure--- its not a republican racket like vetted town hall meetings and planted shills with party supplied questions.... who happen to be gay hookers.

You conservative rubes are SHAMELESS.

 

[B_Nick8]

It's been a matter of public record that she was writing this book since January and no one has even brought this up until now. The bool deals with the changes in black political leadership and how it has changed from the days of Jesse Jackson to those of a new generation of leaders and profiles a number of them including Obama. The book has not been published and no one knows its contents so this is casting aspersions in a vaccuum.

Ifill said openly over two months ago that she had no idea whether or not Obama would make a good president and she is not and has not supported anyone. She is a journalist and a reporter and as such has her own reputation to protect. If anything, she will bend over backwards not to favor any one candidate. This is another attempt to sabotage, in advance, the probable critisism, of Palin's dreadful performance. This is just more bullshit.

 

[B_starinvestor]

The bar for her is so low at this point, if she doesn't completely fuck it up, the media is going to call it a victory. Either way, the Democrats will call it a win for him, and the Republicans a win for her. Just like I said they would on the Obama/McCain debate.

I have no idea how she managed to become governor without the ability to bullshit, but these interviews I've been watching make it pretty clear she did.

Sin, do you really thing Obama had the edge in that debate? I will concede that the first half was close, but Obama was outmatched in the latter part of the debate.

I will give you this - I know Palin will get pummeled tomorrow night. It will probably signify the beginning of the end for the McCain/Palin ticket. But McCain won that debate last week. No doubt. Still, they are both idiots.

 

[D_Davy_Downspout]

Sin, do you really thing Obama had the edge in that debate? I will concede that the first half was close, but Obama was outmatched in the latter part of the debate.

I will give you this - I know Palin will get pummeled tomorrow night. It will probably signify the beginning of the end for the McCain/Palin ticket. But McCain won that debate last week. No doubt. Still, they are both idiots.

I think both did well, and nobody "won" it. They were both very prepared, and a win would have required somebody fucking up, which didn't happen. McCain had terrible body language and wouldn't look Obama in the eye, and Obama vacillates too much when he tries to answer, and reuses the same phrases.

The real thing about that debate was that people who don't closely follow the candidates or the election story got to see what each was like. Polling seems to indicate that helped Obama slightly, though it might still be the economy bump.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

I will give you this - I know Palin will get pummeled tomorrow night. It will probably signify the beginning of the end for the McCain/Palin ticket. .

I'm not so sure a Palin flameout is a foregone conclusion.

These spectacles have the trappings of academic debates but they are really personality contests. If academic knowledge and experience were thoroughly tested I suspect Biden would win hands down.

But these "debates" are much less displays of academic knowledge than they are about PR savvy, staying on message, and seizing opportunities to capitalize on opponents' gaffes.

Palin's clearly an academic lightweight but she can easily score popularity points if Biden loses his cool or comes off as too patronizing.

 

[Skull Mason]

McCain had terrible body language and wouldn't look Obama in the eye

I kind of thought this tactic was a good one by McCain. He acted as if Obama wasn't even there, like "who is this clown in the room, he can't step to me" and basically sonned him by giving him no respect. It was like Obama kept looking across the room at him for some nod of approval or acknowledgment of existence and McCain gave him no love.

 

[Nrets]

I kind of thought this tactic was a good one by McCain. He acted as if Obama wasn't even there, like "who is this clown in the room, he can't step to me" and basically sonned him by giving him no respect. It was like Obama kept looking across the room at him for some nod of approval or acknowledgment of existence and McCain gave him no love.

Fuck McCain.

I didn't see ths, but I can totally picture that.

Thats what people who are good at playing the game do.

They gaze like nothing bothers them.

I am bad at playing the game.

He also immediately blamed the dems for the OG bailout not passing which was a crock of shit.

The more I see of him the more his actions remind me of some Wall Street con artist lying to try and get money. In spite of his more down to earth persona relative to Obama.

 

[curious n str8]

Sin, do you really thing Obama had the edge in that debate? I will concede that the first half was close, but Obama was outmatched in the latter part of the debate.

I will give you this - I know Palin will get pummeled tomorrow night. It will probably signify the beginning of the end for the McCain/Palin ticket. But McCain won that debate last week. No doubt. Still, they are both idiots.

Obama's Last word's "YEA YOUR RIGHT" Enough said.