"The first question goes to Senator Biden"
If there are still some of you out there who think the news media is not biased toward Democrats and against Republicans, consider tomorrow's debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. The moderator will be PBS's Gwen Ifill, who is in the process of releasing a favorable book on Barack Obama entitled: "Breakthrough- Politics and Race in the Age of Obama."
This is not to suggest that Ifill will conduct herself like, say, a Keith Olbermann; she is certainly more professional than that. But how can you justify having as moderator someone who is clearly favorable to one side? Should not Ms. Ifill have notified the Commission on Presidential Debates of her book and the conflict of interest it represents? Or do they even care?
You might think that Ifill's association with PBS (Public Broadcasting Sysyem) would guarantee a fair debate. Not really. PBS definitely leans left- public finacing and all. Ever heard of Bill Moyers?
Not surprisingly, Republicans are not happy with the selection, but there's not much they can do about it. After all, there aren't too many experienced moderators out there that aren't liberal.
The best we can do is take notes, and if Ifill shows bias in her questioning, report on it as we always do. In the interest of full disclosure, it would be nice if viewers were advised of Ifill's book as the debate opens. (Don't hold your breath.)
At least it won't be Keith Olbermann asking Sarah Palin if she has stopped beating her husband.
Gary, sometimes a biased moderator can enliven a debate. I remember the old "Firing Line" debates with William F. Buckley when liberal pundit Michael Kinsley was moderator. Buckely's intellect handled both his guests' arguments and Kinsley's sneaky questions with aplomb, and I found those debates lively and engaging.
ReplyDeletePallin and her handlers know what they're up against on Thursday night, and she'll just have to do her best. And with regard to finding impartial moderators among the ranks of the media today - we'd probably have to shift the search to a different universe.
I don't see what the fuss is about. She always seems to act in a professional, objective manner. Plus ANYONE is going to have a preference between the candidates. So yeah, you're never going to get someone that is 100% without bias.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteOf course, you are correct, but it sure is worthwhile to point this out to the public-as many times as is necessary.
Bryan,
ReplyDeleteCorrect, but as I said to anonymous, the public has to be aware of this bias-or be misled.