Posted on 09/12/2008 9:24:43 AM PDT by NewMediaFan
WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- There were no surprises, no knockout zingers, but also no bloopers Thursday night in Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's first TV interview since becoming the Republican vice presidential nominee.
Charles Gibson of ABC News was out for blood and inherently applied a double-standard compared with the kid gloves George Stephanopoulos used on Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois on Sunday night.
Gibson was out to embarrass Palin and expose her presumed ignorance from the word go. By contrast, when Obama referred to his "Muslim faith" on Sunday and did not correct himself, Stephanopoulos rushed in at once to help him and emphasize that the senator had really meant to say his Christian faith.
By contrast, Gibson tried to embarrass Palin by referring to her Christian faith in asking people to pray for U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Palin countered by pointing out she was following the precedent set by Abraham Lincoln.
Palin also expressed her support for Georgia and Ukraine joining the U.S.-led NATO alliance. That statement was predictable and consistent with the current policy of the Bush administration. The policy has dangerously raised tensions with Russia, but Palin is hardly alone in the conservative/Republican consensus in expressing her support for it.
Palin's assessment of foreign policy was competent and not embarrassing. Although she initially exhibited ignorance of the Bush Doctrine on pre-emptive strikes that has been a central pillar of U.S. foreign policy after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, she recovered quickly and then made the case clearly. Tactically, she made the mistake of trying to be friendly and informal with Gibson, who assumed a superior, professorial and critical stance toward her. She would have been far better going on the attack to rattle him.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
“I’m still not convinced that she was “ignorant” of the Bush Doctrine; she simply didn’t want to fall in a trap laid by the kindly professor Gibson. ‘
Exactly, he asked her an extremely vague question seeking to trap her into a specific answer they would twist anyway they want.
What infuriated me wasn’t the fact that Georgie had tossed softballs at 0bama...but the fact that in previous interview with Obama, Gibson’s demeanor was totally different than the way he treated Palin. Sheer hubris on his part!!!!
Gibson is no Tim Russert and it showed.
He’s much more comfortable and in his element doing ayem tv fluff like Good Morning America.
Whatever. I didn’t have a problem with any of the questions. The amateurish tone of the interviewer and the condescending attitude turned me off though.
“but I also want her opponents from the Democrat ticket to receive and answer hard questions as well.”
Well they’re not going to so do we excuse our side from answering hard questions?
Excellent observations. Look at the UN oversight of the darkest continent ALONE.
I could strangle the idiots that have ‘war is not the answer’ bumper stickers around here in Atlanta.
If they were one of the 24 million subjected to saddam and sons’ antics, they’d literally PRAY for war!
My initial impression was that Gibson was on the attack - trying to force a gaffe for his comrades. In this, he FAILED. Sarah seemed on edge, but she handled herself very well. I think that any fair-minded person, when contrasting the fawning coverage that obammy has gotten, will see how non-friendly and disrespectful Gibson was during this "interview" (interrogation would be a better fit...).
I think I have figured out the seccret thatDan Simmon’s time traveler imparts. Get rid of the liberal media and don’t elect Obama.
Did anyone expect the MSM to treat her any different? They Must Destroy her to have their perfect man win. How dare she interrupt their plan to put Obama in the White House? She will be painted as a dangerous extremist, a religious nut, and trailer trash. Nothing personal, just business.
"Their scepticism about values is on the surface: it is for use on other people's values; about the values current in their own set they are not nearly sceptical enough. And this phenomenon is very usual. A great many of those who 'debunk' traditional or (as they would say) 'sentimental' values have in the background values of their own which they believe to be immune from the debunking process. They claim to be cutting away the parasitic growth of emotion, religious sanction, and inherited taboos, in order that 'real' or 'basic' values may emerge. I will now try to find out what happens if this is seriously attempted". (CS Lewis, "The Abolition of Man", c. 1943)
“Too bad Obama has never had to.”
And he never will. The media is just that way. Our is not to complain about the rules, ours is to win the game IN SPITE of them.
More importantly, they must destroy her, so Hillary still has a chance in 2012.
ANTOHER THING. Let her be interviewed sitting behind her GOVERNOR’S DESK, with that little creep sitting accross from her desk looking like the little ‘student’ that he is.
We're upset about the double standard and the Hussein is treated with kid gloves.
We're upset that her words were twisted to make her look like a religions fanatic.
We're upset that Gibson was very congenial in previous interviews with BHO, but condescending and confrontational with Palin.
Americans want unbiased media. We're getting madder and madder as it becomes more obvious that this is what we do NOT have.
“I’ve been spoken to with that condescending, “Smile Pretty” attitude about 1000 times in my life and when I watched Charlie use that voice and that look on Gov. Palin I thought “you just lost the women” Charlie.”
You hit the nail on the head. I wanted to leap through the screen and strangle the dude! It was a slight that EVERY woman has experienced working in a male dominated field. The experience makes your blood boil!
Lynchburg Charlie is a moniker that should be hung on Charles Gibson. Part of his early career included anchor duties at a network affiliate station in Lynchburg, Virginia during the late 60s. He was pretty full of himself in those days. The lynch mentality, even with a silk rope, was evident in his interview with Sarah Palin. Of course, and in fairness to Gibson, Andrea Mitchell, and scores of other media bigs would have done it with a knife.
We should GO AROUND them. It was stupid not to grant the first interview to Chris Wallace or Brit Hume or Greta van Susteran. Why reward ABC with high ratings?
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