In this image released by The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, correspondent Gwen Ifill from the PBS program, " The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," is shown. (AP Photo/The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer)
Posted on 09/30/2008 6:50:54 PM PDT by Kaslin
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 Democratic 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 Jan. 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? "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama."
Nonpartisan my foot.
Random House, her publisher, is already busy hyping the book with YouTube clips of Ifill heaping praise on her subjects, including Obama and Obama-endorsing Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick. The official promo for the book gushes:
"In 'The Breakthrough,' veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama's stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African-American politicians forging a bold new path to political power.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
I am on it. I am praying and fasting.
This woman has no business moderating this debate. Given her book, she should have never been chosen, and should have refused the job had she any integrity.
I am amazed they would agree on these debate plans.
I am praying also - between the vote fraud and the media bias I’ll be amazed if we’re even close.
Some folks are just easily amazed.....................
McCain campaign should have laughed this illegitimate fake journalist out of the building as being a two bit partisan hack. But they let this crap happen time and time again. The drum beat goes on.
In this image released by The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, correspondent Gwen Ifill from the PBS program, " The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," is shown. (AP Photo/The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer)
It would be excellent if Sarah Palin congratulates her on her new book on Sen. Biden’s new boss.
While this IS cause for concern, it could actually work in Gov. Palin’s favor. If, as in the Gibson interview, Ifill overplays her bias for Obama/Biden, which she won’t be able to help herself, it’ll be plain to the undecideds that the media REALLY IS bias. Also, when Gov Palin handles Biden AND Ifill, there will be little doubt that she’s ready for the Vice Presidency.
The next thing you know they’ll schedule another debate with Paul Begala as moderator and it will be held at Ithaca.
Her book sales are a factor of 10 greater if Obama wins.
End of story.
Prayers for Palin going right up.
We’d probably have better luck with Michelle moderating.
John McCain let the MSM and the Democrats call the shots on three of the debates so he could get his precious "town meeting". Just wait until he sees how even that deck will be stack with "pony-tail guy" independents, alleged "moderate" Republicans and foaming at the mouth partisan Democrats. This won't be the Chris Matthews' College Tour.
This is grotesque.
Liberal? Integrity?
Product Description
In THE BREAKTHROUGH, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power.
Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the 1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama, and also covers up-and-coming figures from across the nation. Drawing on interviews with power brokers like Senator Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and many others, as well as her own razor-sharp observations and analysis of such issues as generational conflict and the "black enough" conundrum, Ifill shows why this is a pivotal moment in American history.
THE BREAKTHROUGH is a remarkable look at contemporary politics and an essential foundation for understanding the future of American democracy.
About the Author
GWEN IFILL is moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and senior correspondent of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Before coming to PBS, she was chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News, and had been a reporter for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and Boston Herald American. She lives in Washington, D.C.
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