Ifill: Palin "Blew Me Off"

On "Meet the Press" Sunday morning, vice presidential debate moderator Gwen Ifill said Palin "more than ignored" some of her questions -- she "blew me off." She added that Palin decided to "give a stump speech" instead of a debate, and that there's "little a moderator can do" to stop that. Watch:

Comments

[JPD620]

The bottom line is that the scum feeders and ignorant masses that already bought McCain-Palin arent returning the defective product to Wal-Mart for a refund. Some people just will never understand logic or reasoning. Its not just G.W. Bush either, this country has been in trouble for a long time coming. Let these people who are voting for McCain-Palin sleep in the grave that they have worked to hard to dig.

[btorres]

Sarah Palin is a joke, but I agree with RRuin--Ms. Ifil could've and should've stepped up and gotten the answers that ALL OF US wanted. What's the point of having a debate when a candidate can pick and choose which questions to answer and which to ignore? This is bull---t! and if Americans can't see what a joke this woman is, then the America we knew growing up is really gone.

[natureman]

That's not what happened. Sarah didn't want Biden to get away with answering questions with lies and then Ifil says "ok, next question"

[truth2008]

Note: the debate format was agreed to in advance, Gwen was not allowed to re-direct questions.
Palin-Parrot was aware of the agreement, and knew Gwen was unable to to re-direct questions.

Stp the drama, vote obama!

[ICanHasDemocracy]

Why didn't you call her on it Gwen- you're the moderator!!!!

She gave a stump speech because you let her!

[Brainspore]

Sadly the moderator only has what authority is granted to them by the candidates themselves. If they choose to stray from the rules they set down, there's not much a moderator can do other than to politely repeat the question.

[gwhizz]

Then that's what she should have done. Repeated the question. Then repeated it again.

[DonDavis]

Sarah Palin Plays the Race Card Against Queen Latifah
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=3770

[vietveter]

Barbie has no respect for the process.

No respect for the position of VP

She sees only power and hate

It would be a sad day for America

for the party of hate to stay in power

It would be the end of us all

[Katie1263]

Gwen Ifill had no right to be the moderator because she has a conflict of interest with her Obama book that will be released the day the new President is being sworn into office. Gwen Ifill makes me sick, and has lost all of her credibility by doing this. She should have recused herself, but she chose to stay.

[LOL123]

She had/has every right to moderate a debate just like Pasor Rick Warren did even though he knew mccain wasn't even in the secluded area and is biased in religous matters. Gwen showed no bias either with questions or biased information, wish we could say the same of the Pastor.

[CyrusBeaucephus]

I remember that joke of a debate. That's the one where they gave MCain the questoins in advance. I'd like to order the Cheating, and could you bring me a side of Keating as well? What a Maverick he is

[Johnloehr]

Ifill has as much right to moderate a debate as George WIll had to be on a debate panel after he had been paid to coach Ronald Reagan for the same debate.

[All American]

You must be Republican, because you fail to recognize the real conflict of interest here is Sarah Palin. God forbid we should adopt her way of family life in this country as normal.

[sarale23]

What exactly was Sarah Palin's conflict of interest? Did she write a book about McCain scheduled to be released on Inauguration Day?

[TXHello]

You should hear what a hilarious 82 year old Grandmother has to say about Palin and Ifill - there is not holding back at margaretan­dhelen.wor­dpress.com It's too funny but she still like you Gwen even if she is kind of mad at you right now. And Palin never stood a chance with this woman. Check it out.

[Syddiggers]

How about asking her to answer the question posed? Isn't that what anyone, let alone a debate moderator, who asks a question normally does when they would like an answer ( and not just a response ) to a specific question?

Ifill fell badly for the Republicans bluff and didn't want to be seen as biased, but by allowing Palin to say whatever she liked, she came across as disinterested in the debate format. What made it even worse was the complete lack of respect that Palin showed Ifill and the entire debate process by telling Ifill beforehand that she will not be answering the questions asked, or answerign them how they might want her to.

Ifill blew it and is now covering her own butt.

[scmucas2001]

"Ifill fell badly for the Republicans bluff and didn't want to be seen as biased"

This is so unbelievably true.

Everyone in the media has been painted as left wing biased at best and left wing extremists at worst. Somehow the right has been able to play this card over and over and it works. Nobody is allowed to have an opinion except for the loudmouths on Fox News who are obviously biased towards the right, but that is okay somehow.

Ifill would have been skewered by the right if she had questioned Palin in any way, shape, or form. Have you seen how they've tried to bury Katie Couric? That was just for asking the woman questions and then having the gall to ask her follow up questions. Palin said that she was "annoyed" by Couric and her bothersome questions and that Katie wouldn't simply allow her to go off on one of her rehearsed rants.

As a credible journalist, Ifill should have stuck to her role as moderator and repeated questions that she felt weren't answered by Palin. Then again, maybe she was worried that the backlash would have been too great against herself, the media, and by extension Obama. Who really knows. I do agree, though, that she fell for the call ahead of time that any action by her could be perceived as biased towards Obama.

[natureman]

It's not a matter of allowing people to have opinions. It's a matter of newscasters trembling with excitement over a candidate. It's a clear message to America to vote for that candidate. It is not their job!

[drugpalin]

Gwen, you blew it yourself. Don't blame Biden or Palin.

[DrYRHead]

Palin came to the debate with cards to read from. It would not of mattered who moderated it. She would have treated any moderator the same way, and, yes, Palin came out there to do a stump speech. That is why she did such a bad job of answering the questions.

[Charity Froggenhall]

I concur, but Ms. Ifill should have called her on it more.

[billbb]

Palin is playing to the remaining sector of the Republican base that still supports them, but I doubt that the clueless boob vote is going to be enough to put them over. It would thrill me to death if this drop into the crapland of Rovian campaign strategy sent their poll numbers so low that they'd need a magnifying glass to make them out.

[gardenbookie]

Don't blame the insulting, rude behavior of Sarah Palin on the moderator. Gwen held up her end of the agreed-upon deal. Gwen asked the questions that she had planned. Palin stated outright that she would not be sticking with the moderator's format.

If Palin can't play by the rules of the one and only VP debate, she won't play by the rules of the position of VP, either. OOPS, she said THAT during one of her rampages, too.

Sixty days ago (more or less), Palin didn't know what the job of being a Vice President was all about. Nothing's changed.

[PollyTics]

Ifill's performance during the recent VP debates was shameful and the fact that she is now kind of laughing off that Palin "blew her off" makes me believe that her total competence is now in question.

Being a moderator or host of a debate, much less one as important as this, is critical part of the information that may (or may not) flow to the public. Ifill's lack of expertise (or want) to direct the ACTUAL direction of conversation is merely an example of her lack of control over that which she was to lead.

It appears, leading is not something that Ifill is good at and will hopefully disqualify her from further opportunities to let the candidates lead her.

[NJ13]

Ifill did her job as a moderator. The VP's debated in a townhall format style. This type of debate was agreed to by both parties and was not the same type of debate that the presidential candidates had. That means, the moderator would not challenge the candidates to stay on topic.

Ifill is a highly respected non-partisan reporter as all PBS reporters are and really do not understand what was so shamefull in her performance. Can you elaborate?

[ZekeBundren]

Ifill's competence is not in question, and it never was among rational people. Her ethics were legitimately questioned, but not her competence. Ifill did a great job.

She could not do pressing questions because R e p u b l i s c u m had poisoned the well against her. Had Ifill pressed Palin the headline would have been, "Moderator shows anit Palin bias."

In six months Palin will be further along the path to oblivion. Ifill isn't yet at the peak of her career.

The difference: integrity. There were legitimate questions about Ifill's ethics. She responded beautifully and those questions no longer exist. Given the gutter campaign Palin joined so gleefully, plenty of questions remain about her integrity.

[Joseph A. Palermo - Huffpost Blogger]

Gwen could have interrupted her a little with more substantive questions when she filibustered -- also, Gwen might have dropped the more fluffy questions for more substantive ones after Palin said she wasn't going to pay attention to the moderator or her opponent. She probably did the best job anyone could do under the circumstances since Palin is such a freak show.

[PDXKevin]

Palin is such a freak show? That whole ticket is a freak show, campaign aides included!

[Dwight Dunkley - Huffpost Blogger]

I agree with Joe, but at the end I think Ifill was muted from being aggressive due to that book she is publishing which gives her the appearance of a conflict of interest. So the publisher puts "Obama" in the title to sell a book which is more about post-civil rights black politicians than it is about Obama and Ifill doesn't disclose that to the Commission. Thus Americans lose an opportunity to see how little Palin can think on her feet.

[scorpioleidy]

WTF? So the next two debates are being moderated by repugnicans (Brokaw and Schieffer)?????
(Maybe we should start working the refs in advance, the way the McPalin campaign did last week.)

[JSGIUNTA]

I think the reason Ifill didn't try to keep Gov. Palin "on track" is that she was afraid to have her hat handed to her by the Gov., and rightly so.

[NJ13]

The debate was townhall format. Each campaign agrees to the style of debate. Therefore, she is not going to moderate the debate the same way you saw during the presidential campaign.

As for hat handing, I do not believe SP would have been able to do much of that to anyone as she clearly, proably did not have it written in her notes.

[phoogoo]

Maybe so, but the McCain campaign forgot to prepare any index cards with Gwen Ifill one-liners for Palin to read.

[NowWhatFolks]

Yup, that's EXACTLY what it was

[NowWhatFolks]

Funny, the snark tags didn't make it to my first post...