Read more reactions from Huffington Post bloggers to ABC's Pennsylvania Democratic debate
In perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years, ABC News hosts Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos focused mainly on trivial issues as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off in Philadelphia. They, and their network, should hang their collective heads in shame.
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the health care and mortgage crises, the overall state of the economy and dozens of other pressing issues had to wait for their few moments in the sun as Obama was pressed to explain his recent "bitter" gaffe and relationship with Rev. Wright (seemingly a dead issue) and not wearing a flag pin -- while Clinton had to answer again for her Bosnia trip exaggerations.
Then it was back to Obama to defend his slim association with a former '60s radical -- a question that came out of right-wing talk radio and Sean Hannity on TV, but was delivered by former Bill Clinton aide Stephanopoulos. This approach led to a claim that Clinton's husband pardoned two other '60s radicals. And so on. The travesty continued.
More time was spent on all of this than segments on getting out of Iraq and keeping people from losing their homes and -- you name it. Gibson only got excited complaining that someone might raise his capital gains tax. Yet neither candidate had the courage to ask the moderators to turn to those far more important issues. Talking heads on other networks followed up by not pressing that point either. The crowd booed Gibson near the end. Why didn't every other responsible journalist on TV?
To top it off, here is David Brooks' review at the New York Times: "I thought the questions were excellent." He gives ABC an "A." Of course, "A" can stand for many things.
Read more reactions from Huffington Post bloggers to ABC's Pennsylvania Democratic debate
Greg Mitchell is author of the new book, So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq. It has been hailed by Bill Moyers, Glenn Greenwald, Arianna Huffington and many others and features a preface by Bruce Springsteen. Mitchell is editor of Editor & Publisher. Email: gmitchell@editorandpublisher.com.
Yet there was nothing about al-Maliki essentially forcing U.S. troops to back up his bungled attack on Basra. No question about the wisdom of arming Sunni insurgents who were attacking our troops andnow are supposedly helping us. Can we trust their loyalty, or the loyalty of the 430,000 Iraqi Security Forces we trained and armed? What do we do if Moktada declares "open war until liberation?" etc.
The HARD questions have not been asked of Obama YET!! Wait until the general election and wait until the Republicans began talking about his associations with Tony Rezko and Nadhmi Auchi. Those WILL BE the hard questions!!! So, Obama, stop complaining about the debate questions. You have not heard anything YET!!
Also, I'm waiting for his stinging pyschoanalysis of the inner city, urban and suburbia folks. Wow. those should be real zingers(not)!!!
I wish Hillary had been allowed to make those comments. I'll bet the Republicans will have time to make the connection. Again, Obama should stop whinning!!!!
And all those trashing Hillary and her supporters, may be left wondering why Obama failed to get millions of votes, by being an elitist, and trashing a member of his own party.
Why is it that CBS news is routinely surpassed by the main cable news channel?, the NY Times continues to lose money? Mc Clatchy(sp) co. has lost $500,000,000.00 in the last 3 years? It's because MSM has told over half of America to go screw itself in service of it's ubiquitous biases! All of our numerous local small papers here in Sacramento, by contrast, are flourishing.
us Hope" to an insinuating Gobbelesque degree.
The legacy of our Fourth Estate seems more like the Third Reich in its manipulation of public information, than the heroic search and championing for the truth for which Edward R Murrow bequeathed as the "gold standard"-still revered at the grass roots who will vote to put a slam dunk on the plutocracy of the pundits.
Yes, it is a "plutocracy of the pundits" out there. Unfortunately they're mostly all from the halls of leftist thinking, blindly encouraged within the various priesthoods of 'higher education's" marxist theologies, promolgated ubiquitously therein. Thoughtlessly, they trample all vestiges of the "free thought" they piously self-appoint of themselves; and are stunned whenever the tables are rarely turned.
The whiners who are so upset with ABC have witnessed but 1/1000th of the slanted press that I must swallow always, now that I've learned of leftist hypocracy. It's been a brutal road for me and my new comrades as we continue to more clearly see Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" through the smoke and mirrors of the myriad so-called intellectuals' collective surrender of their own intelligence as they supinely wallow in their transfixed guilt absolution presided over by their kindly priests of marxist theologies.
George, similar to others of the chattering class, came directly from the Clinton administration into the "news"; in an overt demonstration of pan network/print "news" bias, which isbone deep. What Obama got in this little interview was almost zero compared to that which the human monsters of North Korea, Iran and Syria, et al (who can kill whole cities unblinkingly) viciously have in store for this Carter-like light-wieght.
I want to know why this man has had a 20 year close relationship with a racist bigot who believes and espouses that white folks introduced AIDS in America to exterminate blacks .Do you believe that Barrack? No: Then why don’t you denounce this lunatic outright-have you not boundaries Barrack? –or is it a question of backbone?
I want to know why he befriends known terrorist, I want to know why it’s ok for his bimbo wife to proclaim to the world that we should be ashamed of our own country. I want to know why everything that shows up in Barrack’s life and associations is Anti American- I think this character has the potential to become the most disastrous president America has ever had –yes even worse than bushwhack-At least Bushwhack doesn’t hate his country. Barrack and friends do!
If this bashing doesn't stop the Democrat supporters of the candidate who doesn't win the nomination are going to be so angry they won't vote for the nominee and McCain will walk off with this election and the Republican's will be cheering at what fools we have all been to get caught up in all these smear tactic's some of which have been put out there by Republican's .
Hillary and her supporters need to see what they are doing here. We are becoming a divided party leaving the door wide open for the Republican's .
I think the last time we suspended our common sense – it was because we could after all sit down and have a beer with this fellow –the cost of that beer is now approaching a trillion dollars and thousands of live. For me happy hour is over –I now want to know who the hell I am voting for.
By the way I am officially a proud independent?
During this democratic primary it has become painfully obvious that the main stream media is angling for a major trip up by Barack, and failing to get any so far , are prepared to trivialize these forums by a constant barrage of questions that have been answered. I need to know the candidates position on main issues affecting our lives. I have had enough of Jeremiah Wright, 60's underground, and ducking Bosnia fire. I am at the point where the media is making me 'bitter'.
I would love to see them ask McCain how his party managed to double the national debt and call themselves conservatives. Other questions I would love to see is how he can be independent of special interest when he has 59 lobbyist on his capaign staff, some are even receiving pay from their off lobby firms.
Obama is bitter. He does not like being criticized or asked to justify his associations or actions. He does not do well in debates and he does not know how to explain the difficult questions about character. This will doom him in a general election.
I agree with you on that. That woman who asked Obama the question about wearing a lapel flag was a case in point. Does she really think that wearing a flag or parading one around really proves anything. Stores paint flags all over themselves during patriotic holidays.Do they do it because they are really patriotic or because they use it as a sales gimmick. I feel it's the latter. Is it a worse crime to burn a flag in a demonstration or to make a basketball bearing the flags image. I was always under the impression if a flag touched the ground it had to be burned. So if a flag embellished basket ball touches the ground does it have to be burned? Why is it alright to sell Flag underwear which of course ends up with railroad tracks on them? Doesn't that desecrate the meaning of the Flag? Why is
it okay to profit from selling products the bear flag images and will be sullied but not burn it for what some would consider a solemn reason.
Had I been Obama I would have asked this woman why she wasn't wearing a flag? I didn't see one on her, did you?
Obama has been attacked for some supposed 'link' to 60's African American radicals who blew up empty buildings (the only people who died were bombmakers). What about Hillary's links to Puerto Rican radicals who also blew up buildings but actually *tried* (and succeeded) to kill people? (Armed Forces for National Liberation - the FALN.) They were pardoned by Bill Clinton in 1999, after an approach had been made to Hillary's senate campaign office. It was felt the pardons would secure the Puerto Rican vote and help HRC's efforts to become Senator in NYC. So Clinton granted the pardons.
If you think I'm making this up then just google 'Bill Clinton Pardons Puerto Rican Bombers'
Many Americans kill other Americans everyday in this country, Whether by accident, on purpose or through willful stupidity and carelessness. They also since they have a lot of time on their hands see fit to go abroad and kill other people that they don't even know. I was sent by my government, based on their own justifications which they deemed legal, to kill people I didn't know. They called it the Vietnam War. We have yet another ongoing debacle now. Do you think that is appalling or justifiable?
Then it was back to Obama to defend his slim association with a former '60s radical, someone that did some terrible things, but at that time Sen. Obama was 8 years old, we all know this question is one that came out of rightwing talk radio and Sean Hannity on TV, but delivered by former Bill Clinton aide Stephanopolous. This approach led to a claim that Clinton's husband pardoned two other '60s radicals. And so on, and so on!!
I can assure you, I WON'T be watching your network or your news again! This is exactly what we as Americans DON'T want!!! The American people are a helluva lot smarter than you think!!! YOU BLEW IT ABC! BIG TIME!!
You're no better than the O'Reilly's and the Limbaughs and FIX News!!
I've said it time and time again, if there was ONE media outlet that dared to tell the people the TRUTH, all of the others would be non existent, because the truth is what we as the PEOPLE want on ALL fronts.