In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC

[ckramer]

Source: wp

When Barack Obama met Hillary Clinton for another televised Democratic candidates' debate last night, it was more than a step forward in the 2008 presidential election. It was another step downward for network news -- in particular ABC News, which hosted the debate from Philadelphia and whose usually dependable anchors, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, turned in shoddy, despicable performances.

For the first 52 minutes of the two-hour, commercial-crammed show, Gibson and Stephanopoulos dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news. Some were barely news to begin with.

The fact is, cable networks CNN and MSNBC both did better jobs with earlier candidate debates. Also, neither of those cable networks, if memory serves, rushed to a commercial break just five minutes into the proceedings, after giving each candidate a tiny, token moment to make an opening statement. Cable news is indeed taking over from network news, and merely by being competent.

Gibson sat there peering down at the candidates over glasses perched on the end of his nose, looking prosecutorial and at times portraying himself as a spokesman for the working class. Blunderingly he addressed an early question, about whether each would be willing to serve as the other's running mate, "to both of you," which is simple ineptitude or bad manners. It was his job to indicate which candidate should answer first. When, understandably, both waited politely for the other to talk, Gibson said snidely, "Don't all speak at once."

For that matter, the running-mate question that Gibson made such a big deal over was decidedly not a big deal -- especially since Wolf Blitzer asked it during a previous debate televised and produced by CNN.

The boyish Stephanopoulos, who has done wonders with the network's Sunday morning hour, "This Week" (as, indeed, has Gibson with the nightly "World News"), looked like an overly ambitious intern helping out at a subcommittee hearing, digging through notes for something smart-alecky and slimy. He came up with such tired tripe as a charge that Obama once associated with a nutty bomb-throwing anarchist. That was "40 years ago, when I was 8 years old," Obama said with exasperation.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041700013_pf.html

---

F***'em!

[EVDebs]

1. Turned on ABC and thought it was Comedy Central...that's how bad it was nt

[Warpy]

2. I'm grateful to people on the east coast who watched

that abomination and wrote about it here and on other boards. Their comments were such that I didn't feel the necessity to tune in to such incredible drivel and indulged myself by watching this week's Top Chef, instead.

I probably learned more about the issues watching haute cuisine chefs cook junk food for a football tailgate party than I would have watching Gibson and Steponallofus trying to out tabloid Pox News.

I wish the LWV would come back now that Stupid is no longer running and doesn't have to have debates that are so ultra controlled that he can make canned speeches and have an audience think he's actually answering questions. The country is ill served by these formats in which everything is controlled by media hacks.

[uppityperson]

4. Indeed. Thank you east coasters for watching so we didn't have to.

[livetohike]

3. I'm still fuming over the debate

I just got on-line and am going to fire off some e-mails to ABC and the local affiliate. The questions for the first hour to both candidates were ridiculous. They did a disservice to Pennsylvanians wasting valuable air time.

What was with the flag pin question? Allowing that person to ask it makes Pennsylvanians look like a idiots.

[mitchtv]

5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE FLAG??????

WTF does that mean? what kind of idiot was that woman? the first 53 minutes was abdolutley disgusting. sadly Hillary seemed to enjoy wallowing in the mire. I will never watch those two again (traitor George and Gibson) "Bittetgate" "Mosul lie" "rev Wright" and "lapel pins". What a waste of time, an insult to our democracy.

[CADEMOCRAT7]

6. Thank you for the link

It helps. It was painful to watch last night.

[TankLV]

7. let me guess - obama didn't do too well, to put it politely?!?!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: