The worst moderator in the history of televised debates?

[EnfantTerrible]

I'm appalled at that sad display. Questions with arbitrary restrictions, a lack of follow up or focus, neither candidate was pressed by the moderator to clarify or take a stand. It was disgraceful IMO.

I welcome any and all comments.

[MSgt213]

1. Not impressed at all by whoever that was. I don't know who came up with

the questions but they seemed a little softball in terms of both Cheney and Edwards.

[caledesi]

2. Gwen Ifill is a cadaver. nt

[PROGRESSIVE1]

3. I do not agree with some here that Ms. Ifill is a Right Wing Whore but...

she does take her talking points from the Rethugs. Most of all, she is really not a journalist. She belongs on Inside Edition or some other tabloid t.v. crap show. Unlike the great Jim Leher, she did not go into substance and follow up questions.

She was congenial to both candidates.

:eyes:

[EnfantTerrible]

8. I'll take some heat for this

but I thought she favored Edwards.

[Lerkfish]

20. as I said elsewhere:

to Edwards: "they say you're inexperienced"
to Edwards: "what about all this flipflopping?"
to Edwards: "Do you feel attacked when called a Trial lawyer?"
to Edwards: "Does your party's views on foreign policy mean you would have left Saddam in Power?"

Those are all classic republican talking points, phrased as questions and directed at Edwards.

But to Cheney:

"the news today on the report YOU COMMISSIONED...." (gives him a plausible out on what should have been a body blow)

and other examples too numerous to mention, including allowing Cheney to have more time for extension than Edwards on several occasions...

A moderator should not be a shill. period.
 

[EnfantTerrible]

22. I believe that clarifying who commisioned the report

was forcing Cheney to address the contents which were not favorable to the administration and goes against the White House line on the topic. How is that giving him a plausible out?

Also while all those questions may be Republican talking points they were also an opening for Edwards to set the record straight about them... to answer and kill the spin. I fail to see how that favors Cheney.

[sonicx]

23. so CNN and Foxnew ask bias questions to Dems

so that they can 'clear up the spin'?

[EnfantTerrible]

24. Here's my point

This was a chance for Edwards to lay all of this shit to rest once and for all, in real time and in a forum where he had the largest viewing audience he's going to get in this entire campaign. CNN and Faux (esp) have a very partisan viewing audience... the debate was viewed by a bi-partisan and undecided audience who may benefit from hearing him clear up the Repug spin. I still don't see how this was a bad thing.

[TheDebbieDee]

9. I read in a thread here at DU a couple of days ago...............

that Gwen Ifill and Condi Rice are good friends.

[stopbush]

4. They don't call her Gwen Awful for nothing!

[madaboutharry]

5. She was terrible

She had no control over the debate. It really started to drag.

[earthside]

6. Ifill Was Pretty Bad

I have been a candidate for local office in the past. Local newspapers always ask stupid questions like "What is your favorite book?" "What is your favorite television show?"

Gwen asked one of those stupid questions ... the one where they weren't supposed to mention their running mates name.

Stupid.

[Ready4Change]

7. 1st Cheney question was a repub dream.

It grouped 3 hard questions for Cheney all into one. Makes it real easy to let one or two slide through without being rigorously examined.

I also agree regarding the vague or redundant questions, and the arbitrary restrictions.

[Zeke]

10. Gwen Iful !!!!!!!!!!!!

Hate her.

Wouldn't wanna date her.

[ninainsf]

11. Seems she was trying to start a fight

My impression was that she was intentionally trying to ignite fire, rather than drawing out information for the viewers.

[EnfantTerrible]

16. Really?

Hell, I would have welcomed that! It didn't seem to me that she was paying attention or had enough of a grasp of the issues she was raising to redirect or get clarifications from either candidate. She was in over her head IMO. She couldn't even keep track of who questions were initially directed to.

[REP]

12. I *Hate* *Hate* *Hate* The Way She Talks

Gewn Ifill sounds like a manure salesman with a mouth full of samples. She has the worst fucking elocution since Baba Wawa. People with serious speech impediments and no journalism skills simply do not need to have jobs as media mouthpieces.

[freeplessinseattle]

15. like the invisible adult in "Charlie Brown".

that's what I kept thinking. could they have picked a worse moderator?

[REP]

18. Like the Invisible Adult with a Mouthful of Marbles

She doesn't sound like a wawa mute; she sounds as though she's practicing her diction by speaking with a cork in her mouth and forgot to take the fucking cork out.

It could have been worse; it could have been O'Rielly.

[freeplessinseattle]

13. that sucked when the stupid bitch messed up

by telling Edwards he had 30 seconds to respond, which caught him off guard, then caught herself 15 seconds later. Cheney was smiling, guess he thought her fuck-up was a positive for him because it caught Edwards off guard, but I thought E handled it well...and at least he acknowledged that she was wrong before she did, C might have just run with it and looked really stupid. but if she can't keep track of who's turn it is she can't fulfill the minimal part of her job that she was obviously underqualified for. stupid stupid stupid woman

[Delarage]

14. Back off! I like her on Washington Week

But I agree, she wasn't the best moderator I've ever seen.

I say bring back the League of Women voters!

[EnfantTerrible]

21. Sorry

But I couldn't care less about how she performs on some pundit panel. This was a NATIONAL DEBATE IN THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY!!!!! And she didn't just underperform here... she was down right AWFUL and these opportunities are too important to be pissed away by underqualified moderators.

[sal]

17. She's Condi's gay lover for crissakes!!

Whoever agreed to her on Kerry's team should be utterly ashamed. I knew this and I don't even read Wonkette. Sheesh!

[sundancekid]

19. Gwen Awful likes to throw her crap from way across the playpen ... she did

NOT even look comfortable inside her own skin in that type of up-close and personal space ... let alone her capacity for "moderating" any exchange ... she exuded a similar emotional constipation to that of snidley cartcrash (with too many "memory hole moments" of his own)

[fujiyama]

25. She didn't seem whorish

necessarily, but it was awkward nevertheless.

She also screwed up Edwards's respnse with that thirty seconds. I don't think there was any inherant bias, but the questions weren't very good....and overall it wasn't nearly as interesting a debate as the other one...Plus I loved seeing Bush collapse on Thursday's debate.

[EnfantTerrible]

26. I agree

She didn't look whorish to me either... just inept.