Hey, you know that woman who asked the flag pin question during the ABC debate debacle Wed night?

[housewolf]

Well, it turns out that she's not just "someone on the street with a question", but a "known entity. Her name is Nash McCabe and she'd been written up in a NYT article ranting on and on about how she just couldn't vote for a president who didn't wear a flag pin.

Josh Marshall's got the scoop here
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/189807.php
Turns out that McClatchy is on the story and has a sh*tload of info about how ABC tracked doew McCabe (link at the TPM article).

Josh discusses the idea that the debate debacle wasn't just a buch of ill-made pieces cobbled together but that the whole thing may have been engineered as a total piece of crap.

Good read ... go check it out.

[kevinbgoode]

1. I had tracked part of that . . .I saw the story

I'm glad they are working on this - I think they need to track the root of every question.

[Divine Discontent]

2. that's just ABC doing their extensive research, as George Steponallofus said

and you're just a disruptor!



ha


this is VERY interesting, thank you for it!

[kevinbgoode]

10. I just read the McClatchy story. . .the woman had no intention of

voting for Obama, This contrasts with the person they chose for the Clinton question, who was a supporter up until the "Bosnia" situation.

I'm not sure what journalism school Stephanopoulos went to, but it sure wasn't one that taught him any ethics. Any first year reporting student would KNOW the two are NOT balanced cases applicable to each candidate. ABC should be hit very hard for this mess - and I get the feeling the more tracking people do, the more the network is going to look like junior high reporters.

[Divine Discontent]

12. well, then that sounds good to me then! they need hit hard

not that there's much left to their crappy 'news' department anyhow.

[merh]

3. Two DUers caught this

check out this thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5559287

[housewolf]

13. Thanks!

I'd missed that post.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Of course the debate was engineered as a total piece of crap.

You can't suck that badly unless you work at it.

[Divine Discontent]

6. exactly...

America's being run into the ground is not just because they SUCK in the White House, they work at f***ng us over every chance they get, and it appears like they're just inept... just like the debate.

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. A DUer discovered this hours ago, give her some credit too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=5559287&mesg_id=5559287

[Zachstar]

7. The whole debate was a sham. A total hit piece.

[DJ13]

8. the whole thing may have been engineered as a total ........

......last ditch hit job to save Clinton.

[Arrowhead2k1]

9. I bet she voted for Bush. Twice!

She seems like the type. Just a hunch.

[pansypoo53219]

11. but doe she give a shit about

THE CDONSTITUTION?!?

these people are UN-AMERICAN to me.

[Raine]

14. Guess she won't be voting for Hillary

either because she wasn't wearing a flag.

[vixengrl]

15. I guess we had to know it was intentional--because it was a

"regular citizen with a question." That meant they knew what the question was, and put her on--they would not have done so if the question was: "Ginger or Maryann?" "Cats or dogs?" or even, "When did you stop beating your wife?" But the debate planners would have felt silly as all get out with Gibson or Stephanopoulous asking that particular substanceless question (even though they were fine with others), so they let it come from "the mouth of a regular person." This had the effect of making it look like this, naturally, just happened to be on the mind of a person "just like you, the viewer, at home." It's a very cynical bit of engineering.

They could not have found any "just folks" types with questions regarding signing statements, habeas corpus, extraordinary rendition, how are you going to restore the rep of America world-wide, or anything like that. Because in their mind "just folks" don't care about that. They should care about mom. Apple pie. Fuzzy puppies. And symbolic patriotism. Bless our regular little hearts.