Bill O'Reilly had a chance last night to discuss Fannie Mae
with Barney Frank. Apparently, O'Reilly is no longer seeking investment strategy from Frank.
Bonanza Steakhouse Park
9 years ago
Friday, October 3, 2008
Citizen Journalism
As we have discussed in class, the internet has opened the media up to anyone with the bandwith and inclination to participate. The opportunities to add to the dialogue are plentiful; however, there are potentially dangerous risks. This morning's hoax exemplifies part of the downside to the open mic.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Victory is Ours...No, It's Ours
Over the last 90 minutes, we've just seen one candidate answer the questions and another regurgitate the talking points that she has been force-fed over the past several days.
Both have claimed the victory; thankfully, only one claimed they will seize the power that is (not) structurally implicit in the Constitution, will not answer the questions asked and will not be filtered by the MSM.
The CBS poll of uncommitted voters conducted immediately after the debate gave the edge to Biden, with 98% seeing him as knowledgeable, up 19 points from prior to the debate, while Palin was seen as knowledgeable by 66%, up 23 points. Biden also wins on preparedness to be Vice-President with a 97%-55% advantage.
Both have claimed the victory; thankfully, only one claimed they will seize the power that is (not) structurally implicit in the Constitution, will not answer the questions asked and will not be filtered by the MSM.
The CBS poll of uncommitted voters conducted immediately after the debate gave the edge to Biden, with 98% seeing him as knowledgeable, up 19 points from prior to the debate, while Palin was seen as knowledgeable by 66%, up 23 points. Biden also wins on preparedness to be Vice-President with a 97%-55% advantage.
Today in History
Here are four noteworthy Vice-Presidential Debate moments; none of the candidates credited with memorable remarks went on to victory (clips 2, 3 and 4 - Admiral Stockdale was only memorable for being unaware of where he was). They have their place in history, but were never a heartbeat away.
Ifill Shower
Maybe I am naïve, but I was never certain whether Tim Russert was a Democrat or a Republican. Watching him over the years on Meet the Press, I didn’t know where he stood, nor did I really care - as a moderator his role was to facilitate the discussion with his questions. He was not the story. The controversy over Gwen Ifill as moderator has attempted to make her the story, while clearly she is not.
John McCain took the high road yesterday, praising Ifill and her professionalism, which was a prelude to light criticism from Palin and Rudy Giuliani. Outrage from the right has focused on the lack of disclosure of Ifill’s upcoming book “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” The fact that she was writing the book should have come as no surprise, as the first notice of it appeared in a Washington Times article on July 23 entitled “Smiley Faces Blog Anger.” "We have an awkward history about how to talk about race in the nation and in newsrooms," says Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent for PBS' "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" and author of "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," slated for publication early next year.
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the four moderators on August 5, and articles about Ifill, which included references to her book appeared in the Washington Post on September 4.
Why is the right crying foul two days before the Vice-Presidential debate? Where was their criticism back in August? Or September? Presumably Jim Lehrer, Tom Brokaw and Bob Schieffer were selected for their journalistic credentials, and no less should be said of Ifill. If the right truly thought there were bias issues, they did not have to look any further than the 2004 Vice-Presidential debate, which was also moderated by Ifill. Criticism from the right followed that debate as a result of an exchange between Ifill and Vice-President Cheney:
Ifill has been criticized in the past by political commentators for her performance as a moderator -- most notably in 2004's vice presidential debate between Dick Cheney and ex-Sen. John Edwards. Edwards lashed out at Cheney's ties to Halliburton, to which Cheney responded: "I can respond, Gwen, but it's going to take more than 30 seconds."
Ifill shot back: "Well, that's all you've got."
Where was the outrage in August? They had four years to foment. Now, as the debate approaches and the polls are moving in the wrong direction, it’s time to “work the refs” so there is a ready narrative if Sarah Palin fails to score in the debate. If the right is right, maybe both Ifill and Palin should have been better vetted.
John McCain took the high road yesterday, praising Ifill and her professionalism, which was a prelude to light criticism from Palin and Rudy Giuliani. Outrage from the right has focused on the lack of disclosure of Ifill’s upcoming book “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” The fact that she was writing the book should have come as no surprise, as the first notice of it appeared in a Washington Times article on July 23 entitled “Smiley Faces Blog Anger.” "We have an awkward history about how to talk about race in the nation and in newsrooms," says Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent for PBS' "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" and author of "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," slated for publication early next year.
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the four moderators on August 5, and articles about Ifill, which included references to her book appeared in the Washington Post on September 4.
Why is the right crying foul two days before the Vice-Presidential debate? Where was their criticism back in August? Or September? Presumably Jim Lehrer, Tom Brokaw and Bob Schieffer were selected for their journalistic credentials, and no less should be said of Ifill. If the right truly thought there were bias issues, they did not have to look any further than the 2004 Vice-Presidential debate, which was also moderated by Ifill. Criticism from the right followed that debate as a result of an exchange between Ifill and Vice-President Cheney:
Ifill has been criticized in the past by political commentators for her performance as a moderator -- most notably in 2004's vice presidential debate between Dick Cheney and ex-Sen. John Edwards. Edwards lashed out at Cheney's ties to Halliburton, to which Cheney responded: "I can respond, Gwen, but it's going to take more than 30 seconds."
Ifill shot back: "Well, that's all you've got."
Where was the outrage in August? They had four years to foment. Now, as the debate approaches and the polls are moving in the wrong direction, it’s time to “work the refs” so there is a ready narrative if Sarah Palin fails to score in the debate. If the right is right, maybe both Ifill and Palin should have been better vetted.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
McCain Confident in Ifill
“I think that Gwen Ifill is a professional and I think that she will do a totally objective job because she is a highly respected professional,” McCain said during an interview at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. “Does this help…if she has written a book that’s favorable to Senator Obama? Probably not. But I have confidence that Gwen Ifill will do a professional job and I have that confidence.”
The Next Attack From the Right?
As Sarah Palin and Joe Biden prepare for tomorrow night’s debate, I am keeping my eye on an item that may not develop into anything at all, or might be the next attention-diverting media attack launched by the McCain camp. Tomorrow night’s moderator, PBS anchor Gwen Ifill, is writing a book “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama” - scheduled for release in January 2009.
Blogger Michelle Malkin recently updated her posting to say that the McCain campaign did not know about the book: Fox’s Greta Van Susteren suggests that if there was not full disclosure, either Ifill should recuse herself, or the McCain camp should refuse to debate.
POST POSTING NOTE: I thought I had a scoop here until I read Colin's Trinity Bloggers post, and then to add insult to injury, his To Wit column...my face is devil-duck red!
Blogger Michelle Malkin recently updated her posting to say that the McCain campaign did not know about the book: Fox’s Greta Van Susteren suggests that if there was not full disclosure, either Ifill should recuse herself, or the McCain camp should refuse to debate.
POST POSTING NOTE: I thought I had a scoop here until I read Colin's Trinity Bloggers post, and then to add insult to injury, his To Wit column...my face is devil-duck red!
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