Did Jennings "kill off" Sharpton?

[mrgorth]

Correct me if I'm wrong but it seemed like Peter Jennings through a rather tough one at Al Sharpton with the intent of burying him. Wadda ya think?

[xultar]

1. Nope, Sharpton is alive and kickin until after SC. n/t

[Renew Deal]

2. I didn't think it was tough.

It just proves that Big Al is all talk and full of it.

[wtmusic]

3. The Federal Reserve question made Al look *bad*

Al looks very good on a lot of issues. But the question revealed his lack of depth.

[fjc]

6. The question was intended to make him look bad.

It's the only thing that can explain why he targeted Sharpton with it. Sharpton's strength is rhetorical, and he made an excellent point that was ignored with his remark about the defense of marriage act and states rights - it put all the other candidates in a very odd light, given that we're supposed to be the party of civil rights. I also thought that someone, perhaps Sharpton, should have answered that question about bigotry in the affirmative.

[Egnever]

4. With any luck

Its time to thin this field and get rid of the hangers on. Sharpton has had some good things to say and I am glad he was in the race but its long past time to thin this field. With any luck NH will get rid of sharpton joe and dennis.

[Monument]

5. that question really gave us a peek under the covers

Al handled it miserably and really showed that he was window dressing at the debate.
Al is a fantastic orator, inspriational to many for his committment to civil rights, and probably a great reverend. He simply would not make a good president. There's no substance.

[underpants]

8. I'd say you are right about the debate but..........

to be quite honest that was a doozy of a question let alone trying to answer it in 60 seconds.

All didn't handle it well nor would most people put on the spot like that (I know he chose to join in this race).

Now, will Terry Moran pose the same question to W at the next press conference?

[Ripley]

7. Would you say that if he asked anyone else that question?

Anyone running for President should have a grasp of what the Federal Reserve is and does and also he should be able to name a few economists.

[WI_DEM]

9. no

if Sharpton doesn't win a single primary and has less than 100 delegates he will go until the end. Besides, how did Jennings kill off Sharpton? Sharpton misunderstood his question on the Federal reserve.

[theboss]

10. Simple question/horrible answer

It's a trap question only if you can't answer it. I mean, no one watching can name a leading economist, but they certainly hope the President can. All you need to do is say something about inflation, mumble something about borrowing rates, name two people from Harvard, and move along. Al looked lost.

[Monument]

12. Perfectly said

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

11. A lot of people have it in for Sharpton

I'm a native New Yorker, so he's been something of a "celebrity" here for many years, long before he became a national figure, and he was always a very polarizing force. People truly either loved him or hated him, and I don't think that's changed one bit. I can't say whether or not Peter Jennings was intentionally trying to fuck him up, but that's certainly a credible possibility.

He was on Bill Maher's show last week and the actor Ron Silver was on the panel also, and the two of them were at each other like a couple of pirhanas for the full hour, so I guess compared to that I'd have to say that Jennings didn't strike me as particularly having an axe to grind with Sharpton. But like I said, you would have had to have seen the show last week to appreciate the full extent of the hatred that some people have for him out there. So I guess Jennings actually seemed relatively subdued to me, and didn't really strike me as having it in for Sharpton.

[iowapeacechief]

13. Al stumbled all by himself...

...even if he truly misunderstood the question. He fumbled on the recovery, too. Too bad. It was not a trick question--unfortunately.

[theboss]

14. Perfect example of how to handle trap questions

I was at a Clinton/Gore rally in WV in '92. During question time, someone in the audience threw out a question about hemp and quoted a book on the subject. (For the record, they looked like people who would support used of hemp). You could actually feel the tension, because if either of them botched it, it would be on the 6:00 News as: "Clinton/Gore support government funding of drug use."

Without missing a beat, Gore quoted a government study he had read on the subject, gave a quick costs/benefits analysis, gave a platitude on how drug use is bad, and thanked the person for their passion. The thing is Gore may have given the "wrong" answer but he answered the question correctly. It's better to give a wrong answer than a bad answer (if that makes sense).