This harassing of Gwen Ifill -- Are the Republicans trying to derail the debate?

[tblue]

Are they hoping it will be postponed or cancelled? Aren't they, with this chorus of whining, admitting SP really, really can't win it?

[mucifer]

1. desperation

[AllieB]

2. That's what it seems like, doesn't it?

Or if she completely blows the debate, they can say Ifill was biased.

Tom Brokaw admitted he was in the tank for McCain, but no one is pitching a fit on the left about it.

[RagAss]

20. Yeh ... well...we're gonna start now.

[BlooInBloo]

3. Yes...

This has been another episode of Simple Answers To Simple Questions.

[tblue]

6. Yes. I am stupid.

[Faygo Kid]

4. Of COURSE they are. They have nothing else anymore.

[Tallison]

5. I always check Google news to gauge media 'buzz'

And there are 626 related articles about the so-called 'controversy.' Not a whole lot relative to media coverage of the universe.

The curiosity is that Repugs didn't raise this as an issue until now.

ETA: Not all are about the controversy; some are about how she sprained her ankle earlier in the week. Of note, Giuliani is vouching for her inpartiality.

[npk]

7. All this whining is really getting old

Just shut up and debate, or don't. But stop all this whining.

[spanone]

8. they just found out that ifill is black.....

[Tallison]

12. Is this a recent development?

I mean, since they agreed to her?

[spanone]

16. she has a book coming out in january with 'obama' in the title

they are claiming she is partial...she began the book before the primaries

[Tallison]

21. I meant her being black

:P

[breadandwine]

32. Possibly Ifil was chosen because her ethnicity cuts both ways. She black, but also a woman.

So she could have been seen by the selection committee as impartial in that way. But the McCain camp is now going to go after Ifil in order to spin it as "Think of her as black, not as a woman," to intimidate her and spin after the debate and create sympathy for Palin and also promote the "liberal media" boogeyman. And who else to use as a symbol of that "pro-liberal" media bias than an African American, since some people out there will get their bigot juices flowing that way. Attacking Ifil makes suggestions of media bias easier because there are voters who will say, "Ifil is black, the media is leftwing, it all fits!!!" And it may work. The McCain campaign has been putting "villainous" blacks into its ads for some time and they know from focus groups that they can push the bigot button without actually saying an explicitly bigoted thing.

[Tallison]

But she's moderated the last couple VP debates, if I'm correct

It's kind of been 'her' position for the last 8 years, and it's the candidates who come and go...:shrug:

[Clio the Leo]

9. mark my words, if Barack wins they'll try to stall the inaguration.....

"It's too cold! Maybe we should have it in June!?"

[Imagevision]

10. Absurd! Ifel's book won't even be available until January 2009...

[instantkarma]

11. No.

They're simply crafting a story which might serve as an excuse afterwards. They're beginning to sell their talking points early in order to brainwash and maintain the base (and anyone else who might fall for it).

[BlueIdaho]

13. Its called an exit strategy...

When this debate is over - they can either claim that Pailn's ability to maintain a body core temperature of 98.6 is a resounding victory or they will claim the obvious bias of the moderator created a "Gotcha Debate" format unfair to poor little darling Sarah.

The real question is - will middle America buy this load of crap or will the know a turd when they smell one.

[tridim]

14. They're just setting up excuse number one for why Sarah sucked so bad in the debate.

"The moderator was obviously an Obama supporter, why else would she ask Palin about her views on China?"

[breadandwine]

34. I think that's only part of the situation. I think they can make Palin look pretty good by

being on the attack. Just attack, attack, attack and Palin comes out looking "feisty" and "ready to command."

[bluestateguy]

15. Why did they agree on her as moderater in the first place?

nt

[Arkansas Granny]

17. They are making "pre-excuses" for Palin because they know she is outclassed,

but they can't admit to her ignorance.

[AlCzervik]

18. personally i think they're trying to intimidate her, i don't think she'll take to kindly to

that tactic plus Gwen has been around for a long time so i'm sure she can more than handle herself and shitting on Ifill just makes them look even worse.

[breadandwine]

29. Yeah, I agree. They are trying to intimidate her.

They're smacking her around, and unfortunately, it may have some effect. Ifil is PBS, which depends on Federal money. She's going to feel pressure because they are going after her. It's intimidation. The GOP intimidates the media all the time. Many in the media are very afraid of the GOP. And even though PBS is "public" television, they get a lot of money from corporations, not just the government. Big fossil fuel companies give "donations" to PBS, and PBS says "This broadcast was made possible by so and so, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and a grant from Exxon Mobil." Or whoever. It's not called advertising but the corporate donor gets a plug none the less.

Then, of course, they can boost Palin in the post-debate spin by saying Ifil went after Palin. It's all about creating a boogeyman. Note that the GOP didn't, as far as I know, make a villain out of Jim Lehrer when he moderated the Obama-McCain debate. So who are the "villains"? Obama and Ifil notably. What common feature do they both have? You guessed it. Skin color.

[Imagevision]

19. Repugs will blame loss on good ole ---> Sarah!

[progdonkey]

22. they're working the refs, as usual...

By saying she's biased over and over and over again, they hope that she'll be forced to "prove" she's not biased by lobbing a few softballs at Palin.

It's how they've played the media for the past thirty years: if they're not 100% in the tank for you, call them liberals and biased, and the weaklings in the media follow suit by proving that they're not biased for liberals by being biased for conservatives.

[breadandwine]

33. And not only to get Ifil to throw Palin softballs. Also to get Ifil to throw Biden hardballs.

And Ifil is PBS, government funded and she probably makes a lot less than the corporate media. So they think they can intimidate her.

[ShadowLiberal]

23. Preparation incase Palin loses badly, and you know, bashing the 'liberal' media is their hobby

[OHdem10]

24. Exactly, setting it up---so they can make exuses for Palin if needed

However, I tend to think Palin will do ok.

[Seen the light]

25. *puts on flamesuit* She shouldn't be the moderator

Sorry, but she DOES have a financial interest in Senator Obama being elected. That would lead to more of her books being sold.

It's like when Dick Morris penned that book about the 2008 election obviously going to be a matchup of Hillary vs. Condi. If that had happened, his book might have sold well. Since he was off on both counts, his book is on every $1 bargain shelf in bookstores across America.

[truthisfreedom]

27. You're right about that, BUT... She's a professional and she will conduct herself exactly as if

it was a completely different set of people she was moderating. She knows she's being scrutinized. Her questions will not come across as partisan. She has a long-term profession to look out for... the book is only one aspect of her career.

[Seen the light]

28. I don't know, I just don't like the slightest hint of possible impartiality

For instance, I don't think George Stephanopoulos should have been anywhere NEAR the Hillary/Obama debate earlier this year after he worked directly for one of the participant's spouses.

I'm just worried that this debate is going to be a no-win situation. When Palin flops miserably, McCain's surrogates will just blame the "liberal media" that sabotaged her. JMO.

[breadandwine]

30. I agree. They are setting it up to blame the liberal media.

And Ifil certainly doesn't want her reputation tarnished by "controversy." So it's intimidation. They are going to use her after the debate to spin Palin's performance and make her look like a victim. And before the debate starts they are hoping to "put Ifil in her place." By creating suspicion that Ifil is an Obama partisan they are trying to push her to bend over backwards to prove her impartiality, to avoid charges she's favoring Obama.

So they may get some mileage, some favor toward their side out of it. And as they attack the media, who better than someone like Ifil to serve as their poster child of media liberalism than an African American journalist. Ifil is black. The media is liberal. It all "fits." Again. They didn't go after Jim Lehrer but they went after Ifil. Why? Okay, she wrote a book about Obama. But don't tell me they didn't target her in part because of her skin color. It's all calculated to push the dumb public's bigot button.

[Imagevision]

31. geeeusss! - Ifel's book won't be out until January - what is the problem?

[Tallison]

36. Independents' and Undecideds' perceptions are the only ones that count

You're right that the 'bases' will see what they want to see, and that is partiality on the part of the RW. While it bugs me they'll have that talking point, and a part of me wants to deprive them of it also, I don't think their gnashing and whining will phase many independents and undecideds.

On the other hand, one should never underestimate the extent of closet bigotry in this country.

I don't know, I see your point, but I really don't want to see it...

[AuntPatsy]

26. It certainly looks like they are already finding a theme to denounce the debate as fair because

they secretly have little or no faith in that particular female's ability to look at all like leadership material...

[MichDem10]

35. Just another attempt to distract.