Ratings, criticism big for ABC presidential debate
Thursday April 17, 4:31 pm ET
By David Bauder, AP Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- ABC News drew both record ratings and a heap of complaints about how Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos moderated the Democratic presidential debate, criticism that Stephanopoulos on Thursday called a sign of how much people care.By midafternoon Thursday, more than 15,600 comments were posted on ABC News' Web site, the tone overwhelmingly negative. A prominent TV critic, Tom Shales of The Washington Post, said Gibson and Stephanopoulos "turned in shoddy, despicable performances."
Why were liberals so bent out of shape, you ask? This is why:
Early in the debate, ABC's moderators asked for a pledge that the nomination fight's loser would be the vice presidential candidate (they wouldn't) and whether each candidate thought the other could beat Republican John McCain (they did).
Besides those questions, the first three issues raised concerned comments made by Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright; comments that Obama made about the draw of guns and religion to some rural Americans; and Clinton's false claim that she had been under sniper fire in Bosnia while first lady.
Obama was asked about why he hasn't worn an American flag pin on his lapel, and his relationship with a former member of the Weather Underground.
All of these issues were raised before Iraq and the economy came up.
Snob-ama the Bitter and Rich Girl Hillary research and rehearse answers to questions about Iraq and the economy. Their replies to "serious policy questions" are canned, focus group tested and insincere.
Stephanopoulos's and Gibson's questions had to do with candor, character, judgment and, most of all, honesty. Snob-ama and Hillary fall considerably short in all areas.
You can read the transcript of the debate here. And here's a sample to the "offensive" questions from the ABC moderators:
To Senator Snob-ama:
Talking to a closed-door fund-raiser in San Francisco 10 days ago, you got talking in California about small town Pennsylvanians who have had tough economic times in recent years. And you said they get bitter and they cling to guns or they cling to their religion or they cling to antipathy toward people who are not like them. You said you misspoke. You said you mangled what it was you wanted to say. But we've talked to a lot of voters. Do you understand that some people in this state find that patronizing and think that you said actually what you meant?
More than a year ago, you rescinded the invitation to him to attend the event when you announced your candidacy. He was to give the invocation. And according to the reverend, I'm quoting him, you said to him: "You can get kind of rough in sermons. So, what we've decided is that it's best for you not to be out there in public." I'm quoting the reverend.
But what did you know about his statements that caused you to rescind that invitation? And if you knew he got rough in sermons, why did it take you more than a year to publicly disassociate yourself from his remarks?
Senator Obama, your campaign has sent out a cascade of e-mails just about every day, questioning Senator Clinton's credibility. And you, yourself, said she hasn't been fully truthful about what she would do as president. Do you believe that Senator Clinton has been fully truthful about her past?
A gentleman named William Ayers. He was part of the Weather Underground in the 1970s. They bombed the Pentagon, the Capitol, and other buildings. He's never apologized for that.To Rich Girl Hillary:And, in fact, on 9/11, he was quoted in the New York Times saying, "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." An early organizing meeting for your State Senate campaign was held at his house and your campaign has said you are "friendly."
Can you explain that relationship for the voters and explain to Democrats why it won't be a problem?
Senator Clinton, how do you reconcile the campaign credibility that you have when you made those comments about what happened getting off the plane in Bosnia, which totally misrepresented what really happened on that day? You really lost my vote. And what can you tell me to get that vote back?
General Petraeus was in Washington. You both were there when he testified. Saying that the gains in Iraq are fragile and are reversible. Are you essentially saying: I know better than the military commanders here?
Snob-ama was clearly under the microscope here. So much so that there seems to be a soft consensus among the punditocracy that Hillary "won" the Pennsylvania debate.
I thought the liberal lovefest with Snob-ama would never end. I think the ABC debate was a brief respite, however. It didn't take long for some media outlets to attack the ABC debate and its moderators.
In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC
When Barack Obama met Hillary Clinton for another televised Democratic candidates' debate last night, it was more than a step forward in the 2008 presidential election. It was another step downward for network news -- in particular ABC News, which hosted the debate from Philadelphia and whose usually dependable anchors, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, turned in shoddy, despicable performances.
For the first 52 minutes of the two-hour, commercial-crammed show, Gibson and Stephanopoulos dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news. Some were barely news to begin with.
Obama Accuses Clinton of Playing Rough in ‘Gotcha’ Debate ...
Sparks flew so much at the Philadelphia debate, broadcast nationally on ABC, that media analysts questioned the motives of the debate moderators. Bloggers on the Huffington Post called it the worst debate ever. Others described the first Democratic debate in nearly two months as a “gotcha” confrontation.
Clinton Obama Pennsylvania Debate Sparks Media Controversy
While the “official” media consensus has yet to come in at this writing, monitoring live streaming, live blogging and early stories on the debate suggest it wasn’t Obama’s best night (possibly his worst debate performance), Clinton continued effectively and relentlessly on the attack — and ABC and the debate moderators will come under fire from Obama supporters and perhaps others due to the first 45-minutes being questions that basically put Obama on the defensive. One question asked was reportedly raised by conservative talk show Sean Hannity.
The Democratic contest for the party's nomination has turned into a train wreck for both candidates and their (former?) media allies.
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