Originally Posted By mawnck This is pretty funny. >>Questions are being raised about PBS anchor Gwen Ifill's objectivity after news surfaced that she is releasing a new book promoting Barack Obama and other black politicians who have benefited from the civil rights struggle. Ifill is moderating Thursday night's vice-presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. Her book, "The Breakthrough," is due to be released about the same time the next president takes the oath of office. In her book, Ifill contends that the black political structure of the civil rights movement has cleared the way for post-racial politicians to ascend to new heights.. Now some are wondering whether Ifill can be fair and balanced, and whether she should be the moderator of Thursday's 9 p.m. ET debate. FOX News political analyst Michelle Malkin argued in a post on National Review that Ifill is "so far in the tank for the Democratic presidential candidate, her oxygen delivery line is running."<< <a href="http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/01/vp-debate-moderator-pens-pro-obama-book/" target="_blank">http://elections.foxnews.com/2...ma-book/</a> Note that this report says "questions are being raised" and then admits that it's their reporter (Fox News) that's raising them. Note also that the book in question is actually about the civil rights movement. In other words, she's "in the tank" for any candidate of a certain color, but we can't come right out and say that, now, can we. So everybody remember ... if Sarah does badly, it's **all** the moderator's fault.
Originally Posted By Mr X She moderated the 2004 VP debate. Were there any questions raised about her objectivity at that time?
Originally Posted By Mr X I say give Ifill the boot, and replace her with CAMPBELL BROWN!! She'll get to the bottom of things.
Originally Posted By Mr X "is releasing a new book on Barack Obama" Is this book JUST about Obama? I really hate this propaganda crap. It's sickening. There ought to be a law.
Originally Posted By dshyates I think they should dump the outrageously biased Ms. Ifill and get an unbias hard hitting Steve Doocey. Or that delightful Elizabeth Hasselback.
Originally Posted By RockyMtnMinnie From Amazon.com... >>>Product Description In THE BREAKTHROUGH, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power. Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the 1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama, and also covers up-and-coming figures from across the nation. Drawing on interviews with power brokers like Senator Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and many others, as well as her own razor-sharp observations and analysis of such issues as generational conflict and the "black enough" conundrum, Ifill shows why this is a pivotal moment in American history. THE BREAKTHROUGH is a remarkable look at contemporary politics and an essential foundation for understanding the future of American democracy. About the Author GWEN IFILL is moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and senior correspondent of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Before coming to PBS, she was chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News, and had been a reporter for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and Boston Herald American. She lives in Washington, D.C. <<< It seems that the book is written about the Civil Right Fight and how it has benefited the current generation. Gwen Ifill is African American so it isn't that big a stretch that she would choose this as the subject matter of her book. Maybe they need to find a good bible belt white guy to moderate to make this a fair debate.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy Maybe McCain should suspend his campaign and cancel all debates until an acceptable moderator is identified -- maybe after the election.
Originally Posted By Mr X If he cancels her debate (not a bad idea, honestly), can we lobby as a nation to get Tina Fey to stand in?
Originally Posted By Mr X Story gaining traction now. Rush pulls out "totally in the tank for Obama" (original..nice). Now showing up on CNN and Yahoo. McCain flip-flopping...hours from now he'll probably talk about what a travesty of justice this situation is. I think this debate MIGHT get canceled. Seriously.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>I think this debate MIGHT get canceled. Seriously.<< Surely they're not THAT dumb ...
Originally Posted By jasmine7 I'm starting to wonder that myself, X. I caught a little bit of Laura Ingraham & Sean Hannity this afternoon, and they were also raging about Ifill. Just unbelievable (not quite so much, though, as Ingraham's interview with MO governor Matt Blunt about the Obama "truth squads" [their words] in eastern MO).
Originally Posted By Tinkerbell819 <a href="http://www.essence.com/news_entertainment/news/articles/michelleobamabesidebarack/essence.com" target="_blank">http://www.essence.com/news_en...ence.com</a> <a href="http://www.essence.com/news_entertainment/news/articles/theobamasportraitofanamericanfamily" target="_blank">http://www.essence.com/news_en...anfamily</a> She has written some glowing stories about the Obama family.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Surely they're not THAT dumb ...*** This chess gambit is playing out in rare form. Watch for a few things to happen now. * McCain blasts the selection. * His campaign insists she recuse herself. * They demand a "neutral" moderator such as Rush Limbaugh or Hannity or some such nonsense (yeah, I know it won't be Rush, just kidding). * Either the Obama team acquiesces (they should, if they're smart), or rejects (they might feel they have to). * If they reject, expect the McCain people to cancel, blaming Obama for not cooperating.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Ifill has probably had it up to here with loudmouth radio idiots. Don Imus once referred to this highly accomplished journalist as "the cleaning lady."
Originally Posted By mawnck Or maybe not. >>McCain himself downplayed the revelation, perhaps rightfully so. His campaign approved of her selection and ostensibly knew about the book before hand (it had been in the news weeks prior). "I think that Gwen Ifill is a professional and I think she will do a totally objective job," said McCain, "because she is a highly respected professional. Does this help that if she has written a book that's favorable to Sen. Obama? Probably not. But I have confidence that Gwen Ifill will do a professional job."<< <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/01/judy-woodruff-comes-to-if_n_130948.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...948.html</a>
Originally Posted By Dabob2 What else could McCain say at this point? He gets to take the "high road" (while still making sure to say that Ifill wrote a book "favorable to Sen. Obama"); the noise machine can handle dismissing Palin's bad performance (if she gives one - she might not) by blaming it on Ifill. If Ifill presses Palin to answer a question she evaded, for instance (even if she does the same to Biden), look for the noise machine to use it as "evidence" that Ifill was "in the tank for Obama." It's what they do.
Originally Posted By WorldDisney Wow, say what you will, but this campaign is ANYTHING but boring . I hope someone put all 2,324 hours in a DVD package for the election, because Im sooo totally buying it . And if she wrote a book about Obama, even if its just a general topic and not just about him, she should probably drop out. I honestly dont think she would be biased or anything, especially when the world is watching your every move, but perception is strong in the political world as we all know. So have her drop out.....and get Bill Maher. No perception problems there. That guy can even say objectivity backwards ;D.
