2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumDebate Disaster in the Making
Opinions on how fair Crowley will be? I have my doubts, so this is troubling...
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/10/15/10337/924
Debate Disaster in the Making
by BooMan
Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 10:03:37 AM EST
So, CNN's Candy Crowley, who is going to moderate tomorrow's townhall-style presidential debate, wants to interject herself into the Q & A of the contenders by the public despite that not being what either campaign agreed to.
In the view of both campaigns and the commission, those and other recent comments by Crowley conflict with the language the two campaigns agreed to, which delineates a more limited role for the moderator of the town-hall debate. The questioning of the two candidates is supposed to be driven by the audience members themselves likely voters selected by the Gallup Organization.
I guess Ms. Crowley heard all the criticism that Jim Lehrer received for being a potted plant and she doesn't want to get the same treatment. I can't say that I blame her. Personally, I would prefer it if she would call bullshit because otherwise that becomes the president's job. And the president would rather answer the voters' questions than spend all his time correcting whatever it is that Romney just said.
Newt Gingrich said (about Romney) that it is impossible to debate a liar. I don't think it is impossible, but it is more difficult if there is no moderator willing to challenge blatant falsehoods and flip-flops. In the Saturday Night Live skit of the first debate, they had Jim Lehrer tell the president that Romney had just claimed credit for killing bin-Laden. They got that wrong. Jim Lehrer probably wouldn't have even mentioned a lie like that. At least, that's what his record on that night tells us. We don't need a repeat of that.
On the other hand, Candy Crowley's idea of the truth has never been all that firm, so maybe she should just stay out of it.
Guy Whitey Corngood
(26,501 posts)gkhouston
(21,642 posts)respect the guidelines laid down for the debate.
Rosco T.
(6,496 posts)barnabas63
(1,214 posts)bongbong
(5,436 posts)"Mr. President, can you elaborate on your last answer, and then explain why you hate America?"
"Governor Esteemed Mr Perfect Romney, what are your favorite colors, and how does this reflect your love of the Middle Class?"
Hutzpa
(11,461 posts)CreekDog
(46,192 posts)in the case of Lehrer, he was it. so whatever he neglected got left out.
but in the case of the audience, what one audience member asks, another can ask something else, or something related.
i do like the idea of a journalist pressing for an answer if one is not given --i don't really trust Crowley to do that in any fair way.
amborin
(16,631 posts)on another note:
are Romney's deficit ads being countered?
the ones about the the women and the baby and how the deficit will harm
future generations?
it really needs to be countered
bemildred
(90,061 posts)I was dumbfounded when I heard they picked her for a Mod.
Zoeisright
(8,339 posts)Princess Turandot
(4,787 posts)I saw it twice last night on TNT. The gist of it was 'this is the Pres debate, CNN style' and briefly talked up her experience, like they were promoting a fucking talk show.
Justice
(7,188 posts)leftynyc
(26,060 posts)There are questions being sent by audience members and others that will be picked by CC. Her job is to pick the questions and the order they are asked.
MSMITH33156
(879 posts)the bar has been set so low for Obama, that he will exceed the expectations. Tonight will be the end of the election, and Obama will have it.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)since he has a zillion lies and flip flops
hamsterjill
(15,220 posts)Seriously. She would be my pick.
Comrade_McKenzie
(2,526 posts)NHDEMFORLIFE
(489 posts)The best we can hope for is that she becomes sufficiently intimidated by the setting and keeps her babbling to herself.
Lone_Star_Dem
(28,158 posts)I knew something was up when I read they'd agreed to that.