Gibson and Stephanopoulos Taken to Task

Photo from (of all places) FOX "News"

As I said previously, I didn't get to see last night's debate, but I've heard, seen and read a lot about it today. The general consensus from the right seems to be that Barack Obama finally had to answer some "hard" questions. From the left, the thinking seems to be that he had to answer some hard right questions.

From what I've learned, it sounds like the debate was run like Meet the Press or This Week rather than a debate, with the "moderators" acting more like inquisitors. Beyond that, it seems clear that the first half of the debate was engineered to present the "gotcha" questions, trying to get soundbites, while the more boring substantive questions were saved for the second half.

Does anyone remember when the debates were run by the League of Women Voters, and that the moderators let the candidates provide the "gotchas?"

[Excerpt]

An open letter to Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos

Dear Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos,

It's hard to know where to begin with this, less than an hour after you signed off from your Democratic presidential debate here in my hometown of Philadelphia, a televised train wreck that my friend and colleague Greg Mitchell has already called, quite accurately, "a shameful night for the U.S. media." It's hard because -- like many other Americans -- I am still angry at what I just witnessed, so angry that it's hard to even type accurately because my hands are shaking. Look, I know that "media criticism" -- especially when it's one journalist speaking to another -- tends to be a genteel, collegial thing, but there's no genteel way to say this. . .

Read more at: Attytood

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link