I flipped through the Clinton-Obama debate last night, but I've heard the candidates already and I found ABC's Charles Gibson unbearable.

At some points he seemed to think he was one of the debaters, and at others he just whiffed, as when he noted the anniversary of the murders at VA Tech and said "probably every American during this day, at one point or another, said a small prayer for the great people at that university and for those who died." I said out loud to the teevee that journalists are supposed to avoid generalizations like "every American," as it seems obvious that many Americans were oblivious of the anniversary, and that many others -- even some deeply touched by the event -- would not have marked the occasion with prayer. What a tool.

And I tuned in late, when they were actually talking policy. Apparently the earlier segments were worse in their own way: "Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, turned in shoddy, despicable performances...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...the most fascinating aspect was waiting to see how low [Gibson] and Stephanopoulos would go, and then being appalled at the answer." MORE: "[T]he most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years."

UPDATE: Bunch says, "you disgraced my profession of journalism."

Comments

[Fred Gregory]

I did not watch the debate and had intended to, but an incoming and for ever phone call scuttled that plan.

Thanks for your insights. But let's see now, which is more important, the performance of the moderators or the candidates? Jennifer Rubin at Commentary-Contentions has a round-up and a few observations of her own.

OUCH

[Spag]

Wow. They got treated by the moderators like Republicans for a change. ("Do you believe in evolution?" "Would the day that Roe v. Wade is repealed be a good day for Americans?" "[I]n your administration, spending for the city rose even before 9/11, after which it soared. Show me where you exercise fiscal discipline, sir" "You're pro-choice, you're pro-gay rights, you're pro-gun control; you supported Mario Cuomo for governor over a Republican. Are those the stands of a conservative?", etc)

I love it. Quit crying.

[Fred Gregory]

Jennifer Rubin has more

Obama Bombed

[JAT]

Will Bunch is a little biatch.

Hardened Good Morning America vet Charlie Gibson -- ooh, scary -- smacks Obama up on the head on capgains and the world is coming to an end.

I've been rooting for Obama -- and Kerry before that -- to go to China and advocate actual meaningful tax reform.

When Obama tells Gibson and America that the tax code is first and foremost about "fairness" -- ie redistribution -- he tells me that his "change" message is impossibly narrow.

[Chris C.]

"They got treated by the moderators like Republicans for a change."

Yeah. The CNN Republican YouTube debate was just as bad.

I'm not sure why that should be a cause for schadenfreude -- it sucks when it happens on either side -- but it's not really a surprise, either.

[Andy Vance]

"Do you believe in evolution?" is a gotcha question?

[Fred Gregory]

Do words matter ?

Just Words

[Bill Cunningham]

Well, well. It looks as if all the left wingers are consumed by fear, loathing and whining just because Obama got , for a refreshing CHANGE, some hard questions about some of his questionable associations and those snobbish remarks about small town Americans.

And sure enough , right on cue , Cone takes his signal from Daily Kos, Tom Shales and the other infuriated LMSM. The "trival matters " meme ain't hunting. Not so trivial for a man seeking the highest office in the land. Deal with it. Good job Charles and George !!

[Fred Gregory]

OK all you Obamabots, quick sign the Moveon.Org petition to protest the big meanie ABC's treatment of poor defenseless Obama.

Stand Up Against Distractions

"You are not a true American if you don't cry when you hear Obama speak " ..Chris Matthews
( or sign this petition. HA ! )