An Open Letter to Lester Holt, Martha Raddatz and Anderson Cooper

[Skidmore]

Disseminate widely & get copies to them & their outlets.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-nelson/an-open-letter-to-lester_b_12071454.html

A florid-faced bully stood on a table in a local bar and raged at my friends and me about some imagined slight. It was 1965. Although we could have prevailed if he got violent, his aggressive tirade made it clear that he was willing to go further toward a confrontation than we wished, so we sat in cowed silence until he stormed off.

I was a young man then and didn’t know what I know now. The bully on the table was confident in his ugly anger. He knew human behavior better than we did. Normal people don’t challenge a lunatic. Now I know he would have crumbled and slunk away, had anyone stood up to him.

This is Donald Trump. In the recent Commander-in Chief Forum, as in all the Republican primary debates, Trump blustered and intimidated in a similar fashion. The moderators weren’t willing to escalate the exchange, so they moved on. It is time for journalists to confront Trump, not back down when he escalates, and either reduce him to a whimper or expose him as the intemperate fraud he is.

Only 8 days from now the first of the 2016 Presidential debates will take place at Hofstra University, moderated by NBC News anchor Lester Holt. It is predicted to be among the most watched television events in American history. Here is my unsolicited advice for Holt, Martha Raddatz and Anderson Cooper....more.

[C_U_L8R]

1. And Chris Wallace??

Guess he's really not worth the ink or the effort.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. You think there will be a 3rd debate?

I'd venture a guess ... by #3, the campaigns agree to one hour each - separately.

[LiberalLovinLug]

9. Goes without saying

I'm sure they at Faux News have been already putting Wallace through hours of practicing and preperation of how he will steer the debate or different methods to cut off topics that Republicans wouldn't like. Memorizing tit for tat "scandals" to counter any questioning about Trumps past etc...

[Jerry442]

2. Holt, Raddatz, Cooper and Wallace might stand up to Trump.

They might also walk on water.

[world wide wally]

3. They don't have to do anything but point out the lies

[politicaljunkie41910]

10. Raddatz proved she's incapable of doing so on This Week with George Stephanopolos.

In an interview with Mike Pence, she allowed Pence to call Hillary dishonest six times while not answering her question. There was no follow up i.e. you didn't answer my question. She simply just moved on to the next question and farce continued.

[world wide wally]

11. That sounds typical.

Nothing like incompetence

[ginnyinWI]

4. And it would be great if they kept on him until he lost his temper.

The voters need to see him lose control when pressured. This is something nobody wants. The most conservative voters want someone strong and in control, not a spluttering, blubbering baby.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. There will be a point

where those on stage rest their case

No sense in trying to stop a runaway steam engine

Just let him foam at the mouth

Let the people see what he's up to

[Hortensis]

7. Yes. Trump was meek before President Pena-Nieto and

Flint Pastor Faith Green Timmons, only lashing out at them angrily like a coward once he was out of their reach for being embarrassed by his interaction with them.

Good post, Skidmore. Thanks, so agree.

[Scalded Nun]

8. One big problem is that these folks are not journalists anymore

They are just entertainers, willing to do their master's bidding.

None of them follows the truth/facts anymore, just the agenda.

I wonder how the debates would look if the League of Women Voters was still running the show?

[world wide wally]

12. They are not very entertaining