He Came, and He Saw, but Did He Moderate?

[CGowen]

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: January 6, 2008

The first debates after the Iowa caucuses were a crucible for the candidates, but they were also a test of the Gibson Doctrine. ABC’s anchor, Charles Gibson, began the evening with a policy statement: “The less of a moderator, the better.”

Last night, however, a little more moderator would have been for the best.

Charles Gibson’s low-key, avuncular style was a counterpoint to the aggressive cross-examinations of Tim Russert, of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” in the debates he moderated. But in the end, Mr. Gibson’s approach came off as passive-aggressive.

At certain moments, he loftily lectured the candidates. He scolded the Republicans for “intellectual dishonesty” about oil prices. He mocked Democrats who promised to change Washington, saying, “God love you all.”

....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/us/politics/06watch.html

[samdogmom]

1. And, the bit about the "surge" working, was totally bogus! Wow!

Wow, again! With no "facts" beyond a few "observers", we, the viewers, were told (in no uncertain terms) that the "surge" is working because fewer Americans have died in December (and there has been less violence)than previous months! What the heck? What kind of proof is this?

I was glad that ALL of our candidates pointed out that POLITICAL advancement and SELF-GOVERNMENT potential is the measure and NOT "reduced death and violence".

Sigh! Our media...totally lame and totally useless!

[km7368]

3. lame and useless?

I agree that our media has some major improvements to in regards to how they present certain stories, address certain biases, but personally I think that with recent growing technological advancements the mainstream media has grown to include blogging and online reporting; and I think thats a step in the right direction, although traditional media such as ABC news dont always represent us well.

[bunkerbuster1]

2. When I saw that the word "surge" did not appear in this article

I read no further.

Gibson's regurgitation of the Freeper talking point, "Teh SURGE IZ WORKING!!11!!" was reprehensible, although I think our Dems all handled it well, and with a lot more class than I would've.