Gwen Ifill: Conservatives used me to change the subject, Palin blew me off

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Gwen Ifill: Conservatives used me to change the subject
David Edwards and Andrew McLemore
Published: Sunday October 5, 2008

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Gwen_Ifill_Conservatives_used_me_to_1005.html

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin had announced during Thursday's debate that she "may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear."

In other words, she "blew me off I think is the technical term," moderator Gwen Ifill of PBS said Sunday.

Palin avoided answering questions 10 times by being non-specific or simply pivoting away to another issue, Politico reported.

Ifill explained to NBC's Tom Brokaw how the event had been presented beforehand compared to what actually happened on stage.

She said that if the candidates decide they are not going to debate one another, "there is very little a moderator can do other than say, 'No, no, no, listen, please answer the question."

Ifill also related the difficulty of having been thrust into the media spotlight when prior to the debate, conservatives called for Ifill to be replaced as the debate moderator because she is writing a book partially about Obama.

"What I discovered this week, in an uncomfortable way, is that when they throw everything in the mix to change the subject that you can get in the way. I got in the way of it this week. It was an interesting -- I kind of didn't pay attention to a lot of it -- but it was interesting to realize that if changing the subject from the stakes of vice president meant talking about the moderator instead of talking about the candidate, they would do that. If that meant raising questions about anything else that's out there -- which is why if you leard one thing about this campaign is every week it will be something else."

This video is from NBC's Meet the Press, broadcast October 5, 2008: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Gwen_Ifill_Conservatives_used_me_to_1005.html

[oldtime dfl_er]

1. Ifill was the wrong moderator

independent of the book issue. She's just not forceful enough. If a candidate doesn't answer a question, it's the mod's duty to ask it again, and maybe a third time. Even Katie Couric knew to do that.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Can you imagine William F. Buckley dryly intoning, "I don't believe you answered

the question I posed. Would you prefer I restate it in two-syllable words?"

[Kahuna]

3. Nobody could have seen that coming, right Gwen?

:puke:

[book_worm]

4. Gwen, the time to complain was during the debate

You could have said things like: "Governor Palin this question is for you and could you please answer it rather than going off subject" or interrupted her as she was speaking and say, "Governor, I believe you didn't hear my question, it was..."

[Fluffdaddy]

5. Ifill, shut the hell up. I lost all respect for you. The GOP made you their Bitch

[Solomon]

6. It was far better that Ifill let Palin refuse to answer the

questions than to get into a fight with her. Everybody could see that she didn't answer the questions. Ifill did a good job staying out of it.