Pennsylvania Debate should be the last for the Democrats
Categories: Politics and Elections
Written By: Shawn Williams
There was no need for debate in Pennsylvania in the first place. But if there had been any reason to believe that we were going to get the farce that was the ABC moderators, then in would have been an easy call.George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson were an embarrassment to their profession. At least journalism is a second profession for Stephanopoulos. His first profession is defender of the Clinton legacy.
George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson were an embarrassment to their profession.
Anyone who has watched This Week with George Stephanopoulos can attest that the moderator has gone to great lengths to stoke the Jereimiah Wright flames. Who would have imagined he and Charlie would spend the first 45 minutes of the debate on tabloid issues of pastors, lapel pins, and sniper fire.
Tom Shales of the Washington Post declared that The Clear Loser Is ABC when looking at Tuesday’s debate. ” The fact is, cable networks CNN and MSNBC both did better jobs with earlier candidate debates,” Shales says in The Post. “…neither of those cable networks, if memory serves, rushed to a commercial break just five minutes into the proceedings.” He also talks about how ABC often cut to Clinton supporters in the crowd without giving Obama supporters equal screen time.
There have now been 21 debates in the Democratic Presidential race. I believe the debates in Ohio and Texas were somewhat informative. Stephanopoulos and Gibson have taken us down a road I don’t want to see again.
“I’ll be honest with you, we’ve now had 21,” he said. “It’s not as if we don’t know how to do these things. I could deliver Sen. Clinton’s lines; she could, I’m sure, deliver mine,” Obama said about the debates. The Senator from Illinois has suggested he would rather campaign out with the voters rather than rehash old talking points on television. I hope he sticks to that plan.
On a final note, there is an interesting (non scientific) poll from the Pittsburg Post-Gazette. The question was asked: Did the presidential debate help you decide how to vote? The results:
Clinton convinced me to vote for her. - 431 (17%)
Obama convinced me to vote for him. - 1032 (42%)
I’m still undecided. - 95 (4%)
I had already picked my candidate and nothing will sway me. - 552 (24%)
I watched the Penguins playoff game. - 226 (10%)
I couldn’t miss American Idol. - 23 (1%)
What election? - 41 (2%)
Thanks to Eddie G. Griffin and African-American Political Pundit for their contributions to this report.
April 18th, 2008 at 7:36 am
When was the last time the media, or anyone, questioned a white Presidential Candidate’s patriotism? It’s sick and it’s sad. Attempted character assassination, innuendo and bold-faced lies are always the clearest signs of desperation.
I am far less concerned about which politicians are wearing American Flag Lapel Pins, than which ones are sending my brothers and sisters thousands of miles away to die in the desert under false pretenses to satisfy the whims of a small group of wealthy draft-dodgers with more greed than common sense.
I question Hillary Clinton’s patriotism. I question Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney and George Bush’s patriotism. I question Donald Rumsfeld’s and Paul Wolfowitz’s patriotism and any other politician that supported the abomination known as “George W. Bush’s Iraq War.”
April 18th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I liked the debate and thought ABC did their job as the media should to let people know who their candidate really is. We know nothing about Sen. Obama and these questions should have been asked a long time ago. He is not who is representing himself to be and it needs to come out. He is not some poor black kid who was raised poor, he went to some of the best bording schools in Hawaii and was raised with opportunities average people don’t have. I think if wants to be president of the US, people have a right to know who he is, Hillary and all other candidates have been asked tough questions, why not Sen. Obama, it appears you people are trying to slip something over on American, like who Obama really is! If your hate is so great for the Clintons is so great that is your problem, but we should not have to be subjected to such bias reporting from most of the media. I don’t believe for one minute your polls are acurate, you are just trying to manipulate the public. Obama is one of two things, he is either a person who says he is one thing, but really thinks like the people he hangs around, like his Rev. and the unrepenting terrorist, or he has used these people’s influences to get where he is and hasn’t the guts to break the ties. He brags about not taking money from interest groups, yet he has had ties with people who are radical, and of bad character to further his career. So stop trying to pedal your crap to America, because some of us, and I would say a lot of us are tired of you, not the issues about Obama. Be honest with America.
April 18th, 2008 at 8:11 am
The far left wing democrats are going to vote for Obama no matter what, they want someone who is for anything, partial obortions, raising taxes on the middle class, having ties with radicals. He will take your hand guns, where the criminal will only have guns, He will legalize gay marriages and he will not help Irael. Well read your Bibles about all this.
April 18th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Agree w/OKC Demo.
By what sense are these questions out of line? Bt Liberal “Fiat” only, it seems.
If this had been a Rep. with a KKK pastor, they would be crucifying him/her and shelling him/her with questions.
Obt has had the “kid glove ” treatment all along. No “There: there at all, it increasingl;y appears. Stand by for the general election, folks, if this is our standard bearer-and am not a Clinton fan either! McCain will devour this “new age” phony.
April 18th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Here is some excellent critical commentary on the debate and on the American corporate media’s coverage of US elections generally:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/18/great_american_hypocrites_glenn_greenwald_on
April 18th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
What is amazing to me is that after an entire campaign predicated on saying nothing of substance, and only giving the same speech about change and hope and “yes we can”, and Obama’s less than favourite cousin, Dick Cheney and trying to inspire a quasi-religious movement, suddenly Obama is complaining about how no questions of substance were asked for the first 45 minutes of the debate. As if people shouldn’t really be asking my Obama stayed in the church in which the preacher is a racist bigot, and whose paper published articles by Hamas leaders. Or questions about why he thinks it’s okay to go to San Francisco, and in a closed session in front of rich contributors explain how all small town Americans are a bitter gun toting religious bigots. I think the debate was absolutely fair and if Obama thinks this is tough, he will completely fall apart in the general election.
April 19th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Poor little Barack! Guess he doesn’t want anyone to know about his lack of patriotism, his radical, bigoted, anti-American domestic terrorist friends, his priviledged background, and his real agenda. It’s about time he started coming under scutiny.
April 20th, 2008 at 9:06 am
I am imppressed there remains some very smart Americans out there. As a non- American; black man of African descent and living in Canada, I had wondered if Americans have all become so naive?
First off, how is that the vast majority of Americans, the democrats in particular are not able to make the connection! Obama has since shown who he really is but so many gullible people still keep voting for him. My bible tells me that out of the abundance of the heart the minds speeketh. Obama in the past has said he stopped wearing the US flag lapel pin for his stupid and lying reasons, even though in responding to a question during the ABC debate, he stated he never said he won’t wear the pin. This is another lie that the media and his supporters alike have largely ignored. Here is my own conclusion, Obama stopped wearing the lapen pin after 911, because, this is folowwing the sermon by his pastor one week after 911, No ‘disciple’ hears a sermon like that and believing his pastor won’t throw his lapel in the garbage. His wife’s college thessis was no coincidence, her been proud for teh first is no coincidence either. If thier pastor preached that America has no place for the black man and suddenly her husband starts winning obviously she would be proud..go figure!
Obama has lied consistently about so many things ; tsupport for he war in Iraq for example. In 2002 he sais he was not in support, in 2004 he said had he been in the senate he was not sure how he would have voted, because in his words ‘those who voted for the war may have some information/intelligence he may not have had in 2002. Furthermore, he was quoted as saying that he was on the same page with George Bush on the war. With statements like these how come the media give him so much credits for been right on Iraq? This is a fairy tale, words Bill Clintonn used to describe Obama’s position on Iraq which the media chose to use to go against Bill and his wife.
Obama lied about NAFTAand meetings with Canadians but in the media the only lies we hear talked about by CNN and it’s worst political team especially Carl Bernstein ( the Clintons known critic) is Hillary’s lies on Bosnia, trip etc. My point here is Hillary’s lies is a bad thing so are Obama’s lies why then does the media only talk about Hillary’s and not Obamas? This is bias meant to deceive people to vote in a certain way.
If Obama become’s American president it shows how un sohphisticated American voters are.
Obama is a typican African politician says one thing and pretends to be what he is NOT. This is all about lies, deceit and manipulation. He made a useless speech in PA and the media are singing Hossanna.
Obama knew all along about his pastor, supported all his hate speeches, can anyone imagine and believe that Obama never read the newsletter where in Hamas was praised, Obama’s family was the only one who never received a copy of the newsletter..hmmmm
One can go on and on about Obama, the more you look is the less you see, this is called Abracadabra anyone family with magic?
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:43 am
Democrats will unite behind the successful presidential nominee winner in PA, NY, IL, and MA…OR BLUE STATES that voted for Hillary in the primaries. Those blue states will vote Obama in November if he’s the nominee. Let’s be realistic here! They are both great candidates and no doubt would make great presidents. But there can be only one, and it looks like Obama
Obama has garnered huge amounts of interest from new and young voters, which the democrats desperately need. His fundraising capabilities from the Internet and small donations are unheard of! He was not taken that seriously by Clinton or the other established candidates when he entered the race….little did they know. Now the Clinton campaign feels like it’s been t-boned by a Mack truck.
Obama has the attributes of MLK and RFK and it’s generating excitement in politics like we haven’t seen since the 60’s. Clinton can’t steal republican votes because she is polarizing. Obama can, because his message reaches over to those moderate republicans and independents.
Clinton will not be able to stop the Obama express, only slow down the inevitable. I can understand Clinton’s disappointment; she thought it would be an inauguration, a crowning, and an entitlement so to speak. But Obama came along, her dream shattered with a new one in the making.
Once the primaries are over, Hillary should show some grace and bow out, for the good of her friends in the Democratic Party (DNC), the party faithful and most importantly, the USA. Hillary needs to get behind Obama and start focusing on beating McCain in November.
Hillary will not overtake Obama. Do the math! On the CNN delegate counter, if Hillary wins 55% to 45% on the remaining primaries (highly unlikely), she will still be well behind in the delegate count and popular vote. The Supers would play political suicide, reversing that count.
As for FL and MI Delegates, seat them evenly at the convention 50% Obama and 50% Clinton. They new the rules and broke them. Rules do not get changed in the middle of the game. Their Supers will remain neutral. Clinton can rant and rave all she wants, but she agreed with the DNC decision when the gauntlet was dropped, as did all the other candidates. Obama didn’t even have his name up in MI.
That’s what happens when you try to steal the campaign attention from smaller states that traditionally hold their primaries earlier in the year. Smaller states count too (ask Obama). Obama deserves credit; he has fought tooth and nail for every caucus and primary to date. Even in states that overwhelmingly support Clinton. This is why he is winning and will be the President of the USA. Obama will not quit because he loves his country and the world in which we all share.
It’s time to move on. No more spin, it’s time to win.