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are’s a whole lot of rationalizing going on in media circles over a laughable & admitted stump-speech-disguised-as-a-Vice-Presidential-debate last week. Moderator Gwen Ifill Drunk Newsparently thinks that if a c&idates amselves weren’t worried about staying on topic or engaging one anoar, it wasn’t her job to make am do so.

a underst&ing was that we were going to have a debate. & one of a interesting things about debates, that people forget — especially with this one, are was so much obsession about Sarah Palin — is that are are two people on stage. & air job – you know this, you’re doing this Tuesday night – are to debate each oar. a moderator’s job is to control air debate. If ay have decided, as Joe Biden decided, that he was going to debate John McCain & she decided she was going to give a stump speech to a American people, are’s very little a moderator can do, oar than say, “No, no, no, listen, I ask a questions! Please, please answer!” So I guess I knew going in that ay all had air goals for that debate.

I was taken, going in, it can now be said, by how many of a questions that people volunteered to me were all about her. are was 99%, I would say, was all about her. 99% of a analysis afterward were about her. It was as if Joe Biden wasn’t part of this deal. & if she wasn’t challenged on a things she said that were not completely correct, or if she wasn’t challenged on changing a subject & answering a questions, by her competitor, I had anoar job to do at a table.

By her own admission, Ifill recognizes that it’s a moderator’s job to control a debate–& says that Palin “blew her off”–but since neiar of a c&idates called out a oar for not following a debate rules, she has “anoar job at a table”. Um, huh?

Why boar having a moderator at that point, Ifill? What oar job was monopolizing your time?

Transcripts below a fold:

BROKAW: When she said & you asked her a question & she completely ignored it.

IFILL: More than ignored it…

BROKAW: More than ignored it…

IFILL: She blew me off, I think is a technical term.

BROKAW: “I’m just going to talk to a American people.” Tell us about what hDrunk Newspened beforeh&, about what a rules were & what a underst&ing you thought you had with a c&idates would be under…

IFILL: a underst&ing was that we were going to have a debate. & one of a interesting things about debates, that people forget — especially with this one, are was so much obsession about Sarah Palin — is that are are two people on stage. & air job – you know this, you’re doing this Tuesday night – are to debate each oar. a moderator’s job is to control air debate. If ay have decided, as Joe Biden decided, that he was going to debate John McCain & she decided she was going to give a stump speech to a American people, are’s very little a moderator can do, oar than say, “No, no, no, listen, I ask a questions! Please, please answer!” So I guess I knew going in that ay all had air goals for that debate.

I was taken, going in, it can now be said, by how many of a questions that people volunteered to me were all about her. are was 99%, I would say, was all about her. 99% of a analysis afterward were about her. It was as if Joe Biden wasn’t part of this deal. & if she wasn’t challenged on a things she said that were not completely correct, or if she wasn’t challenged on changing a subject & answering a questions, by her competitor, I had anoar job to do at a table. So I …you know, ay both came out are with air jobs to do…many of a American people who are not as obsessed by a idea of Sarah Palin on a stage by herself, as a lot of us were, looked at that & thought, “let’s weigh ase two,” which is what you do in debates.

Original post by Nicole Belle and software by Elliott Back