Debating With The Stars

Eye Candy For Barry

The Next Stooge

For decades now, people, mostly Republicans, have complained about the Presidential Debates format where TV stars, er…”journalists,” control the show. The Republicans have the most to complain about because virtually every one of these TV “journalists” is a Democrat.

Nevertheless, Republicans have continued to participate in “shows” that are clearly devised to benefit their opponents. Republicans, amazingly enough, even allow these Democrats to “moderate” their own primary debates!

There is little disagreement by now that the non-Murdoch media is thoroughly Democratic (there are many studies proving just that), which is why public distrust of the media is at its highest level in modern history. Longstanding Democratic media bias and, in particular, the present media’s passionate love affair with The-First-African-American-President, also known as, “the most brilliant, most eloquent, most compassionate and coolest guy to ever occupy the Oval Office” should have reached critical mass well before this campaign began and led the Republicans to demand changes.

Debate critics usually point to the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, where there was no moderator, as the proper format, but I doubt it would work on TV. A better model would be William F. Buckley’s Firing Line debates, where a moderator did nothing more than keep time while the participants made statements, responded to statements, and asked each other questions.

Last night’s show with Candy Crowley ought to nail the coffin shut on TV star moderated debates if Republicans have any self respect. TV divas cannot help but make these spectacles about themselves and their biases. Crowley chose the questions and the subjects to be discussed, thus enabling her to steer the discussion to benefit the Democrat. And if that weren’t enough, she also “fact-checked” (incorrectly) the argument over the Libya murders and declared Obama the winner, an assertion she later had to “walk back.”

Next Monday, we can expect much the same from Dan Rather understudy Bob Schieffer. Good for Obama, bad for the country.