The Clinton machine has spoken. Wolf Blitzer in moderating tonight's Democrat debate (NB chat) must follow the Media Matters approved script.
Greg Pollowitz at NRO Media has the full list. The arrogance of these folks still continues to surprise. The funny thing is now that the group's strong ties to Hillary Clinton have become common knowledge, the list leads off with requirements related to her rival Barack Obama:
- Don't contradict your own reporting and suggest that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) "cash[ed] in" on a stock deal in which he lost $13,000.
- Don't say that Obama's position on Pakistan is "very much in line with what" President Bush says regarding Pakistan.
- Don't contradict your own reporting — again — and say that Obama, in following legal requirements to count purchasers of his campaign merchandise as campaign contributors, is "apparently using some creative math" and "overselling his grassroots support."
- Don't misleadingly crop quotes when challenging a candidate's consistency on a particular issue, as NBC Washington bureau chief Tim Russert did on the November 11 broadcast of Meet the Press, when he suggested that Obama has "not been a leader against the [Iraq] war."
- Don't tell Obama that "[i]t's difficult to say that you're against the war and at the same time not say that you're against the troops."
- Don't suggest that former Sen. John Edwards' (D-NC) work "for financial markets" might "contradict his anti-poverty message."
- Don't adopt GOP framing and ask Edwards about his "flip-flop" on Iraq "to win the vote."
Be sure and join us tonight for the live NewsBusters chat of the debate. Note: you must be registered and logged in to do so.