'Surprise' Palin 'Did Not Embarrass Herself,' Upset She Didn't Answer
October 3rd, 2008 3:58 AM
align="right"Two themes in post-VP debate coverage Thursday night: First, “surprise” that Sarah Palin wasn't a “car wreck” and “did not embarrass herself.” Second, distress that she failed to answer moderator Gwen Ifill's questions. On NBC, Chuck Todd observed “those that were tuning in looking for some sort of car wreck, probably came away disappointed.” CBS's Katie Couric proposed, without…
Matthews: Palin Looked Into Camera Like a 'Dolt
October 3rd, 2008 1:45 AM
align="right"After the vice presidential debate Chris Matthews criticized Sarah Palin for, of all things, looking into the camera because it made her look like a "dolt." In fact, the "Hardball," host took several stylistic shots at Palin that implied the Alaska Governor wasn't very intelligent. Audio here When guest panelist Roger Simon noted Palin looked directly into the camera, Matthews…
Matthews Theme of the Night: Is it about Palin's 'Brain Power
October 2nd, 2008 9:03 PM
align="right"During the 7pm edition of Thursday’s "Hardball," Chris Matthews repeatedly asked his guests if Sarah Palin's "brain" was up to the task for tonight's vice presidential debate. Matthews even managed to go where a Democratic Congresswoman wouldn't, when he asked Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz: "Is this about her brain power?" To which, even the Florida Democrat balked: "It’s really not…
Vice Presidential Debate Thread
October 2nd, 2008 8:26 PM
Who will win tonight's vice presidential debate? Will openly liberal moderator Gwen Ifill be fair to GOP candidate Sarah Palin? Tune in via web or TV starting at 9pm ET to find out. Post your comments and observations on the questions here or, if you are a registered NewsBusters member, join our live discussion. Update 22:10. Live chat was bogging down the server. It's disabled temporarily.
ABC Leads with Palin Unready, Biden's 'Dilemma' is How to Answer Palin
October 2nd, 2008 8:17 PM
At the top of Thursday's World News, just hours before the vice presidential debate, ABC anchor teased that “a new poll shows most Americans don't think” Palin is “ready to be a heartbeat away,” and, in explaining the advice both candidates are getting from their advisers, George Stephanopoulos fretted about “the dilemma for Biden,” which given that “we expect Sarah Palin to have some attack…
CNN’s Kyra Phillips Goes Easy on Obama Adviser Douglass, Presses Lie
October 2nd, 2008 7:16 PM
On Thursday’s "Newsroom" program, CNN anchor Kyra Phillips treated senior Obama adviser/former ABC correspondent Linda Douglass more cordially than McCain supporter/Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, whom she pressed for an answer on the question of whether Sarah Palin is smarter than her opponent Joe Biden: "Is, is she deep enough? Is she smart enough? Is she experienced enough? Do you really…
Student: I'm for 'Expertise,' Chris Matthews: So You're for Obama
October 2nd, 2008 7:02 PM
align="right"On the 5pm edition of Thursday night's "Hardball," Chris Matthews ventured out into the crowd of students on hand for tonight's vice presidential debate at Washington University to see what they were looking for in a candidate. When one student responded: "I'd like a display of knowledge and expertise." Matthews interjected: "So you're on the Obama side, right?" Matthews then asked a…
McCain on Fox News: 'I Wish They Picked A Different Moderator
October 2nd, 2008 6:30 PM
This morning, Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, appeared on Fox News's Fox & Friends to answer a few questions about tonight's vice presidential debate between Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Delaware Senator Joe Biden.Grabbing the headlines the past few days has been the news that Gwen Ifill, debate moderator, has written a book subtitled "The Age of Obama" which is set to be…
Joy Behar: Gwen Ifill Should 'Get Out' as Moderator
October 2nd, 2008 4:42 PM
Surprise! Joy Behar thinks Gwen Ifill, with her conflict of interest, should step aside from moderating the vice presidential debate. Could it be Joy attempting to establish herself as an independent thinker? Not likely. Joy explained, on the October 2 edition of "The View," that Ifill should not give "Palin’s side any excuse to not step up to the plate."Earlier in the broadcast, when each…
WaPo Ignores Its Own Poll Showing McCain Gain, Focuses on Palin Allege
October 2nd, 2008 4:35 PM
If Old Media can cook their numbers to make their favored candidate look good, they will. Earlier today, I covered two cooked AP-GfK polls (at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog). The pollster dramatically changed the party-ID makeup of the second poll to include a much higher percentage of Democrats, and watered down the strong-GOP component of the Republicans sampled. As a result, the two poll results,…
Will Gwen Ifill Challenge Joe Biden’s Iraq ‘Expertise
October 2nd, 2008 4:07 PM
While the networks scrutinize Republican Sarah Palin’s every comment for evidence that she’s a dimwit unqualified for the vice presidency, there’s been barely any discussion of how alleged foreign policy expert Joe Biden was dreadfully wrong in 2006-2007 in his fierce objection to the troop surge strategy in Iraq, which has led to a massive reduction in U.S. and Iraqi casualties and prevented a…
CBS ‘Early Show’ Tough on Palin, But Mentions Biden Gaffes
October 2nd, 2008 4:02 PM
At the top of Thursday’s CBS Early Show, correspondent Jeff Glor reported on the upcoming vice presidential debate by declaring: "35-year Senate veteran Joe Biden versus the upstart from Alaska, Sarah Palin, the surprise VP pick, whose credentials have been questioned after a series of attention-grabbing interviews." Despite referring to Palin as an "upstart," Glor also pointed out Biden’s…
