Fair and Balanced

Clinton spokesman Jay Carson tries to kick up some dust and argue that Thursday's debate is fair game, claiming there were "multiple debates where the moderators were extremely tough on senator Clinton". Politico's writers make a similar point that the debate provided 'balance' after several debates that had an anti-Clinton slant, if you believe their spokespeople. This is a total false equivalence. In short, does anyone think that the outcry would have been as large if Charlie and George had asked tough questions about policy matters?

The 2007 Philadelphia debate is one possible debate Carson could be complaining about, but Clinton responded to exactly one non-policy issue, on the question of releasing documents from her years as first lady. Here other sixteen responses were all at some level based on issues.

In the February Texas debate, if we're counting that one, Clinton was asked a non-issue question about her "all hat no cattle" critique of Obama, about her plagiarism attack, and about the role of superdelegates. So, three questions. There seems to be some frustration about the adjudication of the health care section of that debate, so we'll add that.

In the February Ohio debate, where Clinton suggested that the moderators would bring Barack another pillow, both candidates faced BS, but for the sake of argument let's grant that Clinton faced more. She was asked about the difference between the campaign tone at debates and in mailers and press conferences, the distribution of the Somali garb photo, her mocking of the Obama "kumbaya" schtick, and tax returns. She was also denied an opportunity to respond at the end of an exchange on re-invading Iraq, and the exchange on health care might have tilted. But the majority of the debate stayed focused on issues.

Was there some anti-Clinton slant in prior debates? Probably. But Clinton never faced the level of straight BS questions that Obama faced on Wednesday. If Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopolous had hectored him about Social Security reform, or his health care plan, or his tax proposals, or his criminal justice ideas, or even his failure to release his office's papers from his State Senate days, there would be a lot less caterwauling. Instead we got an hour on Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers and lapel pins.

Comments

[Ron]

If the kinds of questions that were asked were fair, then where were the questions for Hillary on Mark Penn and Bill Clinton and the money they've taken from Colombia? Or on the multiple lies President Clinton said about Hillary's Bosnia fantasy? Or on Hillary's relationship with The Family? Or on Geraldine Ferraro's and Bob Johnson's saying Obama's success is just affirmative action? There were wasn't anything balanced about the questions. It was a hit job on Obama pure and simple.