Working the Refs

Tonight will prove to be all the rope Palin needs.

Sarah Palin has committed yet another political blunder after claiming she had held talks with a British ambassador – talks that never actually took place.
In an answer to questions about her foreign policy experience ahead of tonight’s make-or-break vice presidential TV debate, her aides listed numerous contacts with foreign officials – including Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Sir Nigel Sheinwald.
However the meeting never occurred. Officials at the embassy swiftly contacted the McCain-Palin campaign to inform them of the discrepancy.
A British Embassy spokesman said the error arose after Sir Nigel’s name was listed among those who had attended a US Governor’s meeting in July.
Mrs Palin was at the meeting in her role as Governor of Alaska. However Sir Nigel pulled out at the last minute, leaving his name on the guest list.
The embarrassing mishap comes as Mrs Palin faces the biggest challenge of her political life tonight in a head-to-head vice-presidential debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

McCain has lost it!! Cry me a river. The Repubs are such cry babys. Gwen Ifill is a great journalist. I have watched her for many years on PBS with the NewsHour and Washington Week. She lets other points of view heard in her discussions and asks smart questions.
This is another NONISSUE being used to distract the public from the truth.
Don’t buy it

Would this be a non-issue if O’Reilly were the moderator? Really? I hardly think so. Talk about being blinded.

Sure, the kid-glove-slap to the other side that you (No doubt begrudgingly) placed in the second to last paragraph makes this an inarguably objective entry…
The only reason that this uproar is ridiculous is that it stands on the assumption that anyone thought in the first place that there was a journalist in the world not longing for an Obama victory.

Good grief. Gwen Ifill has a financial interest in the outcome of this election. What’s her book worth if Obama loses the election? She’s not just the ref in this case, she’s shown herself to be the cheerleader and now we learn she’s also the bookie; having a financial interest in the outcome of the game.

Non-issue?
OK, then lets replace Ifill with Limbaugh.

Gwen Ifill stands to profit financially from an Obama victory – her book is to be released on Inauguration Day and is subtitled “…in the Age of Obama”.
The mere appearance of any impropriety should have DQ’d her from moderating duties. Or she should have declined. She herself has called out politicians over the issue of conflict of interest:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzQ0NTdjZWU2ZTM5MWFkNGI2Njc4OWZjMzUxOTU0YmI=

If the moderator had a book contract and was writing a book called “The Breakthough – Politics in the Age of McCain” the liberals would be all over it. Most Moderates and conservative see this as an issue, the fact that you do not says a lot about your credibility. The fact that you do not see this as a conflict shows just how biased you are. Sometimes I feel like I am living in a twilight zone where there is such obvious bias toward Obama and the Mainstream Media denies it to no end. Absolutely Ridiculous. Ethical journalism is dead.

i guess ethical behavior is a concept foreign to you all. she has a conflict of interest that involves a lot of money coming her way if obama wins.

The point is conflict of interest. Ifill stands to gain more from book sales if Obama is elected. Conflict of interest is conflict of interest. You don’t say, “I’m soooOOOoooOooO impartial and soooOoOOOO respected that the normal rules of conflict of interest don’t apply to me — cuz I’m better than all that.”
Gwen’s great — I love her — but that doesn’t pass the smell test.
–
Do As I Say, Not As I Do:
Gwen Ifill’s conflict for thee, but not for me.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzQ0NTdjZWU2ZTM5MWFkNGI2Njc4OWZjMzUxOTU0YmI=

“Second, no one seriously questions the journalistic credentials of the PBS veteran, who also did stints at NBC News and The New York Times”
Seriously? And Bush is supposed to be in a bubble? Rick, pop your bubble, talk to someone who is actually conservative. 70%+ think the media is in the tank for Obama. Gwen has been liberally biased her whole career.
Imagine if Brit Hume or Chris Wallace of Fox News were moderating and they had a book coming out with a chapter on McCain. I think Obama would withdraw.

It’s hard to take Klein seriously when he is either ignorant of or purposely omits salient facts like Ifill’s puff piece about Obama in Essence Magazine; her praise of her cousin, who has attacked Palin in her articles; and her palpable distaste when asked for her reaction to Palin after the latter’s speech at the Republican convention. No serious person imagines that Ifill is unbiased. She even stands to lose financially if Obama isn’t elected and the centerpiece of her book to be relased on inauguration day becomes a has-been! If Ifill were an honest journalist, she would have refused the job of moderator. If Klein were an honest journalist…well, based on the above, that’s pretty hard to imagine.

Just a book? How about her traveling with Obama on the campaign trail? Or spending enormous amounts of up close and personal time with Obama and family? How about writing at least 3 articles about Obama for Essence magazine glorifying Obama? Republicans want to use the book as proof of bias to excuse Palin if she loses? Give me a break. This is a setup from the word go. Another example of the underhanded tactics of the Dem party.

BOTTOM LINE: This book goes on sale the day of the day the new President takes office. What sells more books, Obama winning or McCain winning? If the answer is Obama then she has to excuse her self. She stands to gain monetarily from Obama winning the election. The perception of impropriety is enough that she should back out. To quote McCain from today “lets face it” if this was a book about McCain she would of been forced out and hung out to dry by the rest of the media. This is one more example of the double standard in the media that can no longer be denied.

Klein calls this piece “Working the Refs” and he is right in that Ifill is in the role of a referee, however we learn that this referee has a bias. No surprise in that, most referees have some bias going into a game. The good refs get so busy doing the job that they concentrate on each play and not the outcome.
The difference is that this referee has money on the outcome of this game and THAT is a very big difference. Ifill stands to make a six figure amount if the book does reasonably well and it won’t if Obama loses the election. If Ifill really was a referee, she would be fired for betting on the game and if it could be proved she threw the game she would also be prosecuted. Klein’s poo-pooing of this is the real example of high RPM spin.
E.Zach Lee-Wright

“Clearly, this is the McCain-Palin campaign trying to work the refs. Clearly, this is an attempt to create a storyline of excuses in case Gov. Sarah Palin disappoints tonight.”
Are you clowns on the left really this far out of touch from reality to make such statements? Pointing out the FACT that the “moderator” just happens to be a life long liberal Democrat, who also just happens to be almost done with a favorable book about BO and how great life will be when he is president – is not creating an excuse. Can you, or any left wing bozo reading this, name for me one time (just one time) this has happened in the past in favor to the Repub’s??? Has there ever been a moderator of a debate such as this who was a life long Republican and an author of a book favoring the Republican Presidential candidate??? Hell no, you can’t because this would never happen to the dem’s. The dem’s have to play with a stacked deck; otherwise they may actually get a tough question or two and really get thrown for a loop.

What is wrong with the author of this? Is this objective journalism or a column?
Ifill makes $1,000,000 if Obama wins and makes $40,000 if he loses. That is what is at stake.

Biden-Ifill
vs.
Palin
She can take the moose Ifill out, Biden will prance around and step into his own crap. LMAO.

As far as working the ref’s. Didn’t an NBA ref go to jail for these kind of influences. IFIL is a joke. She fools no one. She a hack from the word go. You watch. If Gov. Palin is making a good point, I bet Ifil jumps right in to talk over her. WITHOUT A DOUBT.

For Obama’s followers, nothing is unfair when it comes to getting him elected. The upcoming V.P. debate is no exception.
The fact that Gwen Ifill will directly benefit financially from Obama getting elected is an obvious conflict of interest.
Can anyone deny that if Obama gets elected, she will sell more books?
As a book peddler (not a publicly funded “journalist”), why wouldn’t she do what she can to sell more books, including spin the debate?
Under normal circumstances (except for getting Obama elected) debate moderators are a lot like sports umpires and referees in that they need to be objective and free of conflicts of interest.
This is a great example that when it comes to getting Obama elected, fairness from the media is just too much to ask for and nothing is out of bounds.
If all of the Obamaholics truly believe that Palin is going to do so badly tonight, why do they have to fix the debate with a crooked moderator? Biden should be more than a match for her.
It’s unfair situations like this that feeds resentment and divides people after the election is over and makes governing much more difficult for whoever gets elected. Does anyone remember the 2000 election (some say selection) of Bush/Cheney in 2000?
It’s just bad karma.

The article’s writer complains about McCain spinning? How about quoting the rest of what McCain actually said? Yes, he said he would have preferred someone who wasn’t writing a book about Obama (duh!). But he went on to reiterate what he said yesterday: that he trusts Ms. Ifill to be responsible. Omitting that is hardly objective.

On the other hand there is serious concern that Tom Brokaw is in the tank for his longtoime friend John McCain.
See:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/arts/television/30brok.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/30/moveon-demands-apology-fr_n_130538.html
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/Plouffe_plays_the_Brokaw_card.html?showall

PS:
Ifil’s siter is a Palin Hater. Michelle Malkin has a piece on it. More hate from the Dem’s. Why do they hate so much and why are they all so angry.

Gwen Ifill unbiased??? What a joke. She has ruined PBS’ Washington Week by having nothing but liberals on the show. But that is ok, Sarah will kick both her and Biden’s rear ends tonight!

“First, nobody knows what Ifill is going to write; Ifill herself says she hasn’t written the section on Obama yet, and the book will be about a whole generation of black leaders, not just Obama.”
Are you joking… the book is titled, “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” Speaking of biased reporting… The dinosaur media at work yet again!
BTW is foxnews going to be able to moderate any of the debates? I don’t think so! “After suffering the bitter, and unprecedented, blow during the Democratic primary season of having candidates refuse — twice — to appear in Fox News-sponsored forums when bloggers raised hell about the news organization’s lack of legitimacy, Rupert Murdoch’s news channel was again left off the list of news anchors tapped to moderate the must-see TV events in the fall.”
Never mind Foxnews continues to decimate it’s rival news stations… Liberals make me laugh. If the tables were reversed they would be crying racism, class nonsense.

It can be noted that the professor is so passionate an Obama supporter that she also denounced Hillary Clinton as a phony feminist: “When she knocked back a shot and a beer in that bar in Pennsylvania, Mrs. Clinton ended any pretense of running as a feminist.” She compared it to Michael Dukakis in a tank, a failed “macho stunt.”

“For this to suddenly become an “issue” right before the debate is a disservice to a talented journalist.”
You are right, this is a disservice, but look at it from another perspective: why IS this the first that mainstream media has picked up the story? It is not the mere mention in Time magazine, but why would debate officials knowingly allow the decision to have someone so clearly biased moderate? That is the blatant disservice. Why would Ifill not excuse herself?
Who is welcoming controversy? What a better way to promote your book!

Wholly Manufactured….my A@@. You Rick Klein are so out of touch with regular people that you wouldn’t understand or see manufactured evidence if a pigeon crapped it on your head in neon lights! I am disgusted with the MSM and I hope that all of ABC’s shows go into the tank (since your already in it with Obama).

What an incredibly stupid article. What an unbelievable dimwit. How could there possibly be a conflict of interest here? Hmmm. Maybe because nobody’s going to buy Ifill’s book if Inauguration Day belongs to McCain?
But wait! It’s a totally impartial book! That’s why the subtitle calls this the AGE OF OBAMA! He’s the new Jesus, and this is HIS era! And anyway, Ifill worked for NYT, which every good liberal knows is the epitome of objective ‘thought’.
And I’ve yet to hear anyone respond to this argument: Hannity? O’Reilly? Aw, hell…ANYONE on Foxnews? You liberals wouldn’t be crapping your pants with a Fox commentator? Man, Klein is the perfect liberal stooge; a completely brainless parrot.

Hey Rick, who vouched for Ifill’s
objectivity, was it Dan Rather?
“Talented” my ass! She is another
left wing hack with an ax to grind.
You clowns in the MSM can’t really
believe that you are still relevant.

For fairness why don’t they let Rush Limbaugh moderate the next Presidential debate?

Hey Klein,
Matt Drudge doesn’t editorialize. He simply lists links to stories, or in your case, lame left-wing blogs. Hey! I thought he was right wing?

“…Age of Obama” says all you need to know.
This isn’t 2008, it has been promoted to an “AGE* due to the presence of the mighty 0Bama

Ifill has no business doing this job as moderator. This is the most outrageous example of media bias I have ever seen. Ifill clearly has a financial stake in this- perhaps millions- it was a breach of common sense ethics for her not to disclose this book to the commission.
It is good this is exposed- and it’s probably the tip of the ice burg.

Ifill’s failure to disclose her conflict of interest to the debate commission shows she is a selfish, power seeking, manipulator. If she had any honor she would withdraw. She, however, has chosen to put her own interests ahead of the country’s.

And by the way, fellow posters: Instead of getting annoyed at all this obvious and toxic bias, let’s channel our energy into constructive action. The MSM says it’s merely performing a public service by “vetting” Sarah Palin, right? Well the way I see it, Rick Klein is a public figure as well (his efforts for this ABC blog would certainly satisfy the legal definition), so how about we perform a public service by vetting him? Anyone have info that would be useful and proper? Please share!

Palin can nip this in the bud with a simple response at the first sign of bias from Ifil. Sarah can simply smile slyly and and ask Gwen if her question was inspired by “your book about Mr. McCain’s opponent in this presidential campaign.” Put Gwen on the defensive right away, and Sarah will win the debate hands down.

OK, so let me get this straight. It was a known fact tht Ifill was writing a book about black politicians, and even the most basic google search would have revealed this fact. SO, that leaves only two possibilities. 1) McCain thought it was not a problem and now is simply trying to manufacture some outrage, or 2) McCain failed to do even the most simple vetting before making a gut decision. I don’t see how either makes me feel good about McCain and his leadership abilities.

Notice the 4 or 5 pro Obama comments are at the top… The mainstream media is a giant left wing circle jerk

Hey, Rick! It’s simple. If Obama gets elected she makes a small fortune. If he doesn’t, she doesn’t.

or 3) TomInStL, you’re already in the tank for Obama, so you’ve never felt good about McCain or his leadership qualities. You’re as transparent as Ifil’s lack of objectivity or Rick Klein’s partisanship.

Rick,
I know you enjoy cashing your OBama campaign checks, but seriously, take one night off.
You may be in love with Gwen Ifill, but you are ignoring the central problem with what she is doing with the book vis a vi being a VP moderator.
There will be no “Age of Obama” if Obama doesn’t win on Nov 4. Obama is a first term senator, hardly someone to base an entire “Age” on presently. If he loses, there is no Age of Obama. There is rising politician Senator Obama, just like any other young senator.
Answer me this Rick, if the moderator wrote a book about the coming “Age of McCain” which focused on a return to Teddy Roosevelt-type GOP policies, would that moderator be acceptable to the media and Obama?
Dream on, buddy. I hope the censorship goon squad lets this comment stand so that discussion can ensue.

FYI folks check out OReilly about to be a Barney Frank screaming match.

“Clearly, this is the McCain-Palin campaign trying to work the refs. Clearly, this is an attempt to create a storyline of excuses in case Gov. Sarah Palin disappoints tonight. Just as clearly, this is silly and — even in the age of anything-goes spin — just not right.”
And I agree… in fact, I think Gwen Ifill is probably totally unbiased and most likely even possibly might be pro-McCain/Palin. I mean, come on… get real. How could such a person possibly be pro-Obama? What a skewed concept… “clearly”.

“First, nobody knows what Ifill is going to write.”
Yes, I am CERTAIN she will NOT write ANYTHING about Barack Obama. Oops.
“Second, no one seriously questions the journalistic credentials of the PBS veteran, who also did stints at NBC News and The New York Times.”
Experience at three lefty media outlets, two of who are admittedly in the tank for Obama. Yeah, she’s objective.
“Third, Ifill’s authorship of this book should have surprised precisely no one in political circles.”
Why not? Because they don’t read Time and WaPo? All that means is they are conservative.
Brilliant analysis Ricky!

I HAVE NEVER SEEN MEDIA TRY SO HARD TO GET A CANIDATE ELECTED. I REALLY WISH THE MAIN STREAM MEDIA WOULD JUST COME OUT AND SAY. “YES!! WE ALL WANT OBAMA TO BE PRESIDENT”. MEDIA WOULD RECEIVE MORE RESPECT THEN IT HAS TODAY. ADVOCAY JOURNAILISM IS DANGEROUS AND TODAY’S MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS CERTAINLY DO NOT DESERVE A SHIELD LAW.

“Second, no one seriously questions the journalistic credentials of the PBS veteran, who also did stints at NBC News and The New York Times.”
Hilarious!

Oh, come on. Clearly Ifill has a financial interest in Obama’s winning; if he doesn’t, the book will sell about like a book titled _Dukakis: Man of Destiny, Rider of Tanks_ would after he lost to GHWB.
And if you seriously think that the book won’t be utterly worshipful of the Obamessiah, you must not have read other things she’s written about The One.

MSM claiming MSM member is not biased. And to prove it, boasts about her NBC, PBS, and NYTimes resumé.
R-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-g-h-t!
I mean L-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-f-t!

What’s the writer of this smoking?

“…nobody knows what Ifill is going to write; Ifill herself says she hasn’t written the section on Obama yet..”
I’ll put my next paycheck up against yours on that one, Klein. I mean, PBS is just teeming with African Americans who hate Obama. You neglect to mention that fact that she’s already written an article on Obama for some magazine (can’t remember the name of the magazine). You might want to read that article before you take me up on my bet, by the way.
What would you and your minions say about letting an actual conservative voice moderate a debate? You all are so used to the game being played on your terms and in your own backyard that you don’t even see blatant conflict of interest when it smacks you in the face.

Rick,
Mark Halperin has already admitted that ABC slanted heavily to the left and was very biased in favor of Democrats and has been for very long. Funny you are still playing this “we aren’t biased” game when everyone knows you are. Why are you so dishonest about this?