Thursday, October 2, 2008

on fairness in moderation

***updated thoughts***
Did you watch the debate? Overall, I was pleased with the outcome. There is always a lot of repetition and rehearsed answers but generally speaking I think that Palin seemed knowledgeable and sure-footed and Biden kept his cool and didn't say anything to regret later. As I sat and listened to these two people trying to connect with the American people it was obvious that Palin was very aware of the importance of looking into the camera to speak to us. Biden, on the other hand, spoke to the moderator a lot, even addressing her by name several times. Two things that annoyed me, although trivial in the grand scheme of things, were Palin's over use of the term Maverick of the Senate and Biden's constant need to number the points of his debate as he presented them. In the end, I thought the moderator managed to be pretty fair, although I often wonder where they come up with some of their questions.

Just a quick thought. The VP debate is tonight. In years passed I don't think I ever gave it much thought, but this election will be monumental no matter who wins. The first woman as VP/The first African-American as President....either way you look at it, it's a first in the history of our country. So generally speaking, the moderator for debates is a person that is supposed to represent us, the American people. Questions are to be asked that are unbiased in nature, but generally probing so that we can better learn where the candidates stand on issues that are important to us. All of us. Now I know that everyone has an opinion and an affiliation with a political party, both of which are to be respected...some I agree with and some I don't, but (and this is a BIG but) when a moderator of a very important debate is clearly biased towards one party and has even written a book supporting one candidate...how can said moderator perform the duty of conducting a debate that is unbiased? I'm not saying it can't be done...I'm just sayin'

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