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April 19, 2008
Shame on ABC
Guest blogger Hank Lowenstein writes:
Shame on ABC
Wednesday night’s Democratic debate was the most shameful use of TV air time I have ever seen. First rate journalists like Charles Gibson and George Stephanopolous used their stage at the Independence Center to sweep the major issues of our time off the table, and encourage the candidates to air their dirty laundry before the voters in Pennsylvania and the rest of the country. The idea that voters are truly concerned with “baking cookies” and what some pastor said in a church, instead of how they are going to pay their bills, get healthcare for their families and send their children to college, is insulting the intelligence of every citizen of our country. Any American who enters a voting booth next November, and casts their ballot based on race, religion, gender or age, deserves exactly what they get. We did not need ABC to add fuel to the fire in a race between the first woman and first African American to run for the presidency.
Gibson and Stepanopolous were clearly out to sensationalize the debate by fanning the flames of an already contentious campaign between Senators Clinton and Obama, and thereby cheated voters who tuned in to see and hear a discussion of real issues. ABC’s top people steered the candidates into a corner on Iraq as well, by asking for ironclad commitments about troop withdrawals. They also added fuel to the fire with regard to taxes, asking each candidate for a solemn pledge that they would not raise taxes on those earning less than $200 Thousand Dollars per year.
As a result of their myopic handling of the debate, Gibson and Stephanopolous cheated the American people, and the two candidates, from a real discussion of the monumental problems either will face if elected President.
Posted by Charles Warner at April 19, 2008 12:06 PM
Comments
Bruce Braun ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mediacurmudgeon.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 19, 2008 02:11 PM writes:
Why is it that nobody seems to get what news coverage is about these days? It is not about Obama, Clinton or McCain. It is about the Gibson's and the Couric's of television news. It is about shameless self-promotion and making yourself and your on-air behavior the centerpiece of the news. And the candidates are just as shameless in their pandering to the voting public. Is it not obvious that Christmas has come early? Tell people what they want to hear (or what your pollsters tell you they want to hear) and the after being elected make endless excuses for why nothing is ever followed through on. Just think about the OJ SImpson coverage and what you see today will make more sense.
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