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Ifill in the tank for Obama

Posted by Richard on October 1, 2008

PBS anchor Gwen Ifill will be the moderator for the one and only vice presidential debate. With the assent of both campaigns, she's been given free rein by the debate commission to run the debate as she pleases. But would the McCain-Palin campaign have agreed if they'd been better informed about Ifill? From today's Michelle Malkin column (emphasis added):

In an imaginary world where liberal journalists are held to the same standards as everyone else, Ifill would be required to make a full disclosure at the start of the debate. She would be required to turn to the cameras and tell the national audience that she has a book coming out on Jan. 20, 2009 — a date that just happens to coincide with the inauguration of the next president of the United States.

The title of Ifill's book? "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama." Nonpartisan my foot.

Random House, her publisher, is already busy hyping the book with YouTube clips of Ifill heaping praise on her subjects, including Obama and Obama-endorsing Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick. …

Ifill and her publisher are banking on an Obama/Biden win to buoy her book sales. The moderator expected to treat both sides fairly has grandiosely declared this the "Age of Obama." Can you imagine a right-leaning journalist writing a book about the "stunning" McCain campaign and its "bold" path to reform timed for release on Inauguration Day — and then expecting a slot as a moderator for the nation's sole vice presidential debate?

Yeah, I just registered 6.4 on the Snicker Richter Scale, too.

Read the whole thing. Sadly, there is nothing at all remarkable or noteworthy about Ifill's obvious bias, partiality, lack of objectivity, and slanted reporting. Most of the MSM don't even make an effort to conceal it anymore, they're so contemptuous of their political "enemies" and the "bitter clingers" in flyover country. 

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3 Responses to “Ifill in the tank for Obama”

  1. Hathor said

    I thought didn’t believe a reporter could be totally without bias, that it was better to know the bias in order to judge the quality of the reporting. Now it seems to disturb you and you say that Ifil’s reporting is”obvious bias, partiality, lack of objectivity, and slanted…” is that from your own observation or Malkin’s?

    Writing a book isn’t the same as reporting. I thought you would know the difference.

  2. rgcombs said

    I’m pretty sure I’m just wasting my time, but what the heck — I’ll try to explain.

    I said there was “nothing remarkable or noteworthy” about Ifill’s bias. I don’t expect reporters (or moderators of debates) to be completely free of bias. I’m not looking for jurors who’ve never heard of O.J., to make an analogy.

    (Although I prefer those who can at least see past their biases; compare, for instance, Tom Brokaw and other liberal journalists’ generally very positive assessments of Palin’s acceptance speech with Ifill’s.)

    But that’s not the main problem here. The problem is a clear conflict of interest of massive proportions.

    Gwen Ifill invested a lot of time and effort into her book about the “Age of Obama.” She and her publisher decided to release it on ”’Inauguration Day.”’ If Obama-Biden lose this election, Ifill’s book becomes ”worthless.” It may not be released at all.

    Ifill has placed a ”’huge bet”’ on Obama being elected.

    Would you accept the idea of an NFL or NBA referee who ”bet on the outcome of the game ”’officiating that game?”’ ”

    Well, maybe you would, if he bet the way you want the game to turn out.

  3. Hathor said

    Therefore conflict of interest as you see it in this case has everything to do with her quality as a reporter.

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