Presidential Moderators - Stuck in the 50's?

Thursday, August 14, 2008
The moderators for the presidential debates have been announced, and I feel like I've been time-warped to the 50's.

The moderators will be Jim Lehrer of PBS's "News Hour;" Tom Brokaw of NBC, and Bob Schieffer of CBS's "Face the Nation." Gwen Ifill, also of PBS's "News Hour" was chosen to moderate the one vice presidential debate.

Well.

The moderators for the presidential debate are all male, white, and over 65...sort of like, oh, I don't know...John McCain? Gwen Ifill, who is as qualified as any of the others, has been relegated to the VP moderation role.

If the moderators were all middle-age black journalists, do you think there'd be a ruckus?

I find this very disappointing, though not surprising.

7 comments:

Cindi in CO said...

Personally, I'd like to see Bill Maher moderate the debates. Hee.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you, Cindi. That would just make my election season.

*sigh*

Janiece said...

With commentary by Chris Rock!

Nathan said...

Would you prefer Ann Coulter?

Maybe Oprah for her gravitas?

:D

Eric said...

But they had to do it that way at the McCain campaign's insistence: their man was terrified a bunch of 40-something moderators would ask him questions about what his policies might be on legally downloading their "hippity hop" music from the "intertube" using "eBay programs." The man was genuinely upset about the whole thing, and eventually it got to a point where McCain's campaign manager spent forty-five minutes convincing the Senator that the Straight-Talk Express didn't even have a yard, much less a yard full of "dirty hippie kids smoking acid."

Janiece said...

Nathan, you can be replaced. Seriously, dude. Ann Coulter?

::patooie!::

I would prefer a smidge of diversity in my moderators, like Gwen Ifill or any number of other equally qualified minority journalists.

It's not that Tom, Bob and Jim haven't paid their dues - they have, but the lack of diversity implies a lack of sensitivity in this historic election...

Random Michelle K said...

I want Sylvia Poggioli. Because I live listening to her speak.

But I'd settle for Cokie Roberts.