Friday, April 18, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Pin the Problem on ABC?
Day two and the Democratic debate fallout continues. Turns out the lady who asked Obama the question about the Flag Pin, in a prerecorded tape made by ABC, had already told the New York Times that she could not support Barack Obama--because of his sometimes aversion to wearing flag pins. So, it wasn't really a question from an undecided voter as much as a jibe from someone who had already declared publicly that she was against Obama. Or as Howard Kurtz puts it:
In other words, in staging a debate between Obama and Hillary Clinton, ABC deliberately gave a platform to a Pennsylvanian who had indicated in advance that she could not support one candidate. McCabe's question, which was expanded upon by moderator Charlie Gibson, forced Obama to defend his patriotism.
There is nothing that says undecided voters are the only ones whose opinions matter, or the only ones who get to ask questions, or that someone who has previously voiced an opinion is disqualified. But in this day and age, who at ABC thought they could pull something like this off without controversy? Why do such an elaborately pre-planned woman-on-the-street? Why didn't the moderators just ask the question themselves?
About Swampland
Joe Klein is TIME's political columnist and author of six books, most recently Politics Lost. His weekly TIME column, "In the Arena," covers national and international affairs. In 2004 he won the National Headliner Award for best magazine column. Read more
Senior Writer Karen Tumulty has been TIME's National Political Correspondent since 2001, and has also covered the White House and Congress for the magazine. A native of San Antonio, she is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Harvard Business School, where her career choice has significantly lowered the average salary of her graduating class. But she gets lots of free magazines. Read more
Jay Newton-Small Jay Newton-Small covers politics for TIME. She has covered the Bush 43 White House and also Congress from the DeLay era to the present. And, yes, despite the misleading name SHE is a she. Read more
Michael Scherer is a correspondent in TIME's Washington bureau covering the 2008 presidential campaign. He has worked national assignments for Mother Jones magazine and Salon.com. Read more
Amy Sullivan is a senior editor at TIME magazine, and author of the book The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats are Closing the God Gap (Scribner, 2008). A Michigan native, she holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Harvard Divinity School. She writes about religion and politics for TIME, but no longer answers to the name "Bible Girl." Read more
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