McCain Sings A New Tune On Fox

So, he was for the moderator before he was against her.

As the conservative "attacks" on Gwen Ifill were ramped-up over the past 48 hours, John McCain was quoted as saying that he thought she would be "totally objective".

Now, it appears that he has been poked and proded by those same "attackers" into changing his tune in order to look "tough". He was on Fox and Friends this morning:

McCain also went further than he had yesterday in responding to a question about Gwen Ifill serving as the moderator of tonight's veep debate, saying he preferred somebody else.

"Frankly, I wish they had picked a moderator that isn't writing a book favorable to Barack Obama," McCain said of Ifill, who is examining the rise of the Illinois Democrat and other post-civil rights black leaders. "Let's face it. But I have to have to have confidence that Gwen Ifill will handle this as the professional journalist that she is."

"Life isn't fair, as I mentioned earlier in the program."

Par for the course, actually.

The larger question to be asked here is this - does McCain even have his own original thoughts to contribute? Did he even know who Gwen Ifill was until some handler told him who she was? Was this new opinion of her "fed" to him? Probably.

It is widely apparent that Palin is as blissfully ignorant as they come, but McCain is supposed to be this "strong, opinionated leader with convictions and conservative moral fiber" blah-blah-blah. What happened to this "Maverick" that everyone seems to be talking about? Did he ever exist?

The whole "Ifill is biased" nonsense is just that - nonsense.

Tonight is about Biden and Palin. Period.

People Don't Care About Foerign Stuff?

According to Steve Doocy, that repository of sage-like knowledge at Fox and Friends, the average person doesn't really care much about "foriegn stuff"

Bare in mind, this is built around the framework of the impending VP debate and Palin's ability ( or inability ) to respond to questions regarding foreign policy.

Nichole @ C&L has the breakdown:

Ah, the soft bigotry of lowered expectations… The McCain campaign is on overdrive to manage the upcoming vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. Over the last week, they have demanded limiting the response time to 90 seconds (perfect for the wordy but meaningless “pageant” answers she’s prone to give), set up the framework that tough questions are “gotcha” questions and any of Biden’s responses may be sexist and patronizing. Now they are suggesting that moderator Gwen Ifill may not be nonpartisan enough to moderate the debate, since she authored a book on politics and race, even though the McCain camp approved of her selection (you’ll remember she moderated the 2004 VP debate between Cheney and Edwards) AFTER her book had been published.

Here's something interesting to keep in mind when watching the debate tomorrow:

Gwen Ifill moderated the 2004 debate between Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator John Edwards, asking a total of 20 questions. Ten of those questions were specifically about foreign policy — including the first 9 — while Cheney brought up foreign policy in two addition domestic policy questions and Edwards snuck it into one of his domestic policy answers. In the latter three cases, Edwards and Cheney responded to the other's foreign policy forays in kind. That means that foreign policy discussions comprised two-thirds of the last Vice Presidential debate.

No matter what happens, Doocy and the lady with the magnificent jaw will likely be fuming come Friday morning.

More Excuses For Palin's Debate Performance That Hasn't Happened Yet

Conservative Republicans - within the media and without - are doing their best to exploit the inherent weaknesses within Sarah Palin.

You may find yourself asking how they are doing this.

It's quite obivious.

They are limiting her media exposure to such an extent that it is nearly non-existant. When and if those interviews are scrutinized, even in the most minimalist terms, it isn't that Palin is performing poorly, it's that the media is trying to "trick" her, trying to damage her.

The "blame the media" meme is growing stronger now the Palin has entered the picture and continues to further reveal her inadequacy with each passing news cycle.

The McCain campaign even went so far as to alter the vice-presidential debates to compensate for Palin's ignorance:

From the paper that conservatives love to loathe, The New York Times

At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates.

>McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.

If that isn't a clear indicator that McCain and his droogies are fully aware of Palin's inability, I don't know what it.

Ed Morrissey at HotAir and Michelle Malkin take it a step further, addressing the fact that VP Debate moderator Gwen Ifill of PBS as "financial interest" if Obama is elected because ----------- wait for it ------------- she wrote a book.

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 January 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? “Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” Nonpartisan my foot.
Ifill’s publisher, Random House, is already busy hyping the book with YouTube clips of Ifill heaping praise on her subjects, including Obama and Obama-endorsing Mass. Governor Deval Patrick.

I haven't read the book, but considering Malkin and Morrissey's noticable distaste for it, I'm sure that I'll pick up a copy. Also, the title seems to be addressing the issue of "race" and "politics" and how these two topics have been reshaped in the late 20th - early 21st century.

However, Malkin and her followers love the topic of "race" so long as they benefit from it in some form. This isn't to say that she and those that think as she does are racists. It's simply to state that they are willfully ignorant and have a personal ideology that they will push forward no matter who gets in their way.

But, let's take a serious look at this.

Any real journalist that knows how to seperate their personal beliefs from their job can be effective. There are many that have done this. Peter Jennings is someone that easily comes to mind. Tim Russert was another.

Also, what proof do Morrissey and Malkin have that Ifill's book will sell any more or any less if Obama is elected or not?

They don't.

Also, what about books by authors that are writing about Sarah Palin? Is there proof that they will benefit more from her election or not? No.

So, who do Malkin and Morrissey offer as possible replacements?

No one.

This is standard for them. They offer nothing but their position of "against" and little to nothing in the way of solutions.

How does this, in turn, exploit Palin's weakness?

But doing their best to cast doubt on Gwen Ifill's ability to be "fair" in her moderation, Palin is virtually removed from the equation. The only problem with this strategy is that they are reliant on Independant voters being swung in their direction. Rabid partisanship rarely does such a thing. So, in essence, Malkin and Morrissey's argument has negated itself from the start.

It will be interesting to see what excuses are brought up now to draw attention away from Palin's glaring inadequacy.