CNN debate moderator Wolf Blitzer did an 'outstanding' job in Vegas, a senior adviser to the Hillary campaign said early Friday. 'He was outstanding, and did not gang up like Russert did in Philadelphia. He avoided the personal attacks, remained professional and ran the best debate so far. Voters were the big winners last night.'A rival campaign insider charges: 'Wolf turned into a lamb. No follow-up question on Clinton's huge flip on drivers licenses?'
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Is This "Senior Adviser" Doing Wolf Blitzer Any Favors?
16 Nov 2007 11:05 am
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Comments (25)
It definitely appears that Blitzer and CNN did get the message from the Clinton camp before the debate... back off.
Ridiculous. CNN's handling of last night's debate was simply pitiful.
What is the point of "audience participation" when every question is a.) pre-screened; and b.) subsequently altered by the moderators?
Last night's debate was a disservice to America's voters.
That senior advisor might as well have said the check is in the mail. Poor Hillary...she got CNN to rig the debate for her but because they went too far and abandoned any pretense of subtlety now we are going to be talking one hell of a lot more about CNN, planting diamonds vs pearls questions instead of anything good she might have done or anything bad the other candidates might have done. As an Obama supporter I was mad last night...but I think the way events are unfolding, this debate debacle could rebound on Hillary. Ist planted questions, now rigged debates....is this what voters want from their leaders?
Mr. Blitzer proved to be a self serving pundit last night. He framed questions that first stated his own opinion and then left it to the candidates to refute Blitzer's opinion and state their own. Not all questions should be answered with a "yes, no". It is sad that a commentator on a major news network can't understand that, in the real world, we shouldn't fight to keep things like foreign human rights and American security an "either or" question, but strive to make them one in the same.
I'm not just mad at Wolfe but at the DNC who has allowed twice now for self absorbed pundits to lead the conversations in these debates. If i wanted to hear these pundit's opinions I would watch their shows. These debates are supposed to allow the American people to judge and interview the next POTUS. Once again CNN, MSNBC and the DNC have let down the American people and continued with their inept leadership.
Blitzer is a sham. That was so embarrassing. He asked the two stupidest questions I've ever heard during a debate:
1) "Which is more important, national security or human rights?"
2) "Assume we cannot come up with comprehensive immigration reform, should we give illegal immigrants drivers liscences?"
And it was UNBELIEVABLE that he gave clinton a pass on her about-face. She comes off looking good because she decided to abandon what she truly believes in order to fall in line with polling. Absolutely pathetic. The next 8 years will be more of the same unless Dems come to their senses.
This is an an absolutely unbelievable statement from the "senior adviser to the Hillary campaign"! Makes one wonder what sort of coercion / mind control is going on in Hillaryland! Wow!
The responsibilities of a moderator include assuring that the candidates have an opportunity to rebut without audience interruption. Just the fact that Wolf Blitzer did not instruct the audience to be silent destroyed his credibility as a moderator.
In addition, his insistence on yes-no answers perpetuates the unsubstantial nature of the debates and does a disservice to voters who need and deserve to hear the candidates give complete answers. American voters were hugely cheated by Wolf Blitzer and CNN last night. Shame on them!
As an undecided voter, I felt that Blitzer's 'performance' was a huge disservice to the American people. I want to hear ALL of the candidates views, not just soundbites from the top 2 or 3 candidates.
The Democrats have a very strong selection of candidates this year. For the media to tell US that all of the other candidates have nothing substantial to offer is simply insulting. Blitzer's intentional and obvious snubbing of Kucinich was nauseating. CNN, the 'most trusted name in news"? Well, THAT was certainly exposed for the joke that it is!
Undecided voter: give me a break. Undecided voters don't read blogs like this. Only partisan hacks and news junkies do.
Oh, Leslie understands it alright. He understands that corporations want what they want, the people be damned. And since they pay for his neatly trimmed beard and his oh so fashionable gleasses and those lovely suits he wears, his manicured nails and his well prepared meals, Leslie does what they want.
I think the worst part of the debate was how Wolf kept going "alright. Alright" and cutting people off...
"Best debate so far?" Good Lord.
'sheep' blitzer is not a qaualified journalist.
bill clinton owns him.
he was afraid to ask a follow-up question on her "NO" answer on drivers license.
he's a scared little boy that CNN=Clinton News Network will have him disinvited to parties.
he's a dwarf among men!
Wolf has got to be the most annoying mediator to date. [Alright, alright,] Wolf let someone finish a sentence so that [thank you, thank you] they can possibly answer the question you asked. And, the questions you [please time running out] asked can't all be answered simply yes or no, and, how many ifs, ands, and buts can [you're gonna have to finish up] you possibly fit in one question so that you only get the answer that [alright, alright] you're looking for. If its okay with you, Wolf, I'd like to say that CNN should have shut you (and the obviously pro-Hillary crowd) up right after you announced the candidates like the Chicago Bulls.
What a pathetic performance the "debate" was. How did Hillary AGAIN get the center lectern? The Diamond-Pearls question was a total embarrassment for this country.
I think we're doomed if this is the best field that the Democrats can offer. It's slim pickings at best.
The word down on the Strip is that shortly before the debate dear little Maria Luisa had been physically threatened with deportation backstage by the snake-headed James Carville and was equally terrorized into asking the deplorable Diamonds and Pearls question by Wolfie Blitzer, who Rudy says looks like sensational in drag.
Wolfie, stop interrupting people all the time... Stop it! Stop! Guys like Richardson and Biden you cut off in mid-sentence, just when they began to launch into a critique of Washington insiders and bureaucrats. Seems like you had certain areas you were ordered to keep unexplored and off limits.
It was just another CNN/FOX stage-managed political distraction meant to keep the sheeple befuddled and perplexed... I mean entertained!
Boxers or briefs?
Diamonds or Pearls?
Republican or Democrat?
Constitution or Illegal Wiretaps?
Honest Elections or Electronic Voting Machines?
Habeas Corpus or Martial Law?
Ron Paul or WWIII?
You got to hand it to the HRC machine (or Borgs as they're called on Nevada or Iowa blogs)...they got a giant set on 'em!
Shall we get even more overt?
Gotta be a better way. This is serious stuff.
What is Wolf Blitzcrieg doing?? This was worse than the last debate.I will take Russert ANYDAY. I was looking at this paltry bunch of candidates and thinking-if ANY of them got elected, what other country can I move to?
I am turning Independant next election as I don't feel a part of the Republican party anymore, and sure as heck aren't turning demoncrat!We all should join the Independents and show these polital hacks what it's all about. I am disgusted with both the parties and can't figure out who is the lesser of any of these evils( on either side)
If it's to be an open question session-LET IT BE BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE TO ASK. We are the ones suffering out here in this country-NOT YOU RICH CANDIDATES, TRIAL LAWERS ECT.
Wolf Blitzer Really???????It was Lamb Blitzer for sure.Lost control over the whole debate.Won't watch another debate on CNN.When the Republican get up there CNN will be like a pack of hungry wolves on the canidates.What a joke.The Lamb would have gone to slaughter if Blitzer crossed Hillary.
Give me a break. Talk about partisan. How many Republicans can you put on one page, with milder comments from other-than-Hillary supporters. No one buys my vote and my mind is not swayed by media-hype. I'm for Senator Clinton because of all the candidates in the race on both sides she is the one person prepared to govern on the first day, able to quickly restore America to a position of honor in the view of our friends and allies and who will bring a much needed pragmatism to the Oval Office. No other candidate can do so. The conservatives say she's much too liberal, the far left says she's much to conservative. For me, and apparently most Americans, she is just right for the job.
First off, I need to tell W. Martins that most Americans are not for Clinton. That was misleading. She is the most dishonest of all the candidates and people are seeing that. You think she didn't have anything to do with the debate and where she was to stand, and what was to be asked. She has proven herself to be nasty when she threatens the media if she doesn't get her way. Do you really want someone like that running our country? That debate was the biggest joke I have ever seen. I used to like Blitzer, but he has no backbone. He's a wus.It was just another Clinton night on the town. No real questions. At least Russert stood up to her. Of course, I am sure she called his boss the next day.
Last week Bill Clinton say's "You Cannot Answer the Driver License Issue in a 30 second sound bite"This week Hillary uses one only one word "NO" and it's OK.Don't we see something wrong here????.Lamb Blitzer did a GREAT job for the Clinton's for President Campaign!!!!!!!
Ever heard of Arkancide?
cnn soft ball girl's presidential debate
The cnn network should be renamed the Clinton network! Oh sure ask Billary if she has been playing the gender card, which her campaign has used. Billary says no and then proceeds to play the gender card by telling the story about having lots of 95 year old women, tell her that they hope to see the first woman President before they die. Then she tells about fathers driving for hours so their daughters could meet her and the reason was to show their daughters that they could grow up to be President. If you think that wasn't playing the gender card, then I have some swamp land that you should buy. Billary was given slow pitches all night by cnn. Then she tells us that she can take the heat. Well she didn't, when questioned about her double talking on issues, she accuses Edwards of using Republican mud slinging tactics, instead of defending her double talking. Typical Clinton redirection of truth about her record of taking different sides of issues depending on who Billary is talking to. She is the pander queen and was unable to intelligently defend her multiple positions, so she falsely accused Edwards of mud slinging. Suggesting that a candidate who takes 5 positions on drivers licenses, for illegal aliens, in a 2 week period, is not decisive and forth right with the voters, is not mud slinging. Asking Billary if she has stopped throwing glass ware at Bubba, is mud slinging. Billary thinks most of her supporters can not tell the difference, she insults the intelligence of educated voters and cons the vast majority of her supporters who are relatively under educated. After taking 5 positions on an issue in a 2 week period, Billary tells a bald faced lie when she says that every one knows where she stands on issues based on her 35 year record. She "stands where she has always stood" she says, which is just plain silly and only believable with "a willing suspension of disbelief."
I can't believe some of the featherbrained remarks I'm reading here: Hillary won, therefore the debate was rigged. Or this: "Blitzer asked the two stupidest questions I've ever heard during a debate:
1) 'Which is more important, national security or human rights?'"
Anyone who doesn't see the importance of this question and the danger in choosing the wrong answer must have his head stuck in the funny papers. Pay attention, man, we're losing our democracy!
I'm amazed at the naivete of those who don't know that presidential debates have been rigged for decades. Why do you think the League of Women Voters backed out of the debates? Because they refused to take part in a process where all the questions had to be approved by both parties.
The "diamonds and pearls" question was just another attempt to trivialize the female candidate and pander to female voters who are supposed to be interested in such things. Next I expect they'll want to know her dress size.
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Blitzer was a joke. Both he and CNN deserve ridicule for last night.
Posted by Will | November 16, 2007 12:11 PM