· Oil prices hit a new record price of $119.90 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and gasoline reached a new record high national average price of $3.51 per gallon. (AP)
· George W. Bush set a new disapproval rating for a President, with 69%, besting the previous record (67%) set by Harry Truman during the Korean War. (USA TODAY/Gallup Poll)
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If you missed the Democratic presidential “debate” on April 16, consider yourself lucky. If you watched it, you know what I mean. It was the final debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama before the Pennsylvania primary. It should have been an opportunity for Americans to compare the candidate’s proposals on how they would address the many problems that George W. Bush is passing on to the next administration, but ABC anchorman Charlie Gibson had other ideas. The former morning show host and his comic side-kick, George Snuffaluffalus, treated viewers to almost an hour of stunningly stupid questions and a tag-team swiftboating of Barack Obama before asking a single pertinent question.
We got to hear Obama respond for the umpteenth time about the inflammatory statements made by his pastor; his comment about Pennsylvanians being “bitter”, his association with a former Weather Underground member (who is now a respected professor), and most-importantly--Obama had to explain why he does not wear an American flag pin on his lapel (It should be noted that Hillary was not wearing an American flag pin, nor were either of the ABC moderators--an irony overlooked in their zeal to question Obama’s patriotism.) I was surprised that Obama was not asked to prove he wasn’t really a Muslim.
The format of the debate was unique: After an announcer solemnly read a passage from the U.S. Constitution, Charlie Gibson would ask a question like: “Senator Obama, it is time to level with the American people. Do you pick your nose when nobody is watching?” Of course, Hillary did have to comment on her bald-faced lie about ducking sniper fire in Bosnia, but for the most part, she was happy enough to join in on the blood-letting of Barack Obama.
Some post-debate pundits called it Obama’s worst debate performance, observing that he seemed to be “on the defensive” (yes, they actually get paid for these keen insights). They were right. Obama was on the defensive, because he was under attack from all sides. The only thing missing was for ABC to invite Republican Presidential candidate John McCain or Rush Limbaugh to come in and take a few pot shots at Obama. They must not have been able to arrange that, so they had to settle for playing a video of McCain taking a pot shot at Obama, and George Stephanopoulos asking Obama a question supplied by Limbaugh-clone Sean Hannity.
I turned off the debate coverage after the first hour because I couldn’t stand it any longer. When I want to hear Republican talking points and watch political nit-picking, I can watch Fox News. I did read the transcript of the debate, so I know they finally did get around to more important subjects; but there is no excuse for wasting nearly an hour of what could have been a crucial debate. ABC’s so-called newsmen, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopolous, put on a disgraceful display, which was a disservice to both the American people and the Presidential candidates--not to mention; being a complete waste of time.
Walter Cronkite, where are you?
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