- commentary
- THURSDAY APRIL 17 2008 6:00 AM
ABC: The Shame Network
Submitted by FearTheReaper
Edited by erin_broadley
I loathe Hillary Clinton. Back in the early '90s, I was a fan of the Clintons, but as time went by, it became apparent they were Republicans claiming to be Democrats. One only needs to look at the damage done by NAFTA to understand. Yet, I never disliked them as I do now. Hillary has proven herself to be a horrible viper through her actions and words during this primary season. The woman really is an opportunistic beast. So, I tuned in to last nights debate hoping to witness Hillary Clintons destruction. But I ended up hating ABCs Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos much more. Do you know how horrible someone has to be to make me hate them more than Hillary? Its quite an accomplishment.
The first hour of the debate was a complete and total disgrace. Chuck and George didnt ask a question of substance for the entire hour. The economy? Nope. Iraq? Nope. Housing Crisis? Nope. Torture? Nope. Health Care? Nope. Afghanistan? Nope. Education? Nope. Energy? Nope. Gas prices? Nope. Tibet and China? Nope. Trade? Nope. The world food crisis? Nope. Global warming? Nope. Immigration? Nope. Terrorism? Nope. Illegal government surveillance? Nope.
The majority of the above topics were not covered at all. The moderators started out with a very important issue that America is very concerned about: Whether or not they will choose each other as Vice President. But the question wasnt just asked; Chuck pressed the issue with follow-ups as he attempted to get Americans to change the channel.
And then we were off and running to a complete and total night of journalistic embarrassment. For the rest of the hour we were forced to listen to a debate covering pressing issues like Obama using the word "bitter," Reverend Wrights comments, whether or not Wright is a patriot, Hillarys Bosnia comments, Hillarys poor polling on honesty, Obama not wearing a flag lapel pin and Obama knowing a member of the Weather Underground. It was pretty pathetic and George Stephanopoulos was a total douchebag. George went after Obama aggressively, which would have been fine if they had actually been talking about issues. Instead, he covered all the subjects that would give Sean Hannity a hard on. And George just happened to be one of Bill Clinton's senior advisors during the '90s. Total coincidence.
After the first hour, they took a commercial break and came back with a question about Iraq, which was nice because these people are running for president, not editor of the National Enquirer. Then they switched to the economy and Chuck actually had the balls to argue with Obama, like a right wing asshole, about capitol gains tax cuts. His questions were framed as if capital gains tax cuts are great and how can anybody not love them? Of course we also spent time on that hot button issue of affirmative action. At the end, the candidates were given one minute to talk about rising gas prices. One minute. Disgraceful.
The decision to have a former member of President Bill Clintons cabinet moderate a debate, when one of the two candidates was a Clinton, is insane. The fact that ABC did not make a disclaimer is an example of how far journalistic ethics have fallen. It was hard to watch George doing the obvious biased bidding of his former master on Obama. Couple that with Chuck asking marginally retarded questions from a right wing perspective and this debate was a mess. It was a nice two-hour example of everything that is wrong with our country. We will never change the problems we face with weak imbeciles, like these two, as our leading journalists. Until politicians are asked tough questions about the issues we face, they will have no reason to take action. Our journalists have a job. Its called accountability. FAIL.
And I was not alone in my criticism. After 7,500 comments, ABC shut down their debate message board -- only 30 minutes into the West Coast airing. When they realized this would only bring more attention, they fired it up again. Feel free to peruse the hate.
Or, you can read some of the comments from angry bloggers.
Worst debate ever. ABC really botched this one. I could actually feel myself getting dumber with each passing minute in that first hour.
Wow. What the hell was that? Seriously, I'm a bit stunned. The level of discourse has reached a new low -- a very new low. To be clear, I don't think the debate was a disaster for Obama. He did fine. I think it was a disaster for our political system. It was the worst debate ever. Gibson and Stephanopoulos were horrible.
OK, it's finally over. Frankly, the questioning was so horrendous that it's hard to determine what's supposed to be important here -- who "won" the debate.
..My God. It gets worse and worse. Just move the whole thing to Fox.
An hour into the latest Democratic Debate and overwhelmingly, the consensus is that ABC is doing a fine job
of completely ignoring the issues that concern Americans and focusing on minutia that is hurting the race, the Democratic Party and the American electoral process.
No Charlie. It hasn't been a "fascinating debate." It's been genuinely awful...It's stuff like this that really makes me think that whole big chunks of the established press needs to be swept away.
The best line of the night belonged to one of our own. A young lad named PointBlank.
As a representative of the American Flag Pin Makers of America Association (AFPMAA), I also found it to be a fascinating, informative debate.
Somebody took a wit class.
For Georges final question, he jumped with two feet into Lake Halfwit.
Senator Clinton, youve said you believe in using former Presidents. How would you use George W. Bush?
Ha, ha. Fun! Way to take advantage of the honor America has given you. Now go shoot yourself in the face, George, you useless, biased fuck.




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Comments
Mr_Matt_
Pompano Beach, FL
July 2005
APR 17, 2008 06:57 AM
hellboy7
Austin, TX
July 2004
APR 17, 2008 07:07 AM
AmbientLight
I'm lost
March 2005
APR 17, 2008 07:18 AM
alaric
I'm lost
June 2005
APR 17, 2008 07:20 AM
Hooraydiation
Boston, MA
October 2005
APR 17, 2008 07:32 AM
alaric
I'm lost
June 2005
APR 17, 2008 07:43 AM
kthxbi
Gulf Breeze, FL
November 2006
APR 17, 2008 07:44 AM
CoyoteMike
Iowa City, IA
May 2006
APR 17, 2008 07:58 AM
Hooraydiation
Boston, MA
October 2005
APR 17, 2008 08:03 AM
_kungfoo_
Los Angeles, CA
April 2005
APR 17, 2008 09:51 AM
livertarian
Fairfax, VA
February 2008
APR 17, 2008 10:12 AM
TAFKASP
Oakland, CA
June 2003
APR 17, 2008 10:14 AM
fullgl
West Hills, CA
February 2005
APR 17, 2008 10:17 AM
_kungfoo_
Los Angeles, CA
April 2005
APR 17, 2008 10:20 AM
TAFKASP
Oakland, CA
June 2003
APR 17, 2008 10:21 AM
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