Tonight's Contests
After work, I have a 5:30 meeting which could be exciting and challenging for me to attend, long enough to pound on the table with my shoes anyway. Then, I'll have to leave early enough to catch an event on my teevee.
Only, I'll have to think for a minute as to which of the two simultaneously televised contests I should watch.
Only one of these games is played on a level playing field. In only one of these games, the strike zone hasn't been shrunk through negotiation by one team as a condition of showing up. Only one of these games will be officiated by an umpire who is not being vilified for having written a book. In only one of these games will no tie suffice. In only one of these games will the two teams have identical standards of success, 'diminished levels of expectancy' having been relegated to the bookies in Las Vegas.
I want to be there to see and feel history in the making. That other (fake) game? I'll just watch the highlights later.
Only, I'll have to think for a minute as to which of the two simultaneously televised contests I should watch.
Ok, That didn't really take all of sixty seconds...
Only one of these games is played on a level playing field. In only one of these games, the strike zone hasn't been shrunk through negotiation by one team as a condition of showing up. Only one of these games will be officiated by an umpire who is not being vilified for having written a book. In only one of these games will no tie suffice. In only one of these games will the two teams have identical standards of success, 'diminished levels of expectancy' having been relegated to the bookies in Las Vegas.
I want to be there to see and feel history in the making. That other (fake) game? I'll just watch the highlights later.
posted by Vigilante at 10/02/2008 12:22:00 AM
23 Moderated Comments:
Pre-Game Show: I'm fessing up to receiving emails from RedState-dot-com. Here - without the original boldfacing - is what I received this morning:
Tell PBS Gwen Ifill Should Not Moderate
As you probably know by now, Gwen Ifill, the debate moderator for the Vice Presidential Debate, has a financial interest in Barack Obama winning the election.
Ifill is the author of The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, a new book scheduled for release on Inauguration Day. Its Amazon.com promotional statement says, “In 'The Breakthrough,' veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power.”
Ms. Ifill did not disclose her book deal to the McCain campaign before the campaign approved her selection as a debate moderator. Obviously this situation is unacceptable. Ms. Ifill has a financial incentive to do no harm to the Obama campaign and has an incentive to harm the McCain campaign in order to help Barack Obama.
If you are as concerned about this as I am, you can call Paula Kerger, the CEO of PBS at (703) 739-8619 and Sharon Rockefeller, the CEO of WETA in Washington, D.C. at (703) 998-2089 and ask them to have Ms. Ifill recuse herself or, if they refuse, insist that Ms. Ifill fully disclose her conflict of interest.
Sincerely yours,
Erick Erickson
Editor, RedState.com
FYI & purposes of discussion.
Just as umpires have to check bats to confirm they don't contain cork, so Glen Ifill should check Palin's ears to make sure they don't contain earphones.
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It's all about that notorious 3 A.M. phone call!
Greta van Susteren says the McCain campaign didn't know about Ifill's book until midnight, Oct 1st when she called them.
It just shows the McCain campaign's incompetence. The debate moderators were agreed to on August 6. Ifill's book was reported in the Associated Press two weeks earlier. This goes to the effectiveness of a campaign organization as a predictor of the competence of its candidate's eventual administration. Bush and Cheney were not prepared for attacks on NYC, civil wars in Iraq, hurricanes in New Orleans or crashes on Wall Street. McCain's not prepared for this? More of the same, is what he offers.
At the risk of appearing facetious, I need to jump in and reinforce my earlier point about presidential debates as currently malpracticed.
Last night, the Dodgers opened their post season series with the Cubs with a 7-2 win. The game turned in the 5th inning when James Loney hit a grand slam to put L.A. ahead to stay, 4-2. If the game had been moderated by Glen Ifill, she would have felt compelled - in order to prove her impartiality bona fides - to prevent the Dodgers from scoring again until the hapless Cubs caught up.
I'm going to watch the debate but how much of it I can't say. There's a good chance Gov. Palin will not even understand the questions, much less answer them...
Sen. McCain's impulsive, non-vetting decision to put her on the ticket is just one more example of poor judgment from a guy lacking in a consistent campaign strategy, carrying the wrong message (experience)and weighed down with a serious anger management problem.
If the St. Louis Cardinals aren't in the playoffs I don't care about it and clearly they are not.
As to the other big game, coincidentally in St. Louis, home of the best Baseball team EVER, there is that Delaware vs Alaska thing! As is see it Delaware has more people than Alaska and has much nicer houses. It is also a much older and therefore much wiser community. While Alaska is a young state it is rebellious and has nothing to offer but its fetching scenery. My money is on Delaware. I gotta call my bookie!!
Yellowdog, I would read Soros' post which shows the McCain campaign's incompetence. If the book was published two weeks prior to Ifill's vetting, then someone in McBlame's campaign didn't take enough courses in research. Their bad.
I believe the Rethugs were waiting to pull another bad-faith stunt on the Dems. MacDaddy, I love this: There's a good chance Gov. Palin will not even understand the questions, much less answer them... That will be fun to watch.
I can already hear the squealing and whining of various right wing-nuts saying both that poor Sara was taken advantage of from Biden and Ifill and that the pitbull ripped them a new one. While such opposing statements are a contradiction, well thats never stopped them before. I figure Sara will walk out of there intact since just about everyone has set the bar very low.
Please explain to me why we are so very pleased that Ifill has handed the Republicans this issue?
Ifill screwed up. We should be furious with her. I know I am.
Biden will win tonight. He would also have won with a different moderator. Palin is no match for Biden. Ifill's ego got in the way of her journalist integrity.
Palin is no match for Biden. Ifill's ego got in the way of her journalist integrity.
These are two separate issues. If Palin is no match for Biden, then Biden is the better candidates. Accordingly, Biden will "killa" during the debate and show her up for the poor candidadate she is. Bill Kristol could moderate tonight's debate, and Biden would still win.
Again, read Soros' links. Ifill's moderation is less ego than McCon's hubris. This moderation debacle is a non-issue. The GOP knew about Ifill's book when they vetted her.
Scoring these debates is like scoring Synchronized Swimming in the Olympics. It all depends on politics.
Post Debate Show: I thought I'd stop by here before heading over to my house for a more in depth analysis.
1. Clearly Senator Joe Biden DID WIN the debate.
2. The television post debate pundits seem to be declaring Palin the winner. But what is really odd, even the pro-Dem analysis is strangely muted and, well, just plain wierd.
3. But the main reason I stopped by is to tell Vigilante that he is totally RIGHT!!! The debate format really sucks. I would love to blame Gwen Ifill for the disjointed and interupting style with no follow-up, but it really is the format.
Watching Baseball is a better way ro spend any hour and a half!!!
Beverly, I don't know if Palin is ready. You know you're in trouble, debating like this, you know you're in trouble when your debate goal is to do as well as Dan Quayle did.
It's the bottom of the 9th with the Cubs batting. The Dodgers haven't technically won it yet, but they do lead 10-1. It's been a satisfying evening.
Your two negative comments about Gwen Ifills do not surprise me, Wizard. I'm just speculating about other, undisclosed reasons you don't like her. For one thing, I don't think you've ever forgiven Ifill for skewering your great patron saint, Don Imus. No surprise here.
I don't know who "won", will have to wait a few days for the polls to know that. Of course I feel Biden did because I agree with Biden but it's all about the votes isn't it?
What really puzzles and amazes me is that this late in the race so many people could say they are "undecided". Um, HELLO, you either agree more with the positions held by one side or the other. Or wait, is this just a dress-up contest???
N.Y. Mama, you must return more often to bang nails, which have worked loose, back in!
Beverly, thanks for quoting and linking to this thread in another blog last night. It did not go unnoticed nor unappreciated.
Glen Ifill is better prepared to be vice-president than Sarah Palin. That's what I learned last night. So, what are we talking about?
Yes, boris, why not have Gwen Ifill and Vice President and Barbara Boxer (with gavel in hand) as president.
To me, Biden came out the clear winner: although Palin was able to speak to the heart of "Joe Six Pack." She was insulting and rude.
However, I think my co-blogger Wednesday made an excellent observation:
Of course, being the elitist that I am (you're not alone, Stella), I can't help fearing that audiences across America will embrace that gosh-darned maverick Palin's fiesty, plucky individualism in her refusal to play by the rules and bog down the show with all those tedious, boring facts the way Biden did.
Or, I should say Vig, you're not alone.
B4F... You know, I think that was Beverly's point, although Killa is stupider than Quayle.
I'm so glad I chose to watch to watch the Dodgers from 1st to last pitch Thursday night. All of the replays of the debate indicate to me that even the Cubs fielded better than Palin. (For Chicago, there was an error at each infield position.)
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