Sunday, October 14, 2012

Moderator Bias In The Debates: No, That Cannot Be

From the Washington Examiner:
A vice presidential debate analysis from a conservative media watchdog group found that debate moderator and ABC correspondent Martha Raddatz asked 19 pro-Obama questions Thursday night, but just 12 skewed Republican, a 40 percent to 25 percent margin.
"Any moderator whose weighted questions favor liberals over conservatives by a 19-12 margin is biased," charged Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center.
But he was quick to add that Raddatz, a virtual expert on the Iraq and Afghan war and also a White House correspondent, showed no bias in her specialty.
"The record shows it is not as bad as conservatives think, and not as good as liberals are stating," he said.....
 According to their analysis provided to Secrets, of the 48 questions and follow-ups from the moderator, "19, or 40 percent, incorporated a pro-Obama/Biden or anti-Romney/Ryan agenda, vs. 25 percent or 12 questions that skewed in the other direction and 35 percent or 17 questions were neutral or purely information-seeking," they said
"Raddatz showed almost no bias in her foreign policy questions, which split down the middle: eight pro-Romney vs. seven pro-Obama, not counting the neutrals. But on domestic issues, especially on the budget and taxes, she joined Joe Biden in pounding on Paul Ryan, with a remarkable dozen questions that incorporated liberal campaign themes, compared to just four based on a conservative premise, a stark three-to-one liberal tilt," said the group.
Bozell said "she deserves a good deal of credit for taking Joe Biden to task for the Obama Administration's failures in Benghazi. She asked the hard, pointed questions that the administration has managed to dodge for weeks. Her conduct during the opening segment was refreshing and professional. http://washingtonexaminer.com/raddatz-favored-biden-40-to-ryan-25/article/2510571#.UHpjeq48VXs
Being a moderator at a presidential debate is both an honor and pain in the butt.  No matter how hard you try, you are going to piss someone off.  
However, Raddatz did show her bias with some of her questions and her failure to keep Biden under control.  Biden acted like a complete jackass/thug/bully and she never once mentioned asked or told Biden to start acting like an adult.
But Raddatz wanted the job and she blew it when she decided to be biased.  What a shock: not.

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