Real Winner of the VP Debate: Katie Couric

[ihavenobias]

By Cenk Uygur

First, it should be noted what a great job Joe Biden did last night. I wanted him to attack a lot more and eviscerate Sarah Palin. He didn't go with my strategy and he wound up looking fantastic. If it was a surprise that Sarah Palin didn't lose the debate, it was an even bigger surprise to me that Joe Biden won it.

Not that I didn't think Biden had it in him or wouldn't be effective in a debate. It's just that he looked so overwhelmingly competent that it changed my mind about his strategy. He single-handedly accomplished the Obama-Biden campaign goal of setting the American voters' minds at ease. These guys are going to take us in the right direction. The country is safe in their hands.

In this sense, Sarah Palin's competence, or lack thereof, became irrelevant. She was shadow boxing with herself trying to stay on her feet as Biden was telling the American people why it was okay to vote for his ticket. She was in the wrong game.

But as an aside, it is instructive to see how she stayed on her feet. Here is a woman who through her other interviews clearly demonstrated that she has absolutely no grasp of the issues. That didn't magically change over night. No, what changed were the questions.

I hate to say this because Gwen Ifill seems like such a wonderful and competent woman. I want to root for her. But it has to be said. She was awful. In fact, one our viewers nicknamed her Gwen Awful. At the time, I thought that was way too harsh, but now reflecting back on it, she really didn't do the job.

Why? Because all she did was pose simple questions that were easily deflected with prepared talking points. That's not a debate; that's a boring, fairly useless, series of mini-speeches. If you don't probe beyond the initial non-answer, you are simply not doing your job. That's a disservice to the American people who came to find out if these people know what they're talking about and what their real plans for the country are.

Here is where Katie Couric comes into the picture. Her interviews with Sarah Palin were excellent for one simple reason - follow-ups. She did what, unfortunately, so little journalists do these days - she asked pertinent, revealing (yet polite) follow-up questions. This allowed us to see behind the veneer of Sarah Palin and realize it was backed up by absolutely nothing. Real journalism led to real facts we would not have otherwise seen...

For The Rest,
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PS---There are way too many pro-Palin comments on the Palin Rape Kit Ad youtube clip. Please help change that: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA03w6xUs2c

[soleft]

1. I think Couric did an abundance to rehabilitate her image

[rurallib]

2. So seldom see meaningful follow-up questions anymore

I was surprised to see Couric do it. In a nice, polite yet forceful manner. Didn't let Palin blow her off. Any candidate for office should be able to handle a follow up.

[Barack_America]

3. So, apparently the debate format didn't allow for follow-up questions...

As absurd as that is.

But I still say that a good moderator knows how to work around the debate format to ensure that the debate remains probing and useful. Ifill certainly didn't do that.

As I've said in other threads this morning, I felt like I was watching a recital, not a debate. It was a waste of time, IMO.

[Johonny]

5. That's what I like about the debate

She let the debate happen even if on paper the debate was suppose to be much different. She basically let the candidates have a lot more give and take than we were expecting last night. Compared to the dullness of the last two VP debates this one was much more lively.

[tblue37]

15. Ifill could have responded to Palin's remark about not answering the

debate questions by reminding the twit that she agreed to a debate, not to a series of talking-point speeches, and that she needed to respond to the questions. Even if Palin then refused to stay on topic, at least the viewing public would have been authoritatively reminded that she was deliberately flouting the rules of the debate. At the McCain camp's insistence, the rules included no follow-up questions and no direct challenges from Biden. Ifill and Biden abided by those rules, so Palin owed a good faith effort to abide by the rules that were pertinent to her responses.

[Cass]

17. I didn't know about the rules for no follow ups and no challenges from Biden.

That explains alot.

[ihavenobias]

19. Gwen was intimidated because...

The worked.

[riverwalker]

4. Couric has come a long way

from her "Navy Seals rock!" days.

[hisownpetard]

6. "Why? Because all she did was pose simple questions that were easily deflected with prepared talking

points. That's not a debate; that's a boring, fairly useless, series of mini-speeches."

Nailed it. I thought Ifill showed no spark, no creativity with her predictable and boring questions.

I do think, though, that the rules precluded her from asking follow-up questions - in which case, again,
that's not a debate and should not have been billed as one! If, on the other hand, the rules did not
preclude it and it was her choice not to ask follow-up questions, then she was completely deficient
in conducting that forum.


:hi:

[matthewf]

7. k&r

[old guy]

8. I have never been a big fan of Ifill

but last night I believe she was placed in a very difficult position. She has been attacked all week by the right wing and it made it impossible for her insist on answers as it would give them fodder to down play the results. All the right wanted was to get Palin in and out without any cataclysmic mistakes and they probably got that. Win? No, but she didn't destroy the campaign either.

[Window]

9. As usual, well done Cenk. Thanks for sharing ihavenobias.

Thanks to Katie for exposing that idiot.

I still say she looked and sounded like an animated ventriloquist's dummy.


:kick:

[ihavenobias]

23. A dummy is right n/t

[uponit7771]

10. Gwen posed questions from punditry land not main street, I thought she was bad too

[OhioChick]

11. K&R

:kick:

[Jennicut]

12. Katie Couric is a fantastic interviewer. Who knew?

I gained a lot more respect for her now. She might not do the nightly news the best but she does know how to get those follow up questions in without seeming like a total jerk. She is stealth, that Katie.

[ihavenobias]

28. I agree n/t

[navarth]

13. well, Gwen made Katie look good, sure...but

Gwen was hamstrung by all the whining about her book, etc. Not that I'm a big Ifill fan or anything.

I'm just glad the debate didn't change anything for the worse.

[psychobueller]

14. Message I emailed Katie Couric

Katie,

I will echo the sentiments of this link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/real-winner-of-the-debate_b_131501.html

Thank goodness you had the integrity to ask real questions, and demand real answers. Thank you for not accepting talking points and gibberish as answers. Without your efforts I fear that the American public would never have gotten a true look at Sarah Palin's real level of knowledge and intellect.

I will now consider CBS news and you a must for accurate and comprehensive news coverage. I have been so impressed with you! Great job, keep it up! Don't let them get away with answering with talking points, from either side.

A new fan.

[Hellataz]

16. I almost think Palin did bad on purpose.

I almost wonder, did Palin do badly on those interviews right before the debate to lower expectation on herself because she knew she didn't have the skill to beat Biden in an actual debate..or is that giving her too much credit?

[Quantess]

25. I sort of wonder the same thing.

But, I think her performances can be classified into interviews and speeches. She does a convincingly good job in speeches, where she's prepared some sound bite answers. In face-to-face interviews, obviously when she's caught off guard in the slightest, she does terribly. This means she is just a phony facade with a high maintenance illusion to uphold. She is definitely calculating, but I'm not sure she would go so far as to be deliberately bad in interviews. I think Sarah Palin's *true* performance can be seen in the interviews.

[graywarrior]

18. Man. I feel so guilty referring to her as Gidget all this time

I owe her an apology. Sorry, Gidget Katie!

[Cha]

20. I was thinking of this very thing last

night when it was pointed out "there were no follow ups". Thank the Universe for the Katie Couric interviews which can be put together with palin's debate debacle and viola!

I was prepared for Ifill not doing a good job because of her performance with John Edwards and dick cheney.

[eshfemme]

21. I love Cenk for his Young Turks commentary!

I feel really badly for Gwen Ifill though. But it sucked that she did such a crappy job moderating-- yeah, she got out of the way but the point of the moderator is to take back control of a debate when it's derailed from the public purpose the debate is supposed to fulfill: inform the American people. That's the only reason a moderator should intrude and she should have.

It's sad that the Republicans successfully worked the ref in this instance because good follow up questions would have been the little nudge necessary to make Palin crash and burn. I'd also have appreciated it for Biden as it would have given Joe some more chances to talk more, which I love as I love hearing him speak (hey, I know he can get talky but he was almost too subdued for me in some cases and I wanted him to continue harping on McCain = Bush^2).

[ihavenobias]

35. Yeah, she was damned either way I guess

Still, better to be damned and do what's best for this country by asking tough questions than be soft and save yourself from right wing criticism.

[pleah]

22. I was disappointed in the moderators questions, also.

I was hoping she would call Palin out on her refusal to answer the questions as well.

[TexasObserver]

24. Katie Couric has made all other interviewers of Palin look like complete failures.

In what respect, Charlie?

[qwlauren35]

26. I agree about Ifill...

but don't know whether she was told that she could not "redirect".

In the Presidential debates though, I think the "what gets cut from the budget" question WAS redirected, so either Ifill did poorly, OR the rules were changed.

[theFrankFactor]

27. Interesting About Katie...

we know she has it in her now. Why she doesn't apply herself in other interviews calls into question her priorities. I could be way off here but I think the fact that Palin thought she could skate into the VP position just because she has a vagina pissed Katie off at her core. Katie wasn't havin' it!

See my take on the VP debate here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n754FjvGKGQ

[ihavenobias]

29. Great link Frank, thanks for sharing n/t

[CherylK]

30. K & R!

:thumbsup:

[DailyGrind51]

31. Katie applied that "lead fist in a velvet glove" approach, which proved very effective.

And, how could anyone use the "picking on a woman" whining point with the little "perkster" conducting the interview?

[ihavenobias]

34. True n/t

[bagimin]

32. Ifill simply didn't do the job for

the electorate. I was expecting much better.

[Dollface]

36. In defense of Gwen Ifill, they were discussing the debate on Moyers or McLaughlin (can't remember)

and they noted that the debate format had been predetermined by agreement of the participants. Gwen's role was extremely restricted.

[ihavenobias]

37. You're right, that's true. Still, I think her questions were pretty lame n/t

[John K]

38. Format is one thing, but why not ask about Troopergate

This is like doing an interview with Nixon after his retirement and not bringing up Watergate. She got off scott-free on all the stuff going on in Alaska. Gwen was really intimidated, unfortunately.

[ihavenobias]

39. Exactly. Or about rape kits or separation of church and state and about a hundred other questions

.

[OhioChick]

33. Kick!

:kick:

[ihavenobias]

43. Thanks

:)

[autorank]

40. k*r

[BlooInBloo]

41. Couric is SOOOOO lucky to have found someone stupider than she is.

[democrat2thecore]

44. Katie's a lot of things - but "stupid" she is not -nt

[CherylK]

42. Bump!

:kick:

[Bryn]

45. Thank God for Katie. She exposed Palin for what she really is.

Just think...Palin could have gotten away because Gwen didn't expose her, but because of Katie many people know.

Thank you..Great Job, Katie Couric