Let's hear it for Bob Schieffer

[Chichiri]

In spite of continually letting McCain get the last word, Bob did an excellent job tonight. He was otherwise impartial, had great questions, knew when to let a discussion go on as it had to, knew when not to, and had (via his mother) one of the best lines of the night. Best of the four moderators by far.

ETA: He was also, by far, the most likable of the four.

[Beregond2]

1. Yep.

[lutefisk]

19. He made Brokaw look like a FOX News reject. He did a good job!

:thumbsup:

[Skwmom]

35. I agree.

[Dawgs]

2. Agree. He was better than the other three combined.

IMO.

[SharonRB]

3. I knew he'd do a good job.

I agree. He was the best of the four and it was a good format that allowed for open discussion.

[AzNick]

4. He did a great job, I totally agree n/t

[Marsala]

5. He led a real debate

The previous ones, with the partial exception of Lehrer's, were mostly just segmented stump speeches.

[jillan]

6. Yes - this was the best debate of them all.

[tilsammans]

7. Yes, the best of the moderators this year n/t

[KewlKat]

8. While the questions were okay I HATED the way

he allowed McKKKain to get the last word. I wish I had counted the times Obama got the last word........and when McKKKain went off in another direction, Schieffer didn't rein him in.........

[Muttocracy]

9. It was actually good he let McCain ramble on some - made McCain look worse! nt

[MadBadger]

10. DUers prejudging??? I'm Shocked!

[knowledgeispwr]

Agree.

He did a good job.

[bdamomma]

11. I think Schieffer wanted to just move on McCain was rambling.

[Danger Mouse]

12. I was pleasantly surprised. He did very well. I have to hand it to him.

[Honeycombe8]

13. Bob did a GREAT job!!!!!! Hail to thee, Mr. Scheiffer! You asked the tough questions...and you

followed up and called 'em on not answering questions directly!

[terrya]

14. He was easily the best of the debate moderators. Excellent job, Mr. Schieffer!

[WA98070]

15. I felt he let McCain talk way more. I wonder how the time was actually divided?

[kath]

16. But McCain got the last word on EVERYTHING, which was utterly inappropriate.

And I'd be willing to bet that when someone puts a stopwatch to the "debate", it will be shown that McCain took up significantly more than half of the time.
NOT FAIR.

[WinkyDink]

24. As my old band director said, "Audiences remember the first note and the last note."

[Pab Sungenis]

17. Only thing about Schieffer that pissed me off

is that he always let McCain have the last word, even when he had been given the first word, too.

[nc4bo]

18. I really think that Schieffer did the best of all the moderators. Must tilt my hat to him. nt

[b2b55]

20. Yes, Thanks to Bob Schieffer the debate was kept under control.

[Chichiri]

23. Actually, I thank Obama for that. Seriously . . .

. . . does the guy EVER break a sweat?

[ecstatic]

21. I agree but he should have scolded mcshame for the continuous interrupting nt

[vanderBeth]

22. Definitely the best moderatort this season.

[Jennicut]

25. I have to say that Gwen Ifill was the worst. Bob did good.

[Lisa0825]

26. That last word shit really pissed me off.

It really gave McCain an edge in the first quarter of the debate.

[truebrit71]

27. Bob "Last Word to McLame" Schieffer? Not so much.

..He constantly let McLame interrupt Obama and gave him the last word very single time but one...

[VenusRising]

28. I didn't think so at all.

He allowed McCain to filibuster on most topics giving him the last word.

We need better moderators for ALL of the debates.

[Phoonzang]

29. I owe him an apology.

I thought he was going to be a completely in the tank for McCain, I was wrong. He was just as good, or better than Jim Lehrer. He let them speak and followed up when necessary. Very non-intrusive as a moderator. I don't think he should have scolded McCain for interrupting. I think it was the interruption was legit and Obama should have done some himself.

[Tatiana]

30. Yep. He effectively allowed the Acorn and Ayers issues to be neutralized.

No one really cared before, but now people react very negatively when the issue is continually raised. They are concerned with more important issues, like whether they can pay their bill or put food on the table.

[nam78_two]

31. I thought he was better than either of the previous date moderators

He is cool :toast:.

[cynatnite]

32. He and Lehrer both did good...

Ifill disappointed me.

Brokaw...all I'll say is that I missed Russert that night.

[Hansel]

33. Yep, he did do a good job. He should have moderated them all.

I wonder if he thought that Obama was just too mature to want to even bother to respond to the petty and childish things McCain was saying. It might have just been a show of respect for Obama's intelligence. I think he was annoyed with McCain.

[Raschel]

34. Screw him, I thought he sucked. He should've checked McCain.

[Blasphemer]

36. I think he did great...

Yes, McCain was out of control and Schieffer was probably unprepared for McCain's aggressive stance but I think he asked good questions and fairly distributed time overall. He did not give the impression of being "in the tank" for either candidate. He did not try to frame the debate, he simply moderated. I have no complaints.