FeedEfforts to Muzzle Candy Crowley Make Both Obama and Romney Teams Look Scared
October 15, 2012 in 2012 Obama-Romney Race, Presidential Debates
Word leaked out today that both President Obama’s and Mitt Romney’s campaigns have entered into a memorandum of understanding that would attempt to restrict Candy Crowley, the moderator of Tuesday’s presidential debate, from asking follow-up questions. Obama’s and Romney’s camps must be scared if they need to try to muzzle Candy Crowley by limiting her role to merely introducing the citizen questioners and keeping track of time. One could get a robot for that.
Both Jim Lehrer and Martha Raddatz were free to ask the initial questions and the follow-up questions of both candidates in the first two debates. Often, those second and third questions can help get to “the meat of the matter.” It was originally envisioned that Crowley would be able to “facilitate a discussion” after the initial audience question. Just because Tuesday’s debate is a town hall forum with initial questions coming from an audience of undecided voters pre-selected by the Gallup Organization, doesn’t mean Crowley – a well-respected and experienced CNN journalist who is extremely astute in the “politics” of government and the “ins and outs” of political campaigns – shouldn’t also be able to ask follow-up questions to hold both Obama’s and Romney’s feet to the fire.
It is surprising that the Obama camp would agree to restricting Crowley. She is fair, but is seen as having more progressive leanings. Had Obama “won” the first debate, perhaps he wouldn’t be so concerned about his performance in this second one. Even though Crowley is not required to follow the memorandum’s restrictions, it sounds like both candidates are afraid of making a mistake – or want to inoculate themselves in case they make a gaffe. Then, they can just blame it on Crowley. I thought these two men were up to the job of serving as president of the United States . . . and they are afraid of questions from a debate moderator??
October 16th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
No doubt about it, they are afraid. Given the natural instinct and necessity of reducing many newscasts to just snippets of information, one or two mistakes and the election is over. Remember Ford’s comment that Poland wasn’t in the Soviet Block?
Romney not liking Candy Crowley is easy to understand. Having a reporter saying his selection of a Vice President is a ‘ticket death wish’ doesn’t lead one to believe that fair treatment is to follow.
President Obama has another worry that is brand new. Until the first debate, he was seen as the smartest man in the room. Now, with a few questions and hesitant answers, it may be confirmed that he is not, and never was. Will Candy Crowley follow up on a question digging deeper than he would like?
So far the caricature of Romney and Obama can be summarized as Romney being the big bad business bogeyman that doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and a President that is spectacularly intelligent and above it all.
Because they are two extremes, a modest shift over either one of the end points and the election is up for grabs.