George S. and a Conflict of Interest?
Folks are making a lot of hay about the quality of questions posed during this week's Democratic debate in Pennsylvania. The fact that 45+ minutes passed before the first policy question was asked has a lot of people wondering if the point of these things is to inform the voters or damage the candidates.
But I'm wondering why nobody cares that one of the moderators, George Stephanopoulos, is a former Clinton official? Does nobody else see a conflict of interest here?
His Wikipedia entry details a number of roles in President Bill Clinton's administration:
Stephanopoulos served as the de facto press secretary, briefing the press even though Dee Dee Myers was officially the White House Press Secretary. Later, he was moved to Senior Advisor on Policy and Strategy, when Dee Dee Myers began personally conducting the briefings and David Gergen was brought in as the new White House Communications Director. The move was largely viewed as a rebuke to Stephanopoulos' handling of public relations during the first six months of the Clinton Administration.
Is it any wonder then that Hillary Clinton was let off the hook with her lame response to the Sniper Question, in which she flatly lied about the danger faced in a trip to Bosnia in the 90s? Conversely, Barack Obama was pummeled with questions ranging from his ties to a now retired minister who voiced controversial (but essentially true) comments as well as the fact that as a community organizer Barack Obama sat on a board with a former Weather Underground member who also happens to now be a community organizer.
Comments
This is what happens when the modrator has a sephanopoly on the questions.
Posted by: Jude | April 18, 2008 3:30 PM