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| Objective my ASS! She clearly can't stand Joe Biden and had no business moderating! |
This is a tough one for me as a fan of Rachel Maddow. I have to get that out of the way right away, along with the fact that while I am a progressive Democrat and therefore very pleased with the outcome of the VP Debate last night, I am apparently in the minority of people entirely and vocally displeased with the performance of the moderator, Martha Raddatz. This also pains me because I am a "natural born feminist". It has never occurred to me that as a woman I cannot do anything a man can do, just as well, if not better, unless it involves certain feats involving upper body strength and organs I do not possess, and for that we have...other options.
Immediately after the debate I fired off a few tweets, hoping to let off some steam and perhaps see some people of like mind doing the same. Nope. *Late note: I did eventually find something informative and interesting from The Guardian UK (sometimes I swear I should just move over there because aside from MSNBC and a couple other shows, all I watch is BBC America's great programming anyway (and I do NOT mean all that stupid cooking and racing). Bow ties ARE cool! Anyway, here's the link:
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Back to the debate. Twenty four hours later, Rachel rubbed salt in my still-bleeding moderator inflicted wounds by (I will NOT say "doubling down" because that phrase is so over-used by TV talkers I am ready to throw my nice HD TV out my energy efficient window, which would not be a good idea, given winter is coming on) ...so I will say she rubbed salt in my still bleeding wounds by not only praising Ms. Raddatz with such outrageous hyperbole and schoolgirl crush gushing that ***I*** actually blushed, but followed all that with the statement that Dear Martha was SO good that she, Rachel Maddow, would support her, Martha, the Muddling Moderator, for President! I mean just because she was a hair better than the barely breathing (wheezing?) Lehrer does not maker her GOOD? Am I the only person old enough to remember GOOD News? The only person to remember when evening news was really evening NEWS?
Needless to say I really regretted those @Maddow @Martha Raddatz post debate suggestions that the anything but divine Miss Martha did literally everything but dive under the table to "service" Congressman Ryan during the debate while he was giving his long winded soliloquies during the #VPDebate. Oops.
As a Rachel fan I am so... *sigh* ...disillusioned. I can barely enjoy the afterglow of Biden's shellacking of Congressman Ryan, which Martha did call him, against his request, the ONE thing for which I CAN give her full credit, with extra points for intent to unnerve. That WAS good. But still...
Rachel..please...don't DO this to me! I have always thought so highly of you! Cutesy ageism aside, I really do love your show! It's witty and informative and usually so well researched. I can believe what you tell me if I don't already know it by the time I hear it on your show! I can be a lazy viewer and take you at your word. That's not something I usually allow myself when watching TV "news" shows.
Geez. First I lose my beloved Keith Olbermann--twice--then, well I won't say because it's too mean, then Ed starts having TIA's or maybe taking anti-depressants or needs new glasses or whatever is making him stumble continually over his words, to the point where I'm leaning forward kind of psychically trying to help him read the prompter as I watch the show. I feel for him with his wife's cancer, having lost my career, my health, my parents and my only brother within the past few years (and I wasn't even half-way through a normal life-span yet!) but it's kind of hard to watch him struggle. I do the same thing so I guess I empathize...and digress. Sorry.
Now I'm losing faith in Rachel. Looks like all I have left is Lawrence...but he's a keeper. One hopes. *ulp*
Life isn't easy in winter for someone with auto-immune disease and no Romney resources...so yeah, my TV is my friend...the only one I have left it seems sometimes. (Oh for God's sake woman, cry them a river).
Fortunately MSNBC closed my Friday evening viewing with the treat of a live Lawrence O'Donnell show, in which he renewed my hope for a brighter debate future. First he addressed Thursday night's shortfalls, such as Raddatz approaching abortion from the stance of religion and the male experience rather than as an issue in and of itself. I would suggest addressing it as what it is, an issue one in three women will face at some point in their lives. That is the reality according to A is For.org., a women's reproductive rights group.
When the Nuns on the Bus were interviewed they too pointed out that it was odd to them how the abortion issue was broached and that no mention was made of other humanitarian needs and the ways each candidate would approach and/or meet them...if at all in Romney's case. But sadly, Ms. Raddatz was rather too busy smiling into Paul Ryan's pretty blue eyes and losing track of time as he rambled on, and on, and on. One could almost write a book on this debate and the blunders, assumptions, presumptions, interruptions and under handling of one candidate and highly inappropriate OVER handling of the other.
Lawrence helpfully explained how current debates have evolved and stated his strong opinion that they need to move on to a more real-world look at how each candidate would deal with the actual policy issues of the day, not as an exercise in memorization, which any actor can bluff his way through (think Ronald Reagan with his economy and education-killing agenda) but as policy is actually thought through over a reasonable period of time, with facts at hand to steer the process. As noted, any idiot can memorize and deliver a script (think Sarah Palin) but it takes a President to formulate and carry out complex and effective plans of action (think President Clinton). I like Lawrence's ideas regarding giving the candidates the questions ahead of time, and allowing them, as happens in office, to have a silent aide, too. These debates, by by the end of the series of them, will actually help we the people know who is truly fit to be President.
What we saw Thursday night was an entirely different matter with an entirely different set of goals. I try to avoid being absolutely certain of anything, because it interferes with my open-mindedness, but I have zero doubt of this:
Debates are NOT supposed to be televised for the purpose of stroking the ego of the moderator, whether or not she has ambitions of playing vitriolic tutor on foreign policy and military chain of command to the sitting Vice President of the United States of America, no matter HOW qualified she feels she is as a "well traveled foreign correspondent" (with ex husband issues).
Seriously how out of line can a person be? She was presuming to lecture the man who regularly phones, skypes and/or meets with heads of state, sees the Joint Chiefs as a regular part of his daily activities and is briefed daily if not more often on the most recent, most secret of secret intelligence in the world from all the sources the most powerful nation in the world has at hand...and she decided the debate was a good time to give him a lecture on who thinks, knows and decides what--and when.
I WAS HORRIFIED!
Maybe it's my military training, but I've been a PFC, a Private F**king Civilian, for a good long time now, and I don't think my training is still that ingrained in me any longer. She was just THAT out of line.
So... Perhaps I have overly high standards, but someone with that kind of ...of ...lack of respect is not the kind of person I would even jokingly put forward, even in a moment of joyously joking hyperbole, as a candidate for President.
This is (supposed to be) serious stuff. When you treat it like a joke you get W. Bush for Resident. That was a GREAT TIME for all the comics, wasn't it? ....a real "wheeee this is FUN!" time for all, except for the hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians, lost in a "for profit" effort to turn a sovereign into a giant business tax free utopia for Halliburton and friends. On a smaller scale, the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement money people like my parents lost, along with their homes, which led to three early deaths in my family alone. Big joke. Ha ha.
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AND ANOTHER THING...
I don't know what the issue is with so many of the in-crowd of the "media elite" at ABC and NBC/MSNBC that has their collective shorts and panties in such a wad and their ire aimed toward the White House, but observation and intuition lead me to believe it has something to do with the embassy attack and likely some perceived misinformation or failure on the administration's part to make them PRIORITY ONE while dealing with that very fluid and tragic situation. I'm always too wordy, so let me put it this way.
Looks like Ms. Raddatz didn't get what she wanted when she wanted it, nor did some other people, so now they're all in a little snit flexing their little muscles...as much as possible given its an election season and they don't want the Fresh Prince of Losing Debates to actually BE a heartbeat away from the Presidency.
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I would just remind these verbal muscle flexers of something I remember all too well. Perhaps they were in high school or middle school at the time, but I remember the Dubya Bush misadministration and what happened to the press back then. Muzzled anchors with on-site thugs. Reporters kept in line with threats of non-access. U.S. media functioning behind a virtual iron curtain and most insulting to me as a woman, the revered Helen Thomas moved from her rightful front row seat in the briefing room because she dared be an "irritant" and speak truths Bush mouth piece Ari Fleischer didn't want to deal with. Who sat back in her rightful place again at President Obama's FIRST Press Conference? Yeah... Helen Thomas.
So whatever this "issue" is you boys and girls have against Obama/Biden, I suggest you get over it and stop celebrating mediocrity, because "good Mormon" that he is, Mitt Romney is going to rain HELLS down on women and children and those old people you so disdain and yes, disabled veterans like me. My sons are barely hanging on to minimum wage jobs. In fact my older son, who was 3/4 of the way through college when I got sick, had to take a job serving food to rich people who leave $2.00 tips because they think he MUST be gay if he works as a server at his age. He isn't really making it at all so we share expenses rather than be those horrible "takers" blue eyes Ryan whines about. Mitt Romney would be the literal death of us all. Clearly that's the plan, so forgive me if I get a little testy about the whole thing.
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