Why can't we go more than 24 hours without a Stuck on Stupid Alert these days? Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of PBS' Washington Week and senior correspondent for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, will be moderating this Thursday's Vice Presidential Debate between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin. In case you haven't noticed, Ms. Ifill (pictured above) is an African-American woman.
Within the past 24 hours, a faux controversy has erupted around Ms. Ifill. Ms. Ifill is the author of an upcoming book entitled The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. Publisher Doubleday says the book "surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power." What? You mean the book doesn't say things like, "I love Obama" or "Obama's the Man!" throughout? From the way some conservative pundits are screaming "conflict of interest" and demanding that Ms. Ifill step down as moderator, you would think that it did.
Faux News' Greta Van Susteren first broke the "news" October 1st. She claimed that the McCain camp was never informed about Ms. Ifill's book. Faux News pundit Michelle Malkin claimed that the book shows Ms. Ifill to be "so far in the tank for the Democratic presidential candidate, her oxygen delivery line is running out." (Source)
FACT CHECK: Associated Press reported upcoming Ifill book on July 21st, as did the Washington Post on September 4th. Ms. Ifill also discussed the book in a May 8th interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, which was also quoted in The Republican on May 13th (Source) On August 6th, several months after news of Ms. Ifill's book was made public, both campaigns approved ALL debate moderators. (Source)
Ms. Ifill's response to the faux controversy:
I've got a pretty long track record covering politics and news, so I'm not particularly worried that one-day blog chatter is going to destroy my reputation," Ifill said. "The proof is in the pudding. They can watch the debate tomorrow night and make their own decisions about whether or not I've done my job."
"Do you think they made the same assumptions about Lou Cannon (who is white) when he wrote his book about Reagan?" said Ifill, who is black. Asked if there were racial motives at play, she said, "I don't know what it is. I find it curious." (Source)
