Blogging Bias: Consevatives criticize debate moderator

Since the airing of the VP debate a couple of weeks ago, a vast number of blogs have criticized moderator Gwen Ifill, claiming her moderation was "biased." This criticism stems from her work in progress, a book to be titled "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the age of Obama."

The following are links to a couple of blogs questioning Ifill's fairness during the debate:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/gwen_ifills_vp_debate_bias.html
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/09/30/a-debate-%E2%80%9Cmoderator%E2%80%9D-in-the-tank-for-obama/

According to these and many other conservative bloggers (and unsurprisingly, a Fox News Report), Ifill's book is pro-Obama and its economic success depends upon the results of the election. They've also claimed that Ifill failed to disclose the potential conflict of interest.

The truth: Ifill's book is not pro-Obama. The success of the book is not dependent upon the success of the election, as much as it is Obama's candidacy. And Ifill didn't fail to disclose the book.

The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the age of Obama is about the roll of minorities in politics during recent history. According to Random House Publishing the book "sheds new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introduces the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political to power."

In September Gwen Ifill uploaded a video from Washington Week to Youtube, in which she openly talks about her book: "it's taking the story of Barack Obama and extending it to talk about a whole new generation of politicians..." said Ifill.

Furthermore, The book was reported on in the Washington Times and appeared in trade catalogs in July 2008. This was before she was selected to be moderator. It's not Ifill's fault the debate commission wasn't aware of her writing the book. The committee didn't do its homework.

And even if Ifill is pro Obama, does that make her incapable of being fair? No. Wouldn't you expect every Journalist to have an opinion? Yes. Ifill is the managing editor and moderator for a Washington Week and senior correspondent The News Hour on PBS. She is a respected Journalist with a long track record of covering politics and news, fairly. She should be judged only by her performance, not her interest in the candidacy of Barack Obama.

NBC sides with Biden

Palin vs. Biden: Did Debate Change Voter's Minds?

The mainstream media has been quick to point out VP candidate Sarah Palin's minimal experience and evasive answers to direct questions, especially those raised by CBS's Katie Couric. But after exceeding expectations during Thursday's vice presidential debate, Liberal news outlets had little to say about Palin's performance. Instead, they say Biden "restrained" himself to avoid seeming condescending or overly aggressive.

Friday morning, The Today's Show co-anchor Ann Curry asked Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill the following question:

"Do you think there was a double-standard at play here? Did Joe pull down his full game, and did that hurt him last night--and his ticket?"

Sen. McCaskill, an Obama supporter, responded with "I think he was being very careful. I think he was in a no-win situation. If he was too smart, he was condescending. If he was too nice, he was patronizing.

The idea that if Sen. Biden was "too smart," he'd come across as condescending is erroneous and presents a clear bias. Curry and McCaskill are diverting attention from Palin's performance and trying to provide an excuse to those who think Biden underperformed. Furthermore, this segment only provided a Democratic view point.