Revenge of the schoolmarm

By Michelle Malkin  •  December 15, 2007 10:39 AM

Just in case you needed confirmation that Des Moines Register moderator-dud Carolyn Washburn had a warped view of the Republican presidential candidates, read this.

No wonder Iowa Republicans want a do-over.

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Posted in: 2008 campaign

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Comments


  1. #1
    On December 15th, 2007 at 10:43 am, ajmontana said:

    typical spin…. sheesh.

  2. #2
    On December 15th, 2007 at 10:58 am, gollumclone said:

    So when are the Republicans going to wise up? Plants, biased moderators, media being the gatekeeper.
    I e-mailed O’Reilly to ask what criteria was used to exclude Fred Thompson from the latest Factor poll. No reply, but he managed to have Huckabee on the show last night along with Chuck Norris. Tell me what boob tube analyst is not trying to slant the choices in candidates? Read somewhere that FOX was hissed off because Thompson dumped some advisor who was ex-Fox employee. So what is the no-spin truth mr nimrod o’reilly?
    And how do clowns like this Washburn get chosen to be god at so-called debates? You’d the think the candidates themselves could get together on their own and actually debate at length. I’m paying taxes to support PBS and NPR. Why the heck can’t the candidates spend hours yapping with each other?

  3. #3
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:03 am, ajmontana said:

    gollumclone,
    I e-mailed O via the dhuepoint@foxnews.com maybe Ms.Dhue will talk about it. fair and balanced? no so in this case by a long shot.

  4. #4
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:25 am, puhiawa said:

    Only Dems get to ask questions. Because only dems know the right answers.

  5. #5
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:26 am, TexasTiger said:

    Is it just me or does the schoolmarm bear more than a passing resemblance to Cindy Sheehan?

  6. #6
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:28 am, derel3433 said:

    If we’re really trying to sell the American public on the notion that this woman is the face of evil–I think we’re in trouble.

    We’re seeing conspiracies under every rock. And the whiff of desperation is quickly becoming a stench.

  7. #7
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:29 am, lgm said:

    Blame the moderator. A question might have been a Democratic plant, but the Republican candidates are a bunch of hothouse flowers. They can’t survive outside the Fox News studios in the real American air.

  8. #8
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:31 am, John Ansell said:

    Thanks for the link Aj, Email sent. Sean of Hannity and comb over show is also promoting Julie Annie an aweful lot. Think I’ll send him one too. I like reminding him that Julia Annie only wins blue states because…..well he’s blue.

  9. #9
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:32 am, deepdiver said:

    The Republican debate was bias and totally different than the Democrat debate? No? Really?

    The one positive of back to back debates with the same (liberal) moderator was that it gives side by side proof of the media bias against Republicans in election coverage and debates. Those who are paying attention and don’t have a rectal-cranial inversion already knew that but for the others this gives a new level of “see, we told you.”

    I like the idea of a do over. Can we limit it to pro-illegals, questionable 2nd amendment rights RINOs Giuliani, Huckabee and Romney and the best ticket candidates Thompson and Hunter? That way people can clearly see the difference between the RINOs and the conservatives in the race.

  10. #10
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:44 am, ajmontana said:

    Hothouse flower? lol lgm, you continue to crack me up every time you climb out of you’re tree for a break from the protest. Isnt it the other way around? Dems cant survive the CNN comfort zone and are afraid to even walk near a FOX studio.

  11. #11
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:49 am, BrianNY said:

    George Stephanopoulos – A former senior political adviser and communications director for Democrats Bill and Hillary Clinton is currently ABC News’s Chief Washington Correspondent and the host of ABC’s Sunday morning news show ‘This Week.’

    Tim Russert – A former counselor to Democrat Governor Mario Cuomo and former chief of staff to Democrat Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan is currently the Washington Bureau Chief for NBC News, host of NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press,’ host of a weekly interview program on MSNBC, is a frequent correspondent and guest on other NBC News programs, co-hosts the network’s presidential Election Night coverage and presents the polling results of the NBC News survey on the NBC Nightly News.

    Chris Matthews – A former political aide to four Democrat politicians, (one giving him a patronage job as an armed officer with the United States Capitol Police) a former presidential speech writer of four years for Democrat Jimmy Carter, a former top aide to Democrat Tip O’Neill for six years, a former political aide to Senators Frank Moss (Democrat) and Edmund Muskie (Democrat) before himself campaigning as a Democrat for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974, is currently the host of a nightly, MSNBC talk show called ‘Hardball with Chris Matthews,’ host of a syndicated NBC News program called ‘The Chris Matthews Show,’ and makes frequent appearances as a consultant and observer on many NBC News programs.

    Carolyn Washburn is the least of the Republicans’ problems.

  12. #12
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:51 am, SHoward said:

    Yeah, I’m sure the Republicans are gonna have a real tough time when the race comes down to the two leading contenders facing each other.

    You see, the schoolmarm did handle the two debates quite differently. She was overly controlling of the Repub’s, while tripping all over herself to let the Dem’s run their own debate. That kind of tactic just won’t work when the candidates from each side are on the same stage.

    BTW, Aj’s point is right on: the lefties are quaking in their high-heels at the prospect of facing some actual questions. (Maybe Hitlary will just giggle again on national TV and it will be all over with).

  13. #13
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:55 am, John Ansell said:

    Would that be dead Air America, LGM? The Republicans will beat the Far Left even with the media bias. Ask Joe Lieberman. He’s one Democrat I can respect and outside of Zel Miller, that’s it.

  14. #14
    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:58 am, shooter said:

    No fights broke out. No one called anyone a name.

    If that was your goal, and it seems to be the primary purpose in your feeble attempt at a debate, it’s no wonder the world was bored.

  15. #15
    On December 15th, 2007 at 12:00 pm, The Raging Republican said:

    Can you say biased, boys and girls?

  16. #16
    On December 15th, 2007 at 12:02 pm, shooter said:

    oh yeah, then there is this….

    And now, on to whatever controversy comes with our endorsement!
    CAROLYN WASHBURN is editor of The Des Moines Register.

    We’re waiting with baited breath…..
    NOT!
    ( i know, old and overused…but accurate)

  17. #17
    On December 15th, 2007 at 12:04 pm, Cepperson said:

    But but we are impartial advocaters of the TRUTH!!!! /sarcasm off

  18. #18
    On December 15th, 2007 at 12:05 pm, Brian72 said:

    On December 15th, 2007 at 11:29 am, lgm said:

    Blame the moderator. A question might have been a Democratic plant, but the Republican candidates are a bunch of hothouse flowers. They can’t survive outside the Fox News studios in the real American air.

    Now this is supremely ironical!

    Earlier this year Democratic presidential candidates rejected Fox News Channel‘s efforts to sponsor a debate after liberal groups and some of the candidates accused the Rupert Murdoch-owned network of being biased against Democrats.

    Don’t you mean that the Democrat candidates can’t survive the revealing light of the Fox News studios?

    After all, the Republicans have debated live on CNN, MSNBC, FNC, and ABC.

    Why are the Democrats so afraid of Brit
    Hume? What is so scary about Chris Wallace?

    Republicans will appear, while pointing out the obvious biases of their hosts (Chris Matthews, George Stephanopolus, both former staff of big time Democrats).

    The Democrats won’t even face Fox News. If the Democrats are right, why don’t they treat this as an opportunity to expose FOX for what they say it is?

    Why run away like chickens and refuse to participate?

    Now, who is it that “can’t survive in the real American air“?

    ___

  19. #19
    On December 15th, 2007 at 12:12 pm, Brian72 said:

    My fellow Brian has got the specifics above.

    If Democrats can be all involved in Democrat politics, fighting Republicans for partisan advantage for years, then jump right into the political media and pretend to be “objective”, then we get to have a Tony Snow. That’s only one. On one network, out of five.

    Sorry, lgm. You lose again.

  20. #20
    On December 15th, 2007 at 12:31 pm, Jimbob said:

    Republicans in Iowa know all about and don’t like the D.M. Register. You could almost feel the contempt the moderator had for the Republicans on the stage. Not so much when it was the Democrats. The Register is nothing but a DNC newsletter with weather and TV listings.

  21. #21
    On December 15th, 2007 at 12:43 pm, PAUL TROMMER said:

    Where is the leadership?

    A leader would have walked off the stage after the being told that major subjects were not to be discussed.

    I watched Rudy, et al, wave their hands around in response to that foolish “Global Warming” question like a bunch of school kids.

    Doesn’t anyone in the Republican Party have any testicular fortitude?
    I appears not.

  22. #22
    On December 15th, 2007 at 12:51 pm, SHoward said:

    I am reminded, based on the converstion here,of a statement made by Rush a few days ago. He was talking about the debate moderated by Wolf Blitzer, and (please forgive me, I don’t remember the datails) a question was asked that was silly. The candidates tried their best to be cordial and answer. Rush said he would have informed Blitzer that he came to debate issues, not minutia or crap, and then left the stage.

    Rush’s final comment was that he would have then been the front-runner, hands down.

    He’s right. At some point, someone on the political right needs to stand up to these media mofia types and say it like it is, that is that the media mofia have controlled the debate long enough and Americans are getting damned tired of their crap!

  23. #23
    On December 15th, 2007 at 1:08 pm, Bob1234 said:

    The unreported story behind this whole incident is that Ms. Washburn required all the candidates to stay after the debate and write, “I believe in global warming” 100 times on the blackboard. And, they all did, except for Senator Thompson. But everyone knows he’s a rebel and he’ll never ever ever be any good.

  24. #24
    On December 15th, 2007 at 2:06 pm, DBNinKY said:

    Ms. Washburn said she only asked “smart questions,” and meant to conduct the debate in a “polite” manner. Well, I have news for Ms. Washburn: a presidential debate is no place for candidates to be asked merely “smart questions” and to display tea-party politeness!

    In post 9-11 America, debate moderators must ask “tough questions,” not just smart ones, questions that pin-down candidates to explicit answers and solutions to problems that affect all Americans, such as terrorism, immigration, education, and the economy.

    Likewise, moderators must also conduct debates that allow each presidential candidate the opportunity to display his or her own “warrior-within,” encouraging candidates to engage one another in a joust of words and verbal volleys that afford voters the chance to gage for themselves the veracity of each candidate’s battle-readiness.

    The ability to answer inane smart questions and show undue politeness in a post 9-11 presidential debate should be – No! – must be viewed as qualities that are an anathema to any candidate’s political viability. Primary voters need to see their slate of candidates actively and passionately engage one another in heated discussions and even down-right arguments. It is through this sometimes raucous process, one I’ve no doubt Ms. Washburn views with great disdain, that primary voters learn which candidate best represents their viewpoints, making him the most qualified to present and defend our country on the world stage! This is what primary debates are for, Ms. Washburn!

  25. #25
    On December 15th, 2007 at 2:45 pm, tyrion said:

    The Des Moines Register and editor Carolyn Washburn leave me with the impression that Iowa is full of rubes.

    Either Iowa’s largest daily newspaper thinks the people of Iowa are such hicks that they can’t see an obvious lie when it’s printed, or, the people of Iowa are a bunch of hayseeds who have blind trust in the Register and that’s the reason it is the largest daily newspaper in Iowa. I can’t tell which.

    I’ve only been to Iowa once, for a few days, and the people seemed likable.

  26. #26
    On December 15th, 2007 at 3:12 pm, Gianni said:

    Either Iowa’s largest daily newspaper thinks the people of Iowa are such hicks that they can’t see an obvious lie when it’s printed

    The people who read the Register won’t see the lie because they don’t want to see the lie. You’ve got to know Iowa politics to understand. The conservatives in Iowa are extremely conservative, unfortunately we are outnumbered by the big city lefties, which is how we end up with Culver as governor. These are the people that read the Register.

  27. #27
    On December 15th, 2007 at 3:13 pm, BrianNY said:

    #22 showard:
    Rush was referencing the Youtube “GOP Debate Song” which little Wolfie Blitzer and CNN made the entire field of Republican candidates stand and listen to before the questioning began.

    Rush was stating that this Pete Seeger-like move by CNN was more akin to a Saturday Night Live skit meant to cheapen the atmosphere of the debate.

    I feel the same way about holiday car commercials, which portray our Founding Fathers as a bunch of dolts parading around apple trees and the like. The same goofy format would never be applied to others, like Martin Luther King Jr., who deserve the same amount of respect.

    Liberals often ignore the realities with which they disagree, (the Iraqi Surge successes, economic growth under Bush 43, the liberation of women in Afghanistan, etc.) or they will try to cheapen those with whom they disagree (Winston Churchill was a stuttering idiot, J. Edgar Hoover was a transvestite, Reagan was an amicable old fool, Bush 41 was an out of touch blue- blood, Bush 43 is…well, everything in the liberal play book and more, etc.)

    It’s the liberals’ media…we’re just living in it.

  28. #28
    On December 15th, 2007 at 3:17 pm, Gianni said:

    By the way, I believe the Register is endorsing Edwards, if that tells you anything.

  29. #29
    On December 15th, 2007 at 3:52 pm, SHoward said:

    BrinaNY, thanks for the correction. I knew it had something to do with Wolf Blitzed putting them through something entirely silly and expecting them to simply grin and bear it, which unfortunately they did.

  30. #30
    On December 15th, 2007 at 3:53 pm, SHoward said:

    Sorry, BrianNY.

    Bad edit, bad edit…

  31. #31
    On December 15th, 2007 at 4:08 pm, Brett Buck said:

    Hear her roar? More like “hear her bore”.

  32. #32
    On December 15th, 2007 at 4:10 pm, Gianni said:

    Another thing, if you want to know what the Register thinks about conservatives just read anything they have written about Rep. Steve King, Iowa 5th District.

  33. #33
    On December 15th, 2007 at 5:04 pm, nbarry said:

    Brian NY referred to Tim Russert as having a prima facie bias. Yet Russert began Hillary’s downhill slide by asking her about Eliot Spitzer’s plan to issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. Hillary tried to double-talk her way out of that one, and when she fell on her tush, she accused Russert of playing gotcha. Good for Tim Russert.

  34. #34
    On December 15th, 2007 at 5:10 pm, Joe Bren said:

    Hillary lookalike

    Mildred Ratched told the boys,”It’s time for your pills. Open wide”.

    She looks just like a younger Hillary, before her first makeover. Would she make you chase young interns down the halls of the White House?

  35. #35
    On December 15th, 2007 at 5:34 pm, tyrion said:

    On December 15th, 2007 at 3:12 pm, Gianni said: #26

    Yeah, I guess that makes sense since Iowa usually goes Democrat in the General election. I suppose Carolyn “Ratched” Washburn is just writing what her audience wants to hear, regardless of the truth.

  36. #36
    On December 15th, 2007 at 5:49 pm, orlandocajun said:

    The GOP continually gets duped by Liberal media into debates that aren’t debates with no meaningful questions. Don’t these people even make an attempt to find out the questions before showing up? They would be much better off organizing their own debate with Michelle as moderator. They may as well had Cindy Sheehan moderating that last debate.

    Any candidate who raised their hand for the stupid global warming question is a RINO and should be shown the door by conservatives. Thompson, Hunter and Tancredo are the only conservatives on the stage.

  37. #37
    On December 15th, 2007 at 5:52 pm, coldfront said:

    TexasTiger#5
    “Is it just me or does the schoolmarm bear more than a passing resemblance to Cindy Sheehan?”

    It must be a genetic thing….the dhimi/socialist gene.

  38. #38
    On December 15th, 2007 at 6:28 pm, P. James Moriarty said:

    The more I think of the observation, the more it seems true. The left looks at the right as evil, while the right looks on the left as stupid. Nurse Ratched treated the candidates like a schoolmarm would if she were facing a room full of evil students, overbearing, controling in the extreme, and definately NOT letting them talk about what they wanted to or let them engage each other. Absolute control over those evil creatures at all times. What a joke. A do-over is absolutely the right thing to do, we need a real debate before the caucuses.

  39. #39
    On December 15th, 2007 at 7:11 pm, BrianNY said:

    #33 nbarry said:

    Brian NY referred to Tim Russert as having a prima facie bias.

    I guess you’re right, but I didn’t originally think of it that way. I’m simply stunned that almost every corner of the major media has an ex-democrat operative running the editorial helm. Judging by their reaction towards the content of just one cable new network, (Fox) I can’t imagine most democrats would tolerate Karl Rove and Ari Fleischer running the Washington News Bureaus at ABC and NBC, yet that is the level of control the democrats have had for years now.

    …and when she (Hillary) fell on her tush, she accused Russert of playing gotcha.

    The venom of Team Clinton’s counter-attack against Tim Russert really surprised me and convinced me that this lady’s campaign is in real trouble.

    I personally think Tim Russert’s “aww, gee, schucks” style of commentary is “full of it,” however, I acknowledge that a lot of Americans like him. For Team Hillary to demean him and his question (as if he was Ken Starr or a jilted ex-lover of Bubba’s) was truly excessive, and really highlighted one of Hillary’s negatives.

  40. #40
    On December 15th, 2007 at 7:21 pm, beenthere said:

    If the Republican candidates cannot manage the debate process, which certainly seems to be the conclusion a reasonable person would draw, then how can they be expected to manage the country given the “problems” (I want to keep this as low key as possible, but these problems are going to be huge very soon now) we will be facing?

    It used to be the rule in business that if you could not manage your household (got a divorce, kid in counseling, that sort of thing) you could not be trusted to handle the challenges of managing any aspect of the company. Seriously folks, how much easier is it to manage a debate than to manage one’s own house?

    Putting it another way: when are the Republicans going to get off this “nice-guy, aw shucks, gee whiz, I just want to do right” routine and start acting like competent men? Not a lot of time.

    Now Hillary may not be the nominee, though I doubt her current problems are nearly as serious long-term as some apparently believe, but whoever wins the Democrat nomination is certain to make short work of these guys. 2008 is going to be horribly painful to watch.
    ________________________________________

    For president: Mickey Mouse. For vice-president, Mike Huckabee.

    [Note: if the Huckster does get the nomination for president, here is a humorous headline the day after election day:
    Huckabee? Huckabeen.}

  41. #41
    On December 15th, 2007 at 8:12 pm, BrianNY said:

    #40 beenthere said:

    Now Hillary may not be the nominee, though I doubt her current problems are nearly as serious long-term as some apparently believe, but whoever wins the Democrat nomination is certain to make short work of these guys. 2008 is going to be horribly painful to watch.

    I don’t know…seems to me that Rudy, Mitt and Mike are all twice the debaters that GW ever was, and the democrat nominees all went nowhere in 2000 and 2004 against GW.

    Unless the major media does all of the heavy lifting for Hillary,(selling her as the most competent while defending her as a poor little woman)I think she’s going to have a tough, general election campaign ahead of her.

  42. #42
    On December 15th, 2007 at 9:27 pm, gollumclone said:

    All those apologies- Her Thighness to Obambi, Huckleberry to Romney, etc.

    Is this apropos and funny?

    http://drzin.mee.nu/846669

  43. #43
    On December 15th, 2007 at 9:40 pm, fretless said:

    I’d still like to see a radio debate on Rush’s — or some other suitable platform. Maybe with a leading conservative … um … blogger? … moderating.

  44. #44
    On December 15th, 2007 at 10:39 pm, beenthere said:

    Unless the major media does all of the heavy lifting for Hillary,(selling her as the most competent while defending her as a poor little woman)

    They will. They really will. You supposition has a future. Count on it.

    One has to understand that in addition to saving the souls of all those who believe in the Democrat Party, the Party has the unending task of providing jobs for its innumerable unqualified “intellectuals” (meaning the term in the “public” sense.) This jobs thing is absolutely crucial to understanding how the Party works. It is why Democrats bicker and gripe at each other constantly — and yes, all manage to come together harmoniously on election day.

    As Ann Coulter has stated, it is amazing the Democrats ever lose. But I think we have turned a corner as a country, and that amazement will disappear as we move towards the reality of a one-party start.

  45. #45
    On December 16th, 2007 at 4:51 pm, ScottyDog said:

    Unless the major media does all of the heavy lifting for Hillary,(selling her as the most competent while defending her as a poor little woman)

    The already have been doing the heavy lifting. The MSM has become an arm of the DNC in this election.

    Tim Russert has asked the only serious question in years and I think it was an accident. I do not think Russert thought that Hillary would not be able to handle such an easy softball.

    Make no mistake about it, unless conservatives start refusing to “play the game” we will loose in 2008. Sadly, the MSM has incredible influence on the average American.

    Just look how many Americans actually believe man made Global Warming is real. The MSM is largely responsible for perpetuating this fraud.

    The average American has no idea we are talking about one degree temperature increase and are willing to put up with ethanol, hybrids,CAFE standards and increased taxes to prevent something that does not exist.

  46. #46
    On December 17th, 2007 at 5:10 am, Prime Director said:

    the Republican candidates cannot manage the debate process, which certainly seems to be the conclusion a reasonable person would draw

    No, the reasonable conclusion to draw from the debates is this: there is considerable media bias and it affects the way candidates from the respective parties are treated by the moderators.

    Most people already realize this.

    By a 39% to 20% margin, American adults believe that the three major broadcast networks deliver news with a bias in favor of liberals. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 25% believe that ABC, CBS, and NBC deliver the news without any bias.

    Similar results are found for CNN and National Public Radio (NPR). By a margin of 33% to 16%, Americans say that CNN has a liberal bias. The nation’s adults say the same about NPR by a 27% to 14% margin.

    The deck is stacked, and the folks watching at home know it.

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