Dustup over Palin-Biden debate actually has silver linings

(St. Louis, Mo.)—The Vice-Presidential debate at Washington University on Thursday will be unusual not only because there’s a female at the podium. There’s another female in the moderator’s chair, and eyes will be trained on her behavior as well. Moderator Gwen Ifill’s book ‘The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama’ is scheduled for release on Inauguration Day. Naturally, there’s a 3-way kerfuffle going on among media, conservatives and Ifill. Ifill who works for PBS thinks what some perceive as a conflict of interest is no big deal. She says she hasn’t even written the chapter on Obama yet. There is however a lot to be said for disclosure.

Conservative analysts at Newsbusters disagreed in a lengthy column exploring Ifill’s background, citing the fact Ifill has a cousin who definitely is no fan of Gov. Sarah Palin. For Newsbusters, the problem arises because Ifill described that cousin as her “brilliant baby cousin.” More significant than that assumption is the fact Ifill didn’t tell the Commission on Presidential Debates about her book.

As a conservative on most matters, other than social issues, I have to say Ifill should have disclosed the book. As a member of several pro journalism organizations, I know this disclosure would be standard. Considering the professionalism she’s demonstrated in her career, I have to say she knew better. Then again, if she’s marketing-savvy, she may have withheld the info with publicity in mind. What better way to gain millions of dollars in free publicity and branding than to shock the nation days before the debate? Ifill’s front page and center on every screen and newspaper page in the nation. That is an author’s dream scandal. We can only hope.

Can she be objective? No one really knows. But here’s the rub. This thing can work for Palin. If Ifill even shows a hint of bias, Palin scores big points and Ifill could even lose her job. The public, especially Palin’s broad support in the GOP base, would simply not stand for it. PBS is not a public company, you know? On the other hand, if Ifill pulls the thing off, it’s no big deal. But the reality is her back has a broad target on it and especially if Palin doesn’t do well, there’ll be hunters looking for prey. If I were Ifill, I’d recuse myself gracefully, savor the wonderful publicity and get on with my profession. I would also bear in mind that profession carries ethical standards that are sorely lacking in today’s market.

As someone who enjoys debate and as someone with years of experience in public speaking, I can say I’d love to be in Palin’s shoes. The psychology of success is predicated on gauging obstacles. Viewed as a possibly biased obstacle, Ifill is a double target—an unpredicted actor who could easily be utilized in the debate. That can work for Palin in a big way. This will definitely not be the snooze fest the first presidential debate was.

Toss in the unpredictability of Sen. Joe Biden and it’s entirely possible the ghost of FDR will appear and begin to advise us about the economy.

Whatever happens, tonight’s debate has the potential similar to clash of great football rivals. Whether Ifill and Palin will survive it no one knows. Biden should survive just fine, since media gave him a soft rap on the knuckles over the FDR gaffe. Will the senator get fired on as he claimed he did in Iraq? Probably not. But he may be forced down by angry snowballs, akin to his helicopter's "forced landing"  adventure when he visited Afghanistan. 

C-SPAN will cover this debate at the special Debate Hub where you can read zany Twitters, a variety of bloggers and see our own content from the US Report aggregated. C-SPAN has archived content from the first Presidential Debate and will do the same for future debates. That is just another silver lining, one of several in the Palin-Biden Vice-Presidential Debate.

Comments

[Beth]

I cannot wait to read what you thought of the debate.

[Kay B. Day]

Working on that now! I thought she did very well.