Equal Time

I read a funny headline yesterday:

Bizarre Coincidence: Democrats Get More Time in All Three Debates.

As I mentioned in a blog on the first debate, Obama had roughly 3 minutes more than Romney.  I was a bit surprised since Romney had so dominated that debate it felt like he spoke more.

In the VP Debate, Biden got a minute and a half more than Ryan.  If that's not bad enough, he badgered Ryan with constant interruptions (almost one per minute, which is impressive when Ryan spoke for less than half the time of the ninety minute debate).  More interesting still, Biden declared that he had voted against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan though the Congressional Record shows he voted to authorize both.  The moderator, Martha Raddatz, didn't play favorites.  She interrupted Paul Ryan 31 times and Joe Biden 19 times.  Yes, it is great to have a neutral referee.

In the latest debate, Obama spoke four minutes more than Romney, despite Ms. Crowley's constant assurance that she was watching the clock to make sure the time distribution was equal.  Billed as a town hall-style debate, it was not.  Ms. Crowley had accepted questions submitted by the audience then picked the ones she wanted asked.  In a pool of 80 people, that allows considerable opportunity for the moderator to steer the debate.  Really, who would pick the question of "How are you different from George W Bush?"  Worse still, she jumped in to fact check (with the wrong facts, she later admitted) Romney's accusation regarding Benghazi but she was completely silent when Obama claimed that oil production on Federal lands was up.  She didn't attempt to redirect Obama to answer the question of  who is responsible for denying more security in Benghazi.  Much like Raddatz, she was roughly equal in interrupting the candidates: Romney 28 times and Obama 9 times.  Balance.

But back to the funny headline.  Is it any wonder that the Democrats get more time when Democrats are moderating the debates?  I used to watch the MacNeil/Leher News Hour on PBS and it was decidedly left of center.  I always enjoyed when Mark Shields and David Gergen would represent Left and Right viewpoints but somehow repeatedly agree.  It wasn't much surprise when the 'rightwing' Gergen joined the Clinton Administration.  See, balance.  President Obama was a guest at Martha Raddatz wedding but that probably didn't impact how she dealt with Obama's running mate.  Candy Crowley claimed a still anonymous Republican told her that Romney-Ryan was a 'death wish' ticket.  Clearly, she is unbiased.

 

Next week, we will have Bob Schieffer.  What are the odds that the bizarre coincidence continues and the interruption count dramatically favors the Democrat?

 

I read a pundit who suggested that Republicans demand the opportunity to choose two of the moderators in future debates.  It would be interesting to see how different the debate went if Charles Krauthammer or Bill O'Rielly were the moderator.  Why do PBS, CBS, ABC, and CNN get to moderate debates but not FNC?