It seems incredibly ridiculous that Fox News, the network that offers the most obviously rightward skewed coverage this side of The 800 Club, would be chosen to host the first Democratic debate. Surely the Nevada Democratic party knows that Democratic candidates don't benefit at the hands of right-wing attack journalists. This post is just speculation, but considering her relationship with Rupert Murdoch, and the fact that her Nevada campaign is well connected, I think someone close to the Clinton campaign may have had a hand in deciding that Fox got the coverage scoop for this debate.
First of all, the thing that makes me most uncomfortable with Senator Clinton is her willingness to 'make nice' with Rupert Murdoch,whose Fox News and other right-wing media outlets skewer Democrats unfairly on a daily basis. Let's face it's basically their job. Yet, Senator Clinton saw beyond their demonizing everything she supposedly stands for, and has allowed Rupert Murdoch to express his love for the junior senator New York. He held a fundraier for her, and she has been endorsed in the pages of his New York Post. So, maybe there is one member of the 'Democrat' party he likes.
Secondly, we know that Hillary has hired Rory Reid, son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, to head her Nevada Campaign. Rory Reid is also a former chair of the Nevada Democratic Party, and served as such while the current chair, Tom Collins was a vice chair. So the Clinton camp definately has inroads with the Nevada Democratic Party.
So, the question becomes is someone hoping to skew the coverage of the first Democratic debate towards Murdoch's 'favorite Democrat' by handing the coverage to the network owned by Hillary's big backers?
I predict it won't be Hillary's responses that are cut into by Fox pundits, if I were on the other campaigns I would feel a little uneasy about walking into this one.
I predict Obama will not appear at this debate based on his 'freezing out Fox' strategy, and this will turn out to be a smart move. It would be nice if Edwards, Clark, and Richardson would do the same and pull out making this debate irrelevant, as it would be left to only Hillary and the 'blip' candidates. Hell, maybe Biden, Dodd, and Vilsack could pull out too, leaving it at just Hillary, Kucinich and Gravel.