This will be brief. Tonight on The Newshour, Gwen Ifil announced that a scheduled segment which was to be a debate on energy policy between the Obama and McCain camps was to be cancelled because PBS could not get a connection to the McCain side. A replay of a segment on AIDS in Africa was shown instead.
Well, it could have been technical difficulties on the part of the network, but wouldn't Ifil have said that if it were the case? Something along the lines of "due to technical difficulties, we are unable to bring you ... etc.". But no, she said they were unable to present the segment because they were "unable to bring in the McCain side."
So, here's a debate on energy and McCain's side's a no-show. Was it technical difficulties, or was it simply that which we all know: that McCain has no cogent energy policy and is completely unprepared to debate Obama when the agenda is issue-based? Did he chicken out?
We can't know for certain, but it's encouraging to see Obama's readiness (technically or otherwise) and that it was McCain's side that got named as part of the problem.
Let's wait and see if this will be a pattern.