There is near unanimous agreement that Barack Obama won last night's debate. There also seems to be a growing consensus that the biggest loser in the debate was not John McCain but Tom Brokaw. My own opinion is that Brokaw seemed to think the debate was about him, and he clearly could not hide his man-love for BFF Johnny. Pundits and observers have pointed out many other ways in which Brokaw failed big time last night.
The St. Petersburg Times calls Brokaw the "big loser" in the debate:
I have just one plea for Bob Schieffer, the next near-70-something TV anchor preparing to quiz the two candidates for president in the third and final presidential debate Oct. 15.
Please, actually moderate the debate. Please.
Becuase, if there's been any clear loser in these presidential election debates, with a VP clash and two presidential candidate forums behind us, it has clearly been the moderators.
NBC's Tom Brokaw was the most recent eminence to fall prey to these "debates"...
Likewise, Greg Mitchell at Huffington Post criticizes moderator Brokaw for not, um, moderating:
Brokaw kept complaining that the candidates were not staying within their time limits--and then did nothing to stop them beyond pleading with them to, maybe, keep an eye on the flashing lights, pretty please, huh?
And his "follow up" questions were weak.
I thought I'd never say this but -- maybe they should let the blogosphere handle the next one.
Yes please.
Mitchell does not point out that Brokaw seemed to always remind both candidates about the time limits right after Obama spoke, never after McCain spoke, and at least once BEFORE Obama spoke.
The Hartford Courant says Brokaw was "off his game" in what it calls a "snoozer":
There was little engagement, no real follow-up and everytime time became an issue, Brokaw blamed candidates Barack Obama and John McCain for not abiding by the rules they negotiated.
Wrong. As moderator, Brokaw has to play the bad guy. If a candidate is going long, you cut him off. Simple. Brokaw was too deferential and it resulted in a tepid debate.
The Kansas City Star pulls no punches, and declares that Brokaw did an "absolutely horrible job as moderator":
Tom Brokaw was supposed to be the mature, strong leader of the debate between John McCain and Barack Obama.
Yet Brokaw early on let both candidates wander all over the place in their answers.
And Brokaw didn't make them adhere to the time limits at all, especially in the "discussion" part of the debate.
You get the idea. I hope Tom Brokaw gets the message and retires gracefully, before he completely loses whatever shred of journalistic credibility that he has left. He can go pal around with buddy John somewhere, and leave the rest of us alone.