Just how badly did ABC trivialize the presidential debate in Philadelphia yesterday? Here is a thumbnail sketch of the questions that Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos believed the American public urgently needed to have answered before Pennsylvanians cast their votes. Here is what the elitists at ABC imagine Americans care about.
- Process (VP running mate)
- Bitter
- Bitter/Process (can Obama win?)
- Process (can Obama win?)
- Process (can Clinton win?)
- Wright
- Wright
- Wright/patriotism
- Wright
- Wright/patriotism
- Bosnia/Clinton's honesty
- Clinton’s honesty
- Flag pin/patriotism
- Ayers/patriotism
- Iraq (would you ignore commanders?)
- Iraq (do you know better than commanders?)
- Iraq (would you ignore commanders?)
- Iran/Israel (Iran will threaten to use nukes)
- Pledge no tax increases (with McCain attack)
- Capital gains tax rates
- Gun registration
- Guns/ D.C. law
- Affirmative action
- Gas prices
- Foreign oil
- Process (how would you use GWB?)
- Process (superdelegates)
~ categories courtesy of georgia10, with slight modification
There you are, America. Those are the "issues" you ought to be paying attention to, according to the serious people at ABC. Those are "tough but appropriate questions", according to Stephanopoulos - adopted just as they've been framed by Republicans.
Six questions about process; five questions about Pastor Wright; four questions about patriotism; three questions about whether Gen. Petraeus should get to decide US policy on Iraq; two questions about a poorly worded comment that few voters realize they ought to care about.
What is missing from this list is virtually everything that voters in Pennsylvania (PDF) and throughout the country say actually matter to them.