98 blog reactions to http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0408/Stephanopoulos_defends_debate_performance_We_asked_tough_but_appropriate_questions.html

Columbia Journalism Review argued that questions about Obama’s refusal to wear an American Flag lapel pin were condescending, and that they demonstrated how desparate network news channels are for precious sound bites. Stephanopoulos immediately defended himself, however, saying that since Obama and Clinton were so close on policy issues, ABC decided to focus on the issues that will probably make the difference in the election. Perhaps the questions would not have been so controversial if Stephanopoulos was

  As you can see from this video, Charlie Gibson isn’t exactly apologizing for ABC’s disgraceful Democratic debate in Philadelphia.  In fact, George Stephanopolous had the audacity to defend his performance.  If you think you could have asked Senators Clinton and Obama better questions, tell us what they are! Meanwhile, some of the most prominent journalists around have penned an open letter to ABC News:

In addition, several liberal bloggers promoted a Friday protest at the ABC/Disney headquarters in Burbank, CA: dday: "OK, so everyone's frustrated with the content-free, brainless ABC News debate the other night. [...] The moderators are unrepentant and congenitally wired to not get it. So we're going to have to take to the streets -- the mean streets of Burbank, California. We want to know if ABC/Disney executives can pass the [Charles] Gibson/

Before the PA primary, Clinton and Obama debated on ABC prompting a kind of Bastille moment, when some people seemed to lose patience with the scandal-obsessed media. ABC, of course, disputed the criticism. Not that the media was completely chastened. Almost immediately, there was a smaller fuss over whether Obama, in reacting to the debate days later, had surreptitiously given Clinton (or someone) the finger.

* Obama's campaign used the perceived imbalance in the debate to raise money -- sending out an e-mail solicitation entitled "Gotcha" and asking for $25 donations to counter the perceived bias. * Stephanopoulos, in an interview with Politico's Michael Calderone, defended his performance and that of his network on Wednesday night. "We asked tough but appropriate questions," Stephanopoulos said. * Clinton insisted the content of the debate was just fine by her and that Obama should be ready for much worse from

presented via video from Pennsylvania resident Nash McCabe: I want to know if you believe in the American flag. I am not questioning your patriotism, but all our servicemen, policemen and EMS wear the flag. I want to know why you don’t. In an interview with a blogger from Politico, co-moderator George Stephanopoulos actually defended such questions as being important to voters. Dumb voters, maybe. Jingoistic, superficial voters, definitely. Is that the voice we want our news media to use in its interactions with newsmakers?

When asked by Michael Calderone about Wednesday nights “debate”, Stephanopoulos said: “We asked tough but appropriate questions,” Stephanopoulos told me by phone this afternoon. When I asked whether questions about flag pins or Bosnia are actually relevant to voters, he

* Obama's campaign used the perceived imbalance in the debate to raise money -- sending out an e-mail solicitation entitled "Gotcha" and asking for $25 donations to counter the perceived bias. * Stephanopoulos, in an interview with Politico's Michael Calderone, defended his performance and that of his network on Wednesday night. "We asked tough but appropriate questions," Stephanopoulos said. * Clinton insisted the content of the debate was just fine by her and that Obama should be ready for much worse from

* Obama's campaign used the perceived imbalance in the debate to raise money -- sending out an e-mail solicitation entitled "Gotcha" and asking for $25 donations to counter the perceived bias. * Stephanopoulos, in an interview with Politico's Michael Calderone, defended his performance and that of his network on Wednesday night. "We asked tough but appropriate questions," Stephanopoulos said. * Clinton insisted the content of the debate was just fine by her and that Obama should be ready for much worse from

our elections are determined by the barren, petty personality-based distractions and mindless chatter that define the lowly Drudgian Freak Show, where our political life now almost exclusively resides.George Stephanopoulos (after the Philadelphia debate, in report by Calderone of politico.com):... asked whether questions about flag pins or Bosnia are actually relevant to voters, he replied: “Absolutely.” “The vote for the president,” Stephanopoulos said, “is one of the most personal” decisions that someone makes.