Ifill proves the critics wrong

The totally unfair criticism of Gwen I fill by Right Wing propagandists like Shawn Hannity was an effort in advance to inoculate Palin in case she blows this up. However it seems to have worked in blackmailing her because she was soft on Palin and NEVER asked to answer the real question put to her

How funny that the SAME conservatives that claim poor mistreated naive Gov. Palin is being hit unfairly by the liberal media with gotcha questions, screams "we don't know!!" if she was fair during the debate or whether she was falsely accused!! Typical hypocritical double standards. She asks a question and they answer it (or in Gov. Palin's case REFUSE to answer it)... how much more fair can the moderator be?

Gwen Ifill is a consummate professional and she did a terrific job last night moderating the debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. I was not surprised.
As a journalist, I have admired her skills from afar. As an earlier comment professed... The Republicans cried WOLF on this one... shame on them.

Gwen was absolutely horrible. She let Palin hijack the whold debate. Palin would say " I want to talk about blah blah.." and Gwen would nod her head nad gladly agree. She added zero value as moderator.

#2
The paranoids are coming, the paranoids are coming. Hide!

Sorry neither candidate was asked the obvious question: whether, as America comes apart, it might best be reorganized as 2 sovereign entities -- Amereast and Amerwest, or Amred and Amblue, with independent ethos governing bodies. One flag an eagle, Cruz missile and drill rig; the other, a dove, a windmill and a human being...just a thought -- is this comment illegal?

The TWO parties are different sides of the same coin.

i think the Gwen should have stepped off. instead she lied by omission in order to help her party. that is not only unacceptable and corrupt it probably went a long way towards having the opposite effect. i saw many instances of bias on her part. her sarcastic mockery of Palins "extra credit" remark represents one of the more subtle cases. the fact the she and Biden seemed to be carrying on a private conversation reminded me of children playing odd-man-out. was it assumed that Biden couldnt hold his own against her without the double teaming? vote 3rd party!

She sucked ... Palin didnt even answer any of her questions and basically disrespected the debate process. I think she just went too easy on them. Palin will have her fate handed to her. She will go back to Alaska as a loser and will probably be less popular since all her BS just came out in public.

Liberals control the news. It's good to see that Ifill was called out. Fairness in reporting has been lost and we need to challenge the liberal media agenda to get back to reporting in an unbiased manner. Unbiased is not 'conservative' but it is less liberal than the current agenda.

Gwen Ifill is not only qualified but young enough and diverse enough to serve as President. I would vote for her and believe she's the best. No I'm not affiliated with ANY party. It's too bad the choices we have today don't fit.

Whether it was the strict format, lack of follow-up, totally predictable questions or all of the above I was really displeased with how Gwen Ifill led last night. Too often both candidates were able to fall back into canned talking points, and frankly none of the questions were so unique that any one of us couldn't have been the one asking them. A moderator shouldn't be the center of attention in a debate, however we could have used a bit more of the ring-leader from her than we got. This is two VP debates now in which she's been largely an absent figure up there. I very much hope someone else gets a shot to moderate next time around.

The real question is Why is Sarah Palin on a national ticket. if any other candidate had been that intimidated by the prospect of doing what candidates are supposed to be more than up to the task. She was protected like a hothouse flower.

I thought Gwen Ifill did a great job of moderating the debate. I wish that Sarah Palin would have been more substantial in her answers. It is unfortunate that a perky, intelligent, great campaigner like her has to be constrained with by the likes of an old, constipated candidate like McCain who is not in her league as far as desireability goes. Sarah is red hot...."Hurricane" McCain is not! Fire and water do not mix.

Did anyone watch / hear Gwen Ifill at the end of the debates? She gave an obligatory "nice job" comment to Governor Palin and gushed all over Senator Biden ("ohhhh, you did a GREAT job!").

Palin was smart to hightail it off the stage while Biden and family schmoozed with Ifill. It was rather nauseating.

Bipartisan journalist, my foot.

Gwen was intimidated by the Conservatives. She didn't ask any hard questions. She did not press Palin to answer her questions. Palen was so arrogant that she stated she had no intention of answering Ifill's questions. Ifill let her get away with it.
Conservatives 1 Ifill 0.

Whoa!!!! Ifel did not "prove the critics wrong!" The charge against her was conflict of interest. Since the Globe may argue that she didn't go overboard to help Biden DOES NOT take away the conflict of interest. You cannot argue that. The most that can be said is that she didn't allow her inherent conflict of interest to motivate her to openly help Biden in some way.

Isn't the writer for the Globe, Foon Rhee, smart enough to understand this point? Or is it the case that Foon just wants to attack Republican interests, regardless of the merit of the argument?

Liberal press? The mainstream media is overwhelmingly owned by conservative corporations, e.g. NBC's parent company and defense contractor GE. It's not very useful, however, to "shoot the messenger" whenever exposed to evidence that might contradict your opinion. Democrats overwhelmingly, prefer either candidate to voice reality, not fiction or spin. Republicans, it seems, prefer a biased diatribe that supports their mythological world view.

Why are Palin supporters such whiners? What's it matter what Ifil asked? Palin didn't answer anyway. PErhaps, it was too much of a "gotcha" debate? Please . . .

Gwen Ifill is a very intelligent woman and she certainly proves it on the News Hour. Congratulations on an unbiased moderator!

Did anybody notice that Sarah Palin completely misunderstood and did not answer Qwen Ifill's question: "What is your Achille's heel..." and rather than adressing possible weaknesses (as the question implies), Palin rattles off her 'positive' qualifications in such a superficial way that it had a sad resonance to an instance where a pathetically unqualified gen Y applicant tries to B.S. their way past a job interview.

YES Pailn is as DUMB as an Alaskan MOOSE ( well they are really smart)

The question is has she been fair before .... aprt from this! not that you start judging her now only!

Um, the biggest point is: what the Hell was she wearing??? A space suit? Did that thing have shoulder pads?

I'll moderate the next debate. Nobody knows me,...and I'll tear them apart when they wander off subject like last night, all night long.

Yeah,...I'll throw questions around that will make both of them squirm,.....and the audience too! C'mon,......gimme a shot,......

gee gaypastor, Gwen is guilty until proven beyond the shadow of a doubt innocent?

Gwen Ifill was an absolutely fair moderator last night. The issue of her fairness in this debate is bogus. Why suspect Ifill at all when she showed no bias before, during or after the debate? During the debate, she posed good questions, then she got out of the candidates' way, as a good referee should. Palin stated that she'd answer the questions her own way...which turned out to mean she'd ignore questions if she wanted to. That was Palin's choice, not Gwen Ifill's. Palin salvaged her image in that she did not look like a complete ditz, by gum and by golly -- but she revealed herself to be approximately one inch deep -- in case anybody had any doubts about that, my friends!

in response to TL Wheaton.
Let me get this straight she is not going to write the chapter on Obambi until after the election, but the book is going to be published on November 5th. If you believe that your mother must have dropped you on your head when you were a baby.

1. I don't know why writing a book about someone automatically makes you an advocate of them. I've watched her numerous times on Meet the Press, and haven't noticed a bias.. Comparing her to Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity is disingenuous at best.. I like her quite a bit, but I wish she would've held the candidates' feet to the fire better, or at all.

For someone who had just broken her ankle, I thought Gwen Ifill had remarkable composure. It was known by the debate selection committee that she was writing a book about the next generation of black politicians in America, and Republicans were fine with that. It is not a book in support of Mr. Obama per se; my understanding is that it is a book about the changes happening in politics from the perspective of African American politicians. Her one chapter on Barack Obama will supposedly not even be written until after the election results are known. I don't see how that makes her decidedly pro-Obama.

Gwen was impeccable. Arguments that questioned what she didn't ask or what she might have done had she not been criticized by such laughable right-wing hacks as Hannity and Limbaugh is patently ridiculous.

yeah, I would love to see how Coulter, Hannity, or Limbaugh would do under the same circumstances. I can just imagine Coulter starting out by accusing Biden of being a gay racist liberal intent on turning the country into a socialist/communist state with marxist overtones.

These supercilius, ignorant, arrogant hacks do not have Gwen's class and never will. Neither side would consider them. McCain has too much character to accept such drivel.

This summary was originally poster on THE BIG READ by another poster.
Ifill got dirty quickly anouncing rules then breaking them herself on the very first question giving no followup time for it.

She only enforced “rules” against Palin throughout. Actually she cut off Palin too early breaking her own rules each time.

At 12:55 Palin anounces she will answer Bidens attack at 13:39 Ifill cuts off Palin off. She in hurting Biden so Ifill breaks the rule completely cutting her of after only 45 seconds abruptly and nasty as any woman ever. “Now let’s move on here”. Boy was Biden smiling as Ifill slapped down Palin.

Ifill then asked a really bad question acussing McCain of hurting the poor by taking their insurance away. Saying employers would cancel $12,000 policies rather than pay taxes on it, employees would then need to use their new $5,000 credit to buy worse insurance. While helping Biden play the class warfare card against McCain.

From 17:50 through 19:30 Biden drones on 100 seconds and is awarded first on next question. Why was he not cut off like Sarah? Need I ask.

Later on (32:30) Biden is doing very badly lamely defending his no coal in America statement, he goes on for 100 seconds whereupon Ifill tries to help him out with a new question of Sarah. Sarah speaks for 70 seconds she is destroying Biden Ifill again cuts off Palin off (remember Biden just got 100 seconds) to help Biden for the next 55 seconds she helps Biden out of the hole jumping in with help as needed.

54:50 Palin is destroying Biden on the Iraq and Afganistan war. Ifill awards Biden a full 120 seconds. But it doesn’t help much so Ifill tries to help Biden by correcting his mistakes in a question to Sarah who gets 45 seconds. Ifill then gives Biden an extra question he drones on 100 seconds but is not cut off like Palin was (he is doing poor but OK).

At 69:10 Biden ask can I respond? Ifill answers very sweetly “Please” (break the rules again). Thankfully Sarah didn’t give Ifill a chance to cut her off this time by speaking up loudly and quickly the instant Biden stopped.

On the next question they joked a little. Ifill was somewhat fair for the last 20 minutes.

Ifill did great considering the pressure she was under because of the "book". Palin stumbled on her own and both Biden and Ifill could have buried her and both would have been critized for being unkind and aggressive toward the dog with lip stick?? She was preped and the world knew that everyone has to be carful so as not to come across too harsh so we would not upset her. Behind closed doors when the debates really count Biden would bury her and kick it back to Alaska. This is who I want when debating world leaders, not a bubble headed chearleader.or a Joe six-pack?? O8Puma67

Gwen Ifill did a disservice to the political process last night. She placed herself in the position of not being able to press questions because she would appear biased to the American people. No one put her in that position but her. She should have disclosed the book deal before agreeing to moderate. This would have given both candidates the opportunity to object or agree to her. The dabate commission also failed by not asking about conflicts of interest before selecting her. No matter what any one says having a financial stake in the outcome of the election is a conflict of interest

I am a conservative. I believe Gwen Ifill was fair in her questioning of both VP candidates. There is no doubt about Palin winning the debate, especially when she took control of the proceedings with her statement that she would answer the questions the way she wanted not the way Biden or Ifill wanted. Palin changed the dynamics of the debate with that one statement. Biden appeared tired, angry and confused. Let's face it, liberals do not know how to deal with Sarah Palin. She even out-performs the Democratic presidential nominee "rock star" performer. Please don't criticize Sarah Palin for her lack of experience; let he who is without experience cast the first stone. BTW, maybe the next debate should be moderated by Keith OBAMAmann.

to the naysayers!
Pot must have been on sale last night!!! Gwen was near perfect!.

Ifill’s "performance" does NOT prove she was objective nor pardon her from some questionable/unethical decisions. None of us know what this clear Obama supporter did (or didn’t do) behind the scenes! For all we know her bias motivated her to give Biden a look at all her questions before the debate or she coached him on how to respond. We don’t know! But her objective performance does not prove that she was the right person for the job. She is an author of a book about one of the candidates and she purposefully withheld this information from the Debate Commission…she was the WRONG person…and we simply don’t know how her position of great power changed the dynamics of this debate!

I really think Palin exceeded expectations and did a wonderful job. Absolutely she's qualified..........to be a mayor, or governor of a state which ranks 47th (out of 50 states) in population.

Right wing, Just know you have TOM BROKAW moderating the next debate-get a grip. Like baseball, it all works out in the end and you all know this! (Except for the Cubbies).

Your comment misses the point entirely. Gwen Ifill faced a financial conflict of interest in serving as moderator of the VP debate. She was in a position to influence the outcome of the presidential election and then profit in January when her book on Sen. Obama is published. Whether she behaved fairly last night or not is irrelevant. She should have stepped down as moderator because of the appearance of impropriety. Are liberal journalists exempt from conflict of interest norms?

These "debates" are not terribly meaningful anymore than interviews usually are not. Whether supportive or unsupportive moderators/interviewers are present, the questioners either shun any behavior remotely pushy or bully (a la John McGlaughlin) people. The result is pat, vague, feel-good answers that everyone would agree with or unrealistic charges ("I'll recreate paradise free!" or "My opponent will raise taxes by more money than has ever been printed!" ). Ifil and others will never get asked back if they push at all on anything. Otherwise we get morning talk show/entertainment tonight garbage. Expecting moderators to be pushy is unrealistic.

Even if she would have asked so-called right-wing questions, Palin still would have only answered with some weird Maverick this, Maverick that nonsense. Palin was a complete robot programmed to answer only about two or three answers, and not give any other thought to what was going on around her. Nothing proved this more than when Biden got choked up talking about his family, and she responded with more Maverick talk.

The press is against conservatives. The press ruined the economy. The press screwed up the war. The press gave McCain skin cancer...

The bias charge was a ruse to make the moderator feel insecure about challenging Palin when she failed to address questions. Nothing more, nothing less.

No, Al is perfectly right. Liberals don't have a clue as to how to deal with Palin. We're used to people with brains instead of only programmable reflexes. (The Stepford Wives?) When the pitbull with lipstick doesn't understand the concept of a debate, we're supposed to say `Bravo'? But I misunderestimate her, I'm sure. Computers could meet the Turing test better than Palin. If you don't know what the Turing test is, you must be a regular person, not one of those despicable elites who make such useless innovations that we all detest like the Internet and computers and wikis ....

I see only one important issue to consider from last night's debate, or whatever one wishes to call it:
Which of the participants would be competent to be President?
I think the answer so obvious I won't bother to answer it.

Both parties agree on the moderator. If the Repubs don't know how to Google, that's their problem.

Gaypastor, are you going to post the same comment again and again until someone recognizes your genius? Ms Ifill did a fine job, no favouritism was noted by any legitimate critic, and in an after-debate poll most people (presumably people who can think) stated that Ifill was professional, distinguished, and respectful of each candidate.

I watched the VP debate last night. The questions were among topics that Obama favors, such as health care, the war in Afghanistan, and even whether the Bush Administration was an abject failure or not, and questions of the way-extreme-right such as when to deploy nuclear weaponry. There weren't any questions that McCain favors, or questions that thinking Republicans would ask, like handling the war in Iraq, Education, or how to deal with Russian aggression.
Gwen Ifill, however good-intentioned, was not a good pick to moderate this debate; She is currently writing a book favoring Obama, due to come out on inauguration day. She obviously has a lot of faith in Obama; some of that faith is due to leak through into her moderation. It would be the same way if Mike Huckabee moderated the debate; it would be biased, however good the intention. Selecting someone with that amount of bias is a bad idea, there are plenty of journalists, commentators, and even reporters who aren’t that biased. Jim Lehrer was a superb pick for last week’s presidential debate. If Jim had any conflicts of interest, it was impossible to tell, he covered every topic; from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to Healthcare, to the economy, it was all covered fairly.
My other complaint about Gwen, then I’ll be quiet, is that she asked Joe Biden first on the majority of the questions, and occasionally she asked different questions to each candidate. To be fair and balanced, you need to ask the same questions of both of the candidates. Otherwise, it is extremely hard to maintain fairness, especially for someone you want to lose.

-Robby Emmert

Ifill did the job well. She presented questions and let the candidates answer as they wanted to. She was solid and steady.

Poor Republican'ts---grow up! The rein of Rush Limbaugh and FOX News is over. Hannity and the other neocon pundits are next. You are all the talk of yesterday. You're as passe as Ford Escorts, Chevy stationwagons and SPAM. Liberals are the fun loving hybrid engine-- you're the gas guzzling SUV with a Nascar logo.

GOBAMA!!!!

Here is a woman who moderates a political column on PBS which many consider one of the best balanced in the country. For Ms Ifill to be considered a biased moderator is ludicrous. However, I rather for her to ask the hard questions and let the candidates not avoid them. We want a competent VP running the affairs of the country God forbid , in case that necessity arises. Shame on all of you who inject partisanship into every event . Should not the past 8 years teach Americans to strive for the essence instead of the mediocrity. Any wonder we are losing our leadership in the world.

Hahaha I love how the little conservative nutjobs out there are so convinced by their own hubris that they actually think Palin won this debate.

She looked so woefully unprepared, so out of her league, so folksy and inexperienced, and in way over her head. The fact that 72-year old, twice cancer-surviving McCain chose this wolf in hick's clothing automatically disqualifies him from the Presidency.

Palin loves to reference "Joe Six Pack" at the same time as she speaks of change. Um, didn't we elect Joe Six Pack in 2000 and again in 2004? We know where that road leads already.

"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."

By the way, I voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, and I'm not a big fan of Obama/Biden. But Palin is SO UNDENIABLY HORRIBLE that I shake with anger whenever I hear her folksy smug voice. "Darn heck y'all, we need to be puttin' a joe six pack in the white house!" Gag me.

I thought she was charming, fair and a good moderator. She distinguished herself as a journalist, but the ethical question before hand had to be raised and didn't show her in a good light

Praising Gwen Ifill for her deft handling of the debate? She might as well not have even been there as she never directed either candidate to address the question presented and particularly allowed Palin to run amok. I think Ms. Ifill should never be allowed to moderate another event as important as this debate was as a result of her inexcusable dereliction of duty.

Ms. Ifill, who was in a very delicate position, did ask at least one follow up question.

When Gov. Palin said she was "thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it," Ifill asked, appropriately I think, if Gov. Palin believes "as Vice President Cheney does, that the Executive Branch does not hold complete sway over the office of the vice presidency, that it it is also a member of the Legislative Branch?"

Re: gaypastor's comments

Gwen Ifill did not hide the fact that she was writing a book that included, not necessarily featured Barack Obama. Seems that he would have more worries than creating conspiracy theories

Not sure why any Republicans would have a problem with the job Ifill did. She didn't make your bimbo of a VP candidate answer anything she either didn't want to answer or couldn't.....Palin doesn't look nearly as much like a deer caught in the headlights when she can just look into the camera, wink and recite her memorized taliking points. Just don't make her actually attempt to answer a real question if you don't want to end up with a headache.

Not sure why any Republicans would have a problem with the job Ifill did. She didn't make your bimbo of a VP candidate answer anything she either didn't want to answer or couldn't.....Palin doesn't look nearly as much like a deer caught in the headlights when she can just look into the camera, wink and recite her memorized taliking points. Just don't make her actually attempt to answer a real question if you don't want to end up with a headache.

#68 You are again ill informed. Ifill has not written a book about Barack Obama, she is currently writing a book about African american politicians. Her publishers don't even have a copy yet so there you have the real truth and I heard her say it on a radio show this morning. So, that her book is a pro Obama book is news to both her and her publishers.

Excuse me, but Dear God. I am an independent and know that corporate media is mostly pandering to advertisers and stockholders of their parent companies. That's why we have the Fox's and MSNBC's of the world...and why CNN now has conservative personalities on air. They're playing to the consumers of their advertisers' products and services. This is exactly the reason why Leher and Ifill were chosen. PBS is just that: Public. And much more independent than corporate news media. Any attempt to state that Ifill neglected her duties as a moderator fall flat. Palin, like McCain, is known to avoid answering questions and rattling off more rhetorical talking points from the Republican National Committee's website.

why don't people just acknowledge the fact that Sarah Palin is no ready to lead the strongest nation and her performance in this debate had nothing to do with the moderator? she's a flop, a gimmick, a punch line, a tool to fool the people! She's the McSame's version of Bush's "threat of weapons of mass destruction". Palin had to be cut-off because she is not answering the questions!

I just wonder if Bob Schieffer is going to get the same scrutiny as Gwen got. Tom Schieffer, his brother, is in the Bush regime. As Gwen stated, "Just Curious".

On C-Span, debate coverage started very early. Normally the 15 minutes or so prior to a debate is filled by the moderator discussing each candidate’s background, etc. Ifill got up, left abruptly and didn't come back in until just before the debate commenced. When she returned, she appeared to be upset (it didn’t last long, she is a pro).

I wonder if during this time she was called on the carpet about the book and spent those 15 minutes hurriedly rewriting her questions? If you watch The News Hour with any regularity, you know that Gwen is normally razor sharp and she does not let people off the hook very easily. That was definitely not the person I saw last night. It was very out-of-character for her to ask such bland questions.

Things that make you go “huh?”….

The primary difference between last night's debate and the Couric interview was that Palin had obviusly been coached not to be cornered into answernig the many questions for which she has no answer. She even made herself look like a maverick in not answering Ifill's questions, but anyone who cares about detail can see that she offered nothing but slogan's, and in fact got most of the few details she offered (like people's names) completely wrong.

Lastly, I am most concerned that Palin, who does not believe in man's influence on global warming, and whose only experience in the field relates to oil, will be taking leadership on energy issues at McCain's request.

Help!

I can't imagine who could have done any better than Gwen Ifill. I would hate to be responsible for making up questions for Biden and Palin. Biden could have answered probably most any question thrown at him, but with Palin, the only things we have ever seen her say are pretty sophomoric and lack any creditable depth. How could anyone pose questions on such different levels of consciousness without seeming to be biased. All Palin has going for herself is that she is able to pick up generalized information, has the instincts to use commonly understood facial expressions to accentuate some point of her own, and use one line offensive styled retorts to confuse and re-direct any serious discussion. It was like trying to ask complex math questions of Einstein and a grade schooler.
What is obvious is that, Gwen Ifill is more prepared to be a VP than Palin!

Oh please don't give this woman a pass. She lacks integrity for not disclosing this book. If there was no conflict of interest, then she should have come clean early on with no fear of being rejected by the committee. It was wrong, end of story. We're all at the point where we're afraid to call it what it is for fear of being labeld a bigot. Did you read the story today about the "Prof" from Emory accepting $500,000 from GlaxoSmithKline, while doing research which involved GSK, but neglected to tell the University about it. Wrong again. If people are given passes, then it becomes acceptable. Sad

I hope this is the last we hear of Sarah Palin from a political viewpoint. Perhaps she should apply for a role on SNL as Tina Fey, rather than return to her Governorship. She appears to like the celebrity aspect of the past two months, and I am sure she would be a great performer.

"savaged" ? by whom? I must have missed her being "savaged" by conservative commentators. We trying to victimize someone here?

I did not watch the entire debate but chose to flip away from it at times. What was interesting was every time I flipped back, Palin was the one talking. Every Time! I think that Ifill bent over backwards because of the controversy over her role as moderator and allowed Palin to go on and on. So as far as the question of Ifill having bias, it was on Palin's side.

Just because Republican partisans and hacks will cheat & lie for their fav candidates doesn't mean everyone would. But the pre-"debate" hysteria did accomplish what the cons wanted: Palin was allowed to respond in any way she chose and no one was allowed to note it, especially Ms Ifill. Winks, plastic smiles and non-response talking points may work for some, but hopefully most Americans saw through this sham performance.

If thrust into the job of president, she will be forced to rely on the army of lobbyist that McShame has assembled to provide him with all the info he need to know about.. If placed in office, we are in serious trouble.

The thing is Gwen has nearly impeccable record of professional objective journalism. Then all of a sudden the CONSERVATIVE media started throwing allegations and distorting reality again and as most of you (not you who have fallen head over heels for fox news and call everything else liberal) probably know they are extraordinarily good at bringing down good reputations of good people. So, there was pressure on here. There was pressure for her to be nice to Palin and tough on Biden which is the only source of bias if she was biased at all.

Watching Sarah Palin last night reminded me of watching a high school cheerleader trying to impress some college sorority girls. Her empty slogans and homilies gave us nothing but the usual conservative rhetoric. We now know that the empress has no clothes. It didnt matter if it was Gwen Ifill or Sean Hannity asking the questions, she is not ready for this and is in way over her head. Can you imagine her sitting down with world leaders and wowing them with her 'by-gollys' , winks and 'god bless ya' kitch? If you are buying into this then you are part of a flock of sheeple that will never get it.

People complain about the lack of follow up questions and absence of insistence that questions posed be answered. I share this concern, both as it relates to this debate and most others. I do not accept Palin's notion that she should feel free to ignore important questions - it debases the public's right to know the debater's views of a breadth of subject matter.

But remember that there is limited time in the debate that might be used better than in arguing with uncooperative debaters. Also, trying to force a debate participant to answer a question - not ignore it - only invites criticism of bias depending on how the debater spins the request for a proper answer.

Again, I share the concern that debate participants manipulate the process. But I think Ifill did well leaving the viewing public to assess how to view debate responses that are nonresponsive to questions.

look. debate her caliber as a moderator across the board and her performance last evening, regardless of this book bs. seeing that it is not slated for publication until 2009, none of you even know whether it speaks favorably of senator obama. the title is "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," look it up

she withheld information of the book from the debating commission? give me a break! word of it was first put out in june/july of this year, and again it was discussed in time magazine in august. if conservatives/liberals/democrats/republicans are just now learning of this book when they could have accidentally stumbled across it by doing any miniscule amount of research on ms. ifill THEY ARE ALL IDIOTS

i get so frustrated listening to children bicker, making statements w/ no bearings or factual basis

Gwen was fine. She may lack personal ethics, but she kept her bias to herself for the most part. She let the candidates talk and let the audience decide. That is exactly the role of a "moderator." We witnessed neither Joe nor Sarah shooting themselves in the foot -- which was the real draw of the debate. They both defended their running mates, they both covered their own agendas, and they both demonstrated their own kind of buffoonery - Senatorial and Over-the-top-Hick. I found them both to have surprisingly similar personalities. The fact that about half of these comments are for and against Gwen tells you that she did a pretty good job.

Ifill was fine, but darn- I would have loved to hear some follow up questions asked of these two.

Palin especially seems to do very well at blurting out her canned talking points, but that is IT. It seems that she just memorizes- she doesn't really KNOW the material. So, when you ask a follow up, and drill down into the material, Palin comes up empty and starts blabbering like she did to Couric & Gibson.

She did a horrible job of moderating, specially in regards to sarah palin, who spent the entire avoiding questions or just giving answers that did not relate to the ones on the table.
As a moderator she needs to press on the issues and question, so that candidates that are not qualified, like palin, are not allowed to give endless speeches that can actually fool some people into believe she has any idea other than where her car is parked.

Ifill was non-controversial to say the least. And impartial. But she should not have let Palin get away with setting the rules for debate. And what about the biggest question facing our country: election of Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges. We needed them to answer a question on this.

I AM A DEMOCRAT AND UNLIKE THE NEO-CONS I AM UPSET WITH GWEN NEVER ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS! WHY DOE'S PALIN BELIEVE IN NO ABORTIONS EVEN WHEN RAPE AND INCEST OCCURS? WHAT ABOUT HER VIEW OF ALLOWING CREATIONSIM TO BE TAUGHT IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS? WHAT ABOUT NO SEX EDUCATION ALLOWED IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN ALASKA(SEE DAUGHTER FOR RESULTS)?I BELEIVE SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN SEVERELY ATTACKED AS BIASED FOR ASKING THESE RELEVANT QUESTIONS.THE FEAR TACTIC OF THE NEO-CONS OBVIOUSLY WORKED!

In her public persona, at least, Ms. Ifill is intelligent, not liberal. That is to say, she tries, and generally succeeds, in presenting the relevant facts on a question. From many of the comments, it appears that a sizeable chunk of the readers equate "intelligent" with "liberal." Then they turn around and complain about liberal influence.

The objection to her conflict of interest in moderating the debate was that she failed to disclose her vested interest in the Obama/Biden ticket winning the election and insuring her book an audience.

I AM SURPRISED AT THE STUPID AND COWARDLY DEMOCRATS THAT THEY CAN NOT TELL THE TRUTH BOLDLY EVEN WHEN CONSERVATIVE PROPAGANDA MACHINE FOX NEWS AND RADIO SHOWS WITH MASSIVE AMOUNT OF LISTENERS ALMOST EVERY DAY USE BOLD FACED LIES.

WHY NO ONE COMPLAINS THAT TOM BROKAW IS A PERSONAL FRIEND OF JOHN MCCAIN AND MAY BE ALREADY PREPPING HIM FOR DEBATES AND Q&A THAT HE WILL ASK HIM NEXT WEEK.

With all due respect, and I have much for Ifil, it was disturbing to listen to Palin dodge the majority of questions. One can only assume Ifil kowtowed to the Republicans as she failed to hold Palin accountable.

Gwen's book was no secret. It had been written about in the newpaper and on the internet quite awhile ago. If people think there was a problem, they should be mad at the Republican campaign people for not challenging the issue.

I felt Gwen Ifill lost control of the debate; when she stated that the questions were known only to her and had not been censored I became extremely interested. Her questions were wonderful but she allowed Palin to avoid answering the questions by advancing her (Palin's) own agenda and reading her position papers instead of answering questions that, if answered, would have informed all of us pro and con.

Senator Biden was a perfect gentleman in the VP DEBATE>>
Not like McCain who acted contemptuous and angry
in the presidential debate>> How would the American People
feel if McCain acted like that toward foreign dignitaries??
There is a possibility that it can happen!!! Do the people of the
USA want to take that chance????

Lois Eisenberg

I was embarrassed by Palin's performance in that debate. She didn't answer the questions asked of her, she chose some other question and answered that. That's not a debater, that's a robot, no matter how often she winked at the camera. The only difference between this and the interviews was that there was no one pushing her to go off script. She had nothing. And it's McKiernan, not McClellan.

If she beat expectations, it's because she had none. I'm registered as a Republican, but I participate in early voting and I just mailed in my vote for Obama this morning. Feel free to consider that as me metaphorically flipping the bird to the current Republican "leadership."

How would the American People feel if McCain acted like that toward foreign dignitaries??
________________________

He does. Recently, when asked by a reporter it he would invite the president of Spain to the WH, McCain refused to answer the question. The question was repeated two more times and McCain still avoided responding, because he has a personal grudge against Zapatero. No telling how many other allies McCain would dis.

He has a history of snubbing and refusing to shake hands with reporters he feels haven't written favorably about him. He has nearly has fist fights several times with other politicians who disagree with him, and he has said that he has no intention of having talks with any number of states he doesn't like. If this isn't a recipe for further damaging our country's international reputation, I don't know what is.

You can actually buy JaneSixPack.com or SarahSixPack.com and turn them into political, humor or whatever info sites. Ain't the Internet grand?!

Ten points to Gwen Ifill for surviving this election's biggest "poisoned chalice" job.
As a non US-resident, I was definitely watching for the "car crash tv" potential.

There was no way a full-on, serious debate on critical issues was possible between such mismatched candidates... the result ...... a bland, mostly political posturing tiptoe through non-core issues... but no major humiliation for either party.

Gwen Ifill was pathetic and could not ask one question without stumbling. She is a typical result of the quota system. She only got to where she is because she's black. Please Gwen go back to school and take some basic English language classes it may help!!

Gwen Ifill was pathetic and could not ask one question without stumbling. She is a typical result of the quota system. She only got to where she is because she's black. Please Gwen go back to school and take some basic English language classes it may help!!

I too thought Ms. Ifill did a great job with one exception, when a candidate refuses to answer a question (like Palin), and even tells you so, you should remind her that America is looking for a candidate that is willing to speak of issues important to us, not just issues of your own choosing..

OMG! Gwen Ifill savaged? cry-babies because of a perception of conservatives? The liberals need to try taking a walk in Sarah Palin's shoes ... the epitome of savaged!

Being republican and having many concerns about Ifill as moderator, I must send her cudos on being very unbiased and fair . I was pleasantly surprised; However, I must agree with Fred that Ann Coulter should host the next debate. That would be a really interesting showdown.

Debate? This was no debate. Are Americans wimps? Often you admire Question Period in Parliaments such as those in Britain and Canada. This is when a country's leader can be questioned and and made to defend the governments policies. In America the only time that happens IF they decide to take questions at a press conference, or at a "debate". No followup questions? I guess Gwen was not interested enought to even listen to the answers. I give Biden a C+, Sarah a D (C for effort, F for content) and Ifill gets an F.

Gwen Ifill rocks! She is one smart woman, full of integrity and courage, and a great debate moderator. As good as the League of Women Voters used to be, and I thought I'd never say that about anyone.

I would like to know why Gwen did not insist that Palin answer the questions. Especially when she told her to her face she was not going to answer.

it's not that she was biased, it's that she was useless. what do we know today that we didn't before the debate about palin? nothing. what are her views on a woman's right to choose? what on equal pay? what on the kind of supreme court justice she would pick? i could go on for hours. plus, anyone... and obviously ANYONE, can give an answer to the ridiculous open-ended questions ifill asked. "which is more dangerous, pakistan or iran." you don't think she had a few talking points memorized about one of those? dear god. i didn't need some "gotcha" question, but when you don't ask anything that requires any depth, of course palin looks solid. i give biden an 1; palin a c; and ifill an f. minus. huge disservice to the american people.

Thank you Ms. Ifell for being a fair moderator of Palin vs.Biden debate . Not only in this debate but also thr' your work on pbs you have proved that you are professional, fair, impartial, courteous, unlike arrogant Charles Gibson and pettyfault-finding, biased ,mean Katie Couric during their interviews with Sarah Palin. My family respect your professionalism.

During the debate, by being moderate, you had given Palin and Biden equal chance to express intheir own way and convey their messages to viewers , even though they both did not answer your questions directly sometimes, this is fine and no big deal as I believe that American viewers are intelligent enough to make their own judgments about the candidates .

I am a fan of Gwen Ifill, but shame on her. How did she allow that mockery that Ameicans are calling a debate to happen? Anyone can ask questions. I can ask questions. When someone moderates a debate, they are obligated, yes obligated, to work for the American people. We are choosing a commander in chief here, not postmaster general. We are entitled to know what they think and their answers to questions, not their thoughts on what they want to speak about. Ifill's responsibility was to re-driect and re-ask questions until she got an answer. She was required to ask that of Biden AND Palin. She did not. I respect Gwen Ifill, but shame on her for letting us down when we need most!