Jim Lehrer’s performance as moderator of the first of this
year’s Presidential Debates was dismal. He allowed Mitt Romney to run all over
him. But how can we blame Lehrer? He’s trying to control both the President of
the United States and a bully vulture capitalist while literally sitting at
their feet. That can be quite intimidating.
The job of the moderator is to keep the candidates on topic,
not be the timekeeper. So why not have an automatic mechanism that shuts off
the candidates’ microphone at the end of their allotted time? If the speakers
know their remarks are not being broadcast, they’d stop talking immediately.
So you are in the shoot Jim Lehrer (not Leherer) camp? It is as good an excuse as any.
ReplyDeleteGlen, thanks for the spelling correction. The money the government gives to PBS is Romney's smoke screen. The right has never been comfortable with PBS' news reporting.
ReplyDeleteI noticed you used "bully" as an adjective. Here is Merriam-Webster's list of synonyms for bully as an adjective:
ReplyDeleteSynonyms: A-OK, A1, awesome, bang-up, banner, beautiful, blue-chip, blue-ribbon, boffo, bonny (also bonnie) [chiefly British], boss [slang], brag, brave, excellent, bumper, capital, choice, classic, cool [slang], corking, crackerjack, cracking, dandy, divine, dope [slang], down [slang], dynamite, fab, fabulous, famous, fantabulous [slang], fantastic, fine, first-class, first-rate, first-string, five-star, four-star, frontline, gangbusters (also gangbuster), gilt-edged (or gilt-edge), gone [slang], grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-class, hot, hype [slang], immense, jim-dandy, keen, lovely, marvelous (or marvellous), mean, neat, nifty, noble, number one (also No. 1), numero uno, out-of-sight [slang], par excellence, peachy, peachy keen, phat [slang], prime, primo [slang], prize, prizewinning, quality, radical [slang], righteous [slang], sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-flight, top-notch, top-of-the-line, topping [chiefly British], top-shelf, unsurpassed, wizard [chiefly British], wonderful
For once, we agree on something.