Can A Pro-Hussein Author Be An ‘Unbiased’ Debate Moderator (And Does She Really Know Her Civics?)
October 5, 2004
The Cheney-Edwards Vice Presidential Debate
VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES’ DEBATE AT CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, CLEVELAND, OHIO
SPEAKERS: RICHARD B. CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
U.S. SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS (NC), DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE
GWEN IFILL, HOST, PBS’S “WASHINGTON WEEK”
A direct question to VP Cheney by the PBS anchor:
IFILL: Mr. Vice President, the Census Bureau ranked Cleveland as the biggest poor city in the country, 31 percent jobless rate.
You two gentlemen are pretty well off. You did well for yourselves in the private sector. What can you tell the people of Cleveland, or people of cities like Cleveland, that your administration will do to better their lives?
A little info for Gwen:
Jane L. Campbell (D) was Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio since January 2002. She was preceded by Mayor Michael R. White (D) who had held the office of Mayor for over 10 years.
Of the 10 Mayors of Cleveland that preceded Mayor White, 3 were Republicans (and were spread out over 50 years) and the remaining 7 were Democrats … and tucked in there was Mayor Dennis Kucinich.
Can Mzz. Ifill be ‘fair and balanced’ in a debate (especially when she has an obvious leaning for the democrat presidential candidate)? Perhaps … maybe. However, my problem is with Gwen Ifill’s simple civics “knowledge” of the levels of government responsibility.
If Cleveland was the deepest city in the national shitter … look to the local government, and to the indigenous citizens of that city. But then, certain people STILL don’t get it that post-Katrina New Orleans was the direct responsibility and fault of the citizens (D) who would not leave, the city Mayor (D) who would not demand they leave and use the city and school busses to get them out, the local senators and congress representatives who did not pressure the state of Louisiana’s Governor (D) to force the New Orleans Mayor and the New Orleans citizens to leave, and to also ‘federalize’ the state’s National Guard in a timely manner so the federal assistance could commence.
How can someone like Gwen Ifill accept the Mayor and local government of the City of Cleveland, Ohio is directly responsible for its poverty when someone like Gwen Ifill can’t see the source of the problem in the disaster and failure of government in New Orleans, La.
Oh, and just incase Gwen wants to bring up Cleveland, Ohio, again, the current Mayor, who succeeded Mayor Campbell’s 4 year term in office was/is Frank G. Jackson (D) 2006 - to present … and it’s still a stink-hole.
Oh, and Gwen … before you think about aiming the ‘no child left behind faild Bush school policies’ and using Cleveland for an example of such, a November 18, 2007 article in the Toledo Blade states:
… five Cuyahoga County school districts that ranged from $18,761 per student in Cuyahoga Heights to $15,151 in Shaker Heights …
A September 18, 2008 Cleveland Plain Dealer report:
Families continue to abandon the Cleveland public schools, dropping the number of students to a level not seen since the late 19th century.
More than 50,000 children, about the same as last year, were signed up when classes resumed Aug. 28. But the count keeps tumbling as the district purges the names of those who never showed up and are confirmed gone.
As of mid-week, enrollment was at 48,879. Chief Academic Officer Eric Gordon thinks the figure could dip to 47,000 by early October, when Ohio school systems take their formal head counts … Many students remain in the city but attend privately run, publicly funded charter schools or go to private schools on state vouchers. More than 25,000 Cleveland children went to charters or used vouchers last year. They took with them more than $100 million in state aid …
Of course, it’s the fault of ‘vouchers’.
My son-in-law taught last year at a Cleveland “alternative” public high school (See: kids that got kicked OUT of several other public high schools, and possibly private high schools, and had to be housed here … drugs, violence, truancy, behavior problems, criminal records …) … and had HIS life and the life of my daughter and my G-baby threatened on more than one occasion. When the parent(s) was called in they didn’t seem to give a damn … but then, the parent became a parent IN high school herself.
The S-I-L was offered a teaching/coaching job at a high school closer to Youngstown … and to say he ‘jumped’ on it would be an understatement to the first degree.
Personal responsibility and local/state government responsibility, Mzz. Ifill. Keep THAT in mind when asking your questions of people running for ‘national’ office.
Maybe not.
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