Scorecard for the debate.

Since Drudge reported that the Obama campaign has issued their talking points to the press in advance of the debate today, you can keep score to see if the press follows the script. From Drudgereport.com:

-------- Original Message --------
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:37:27 -0500
From: Sean Smith [s***mith@barackobama.com]
To: Sean Smith [s***mith@barackobama.com]

* This is John McCain's last chance to turn this race around and somehow convince the American people that his erratic response to this economic crisis doesn't disqualify him from being President.

* Just this weekend the weekend, John McCain vowed to "whip Obama's you-know-what" at the debate, and he's indicated that he'll be bringing up Bill Ayers to try to distract voters.

* So we know that Senator McCain will come ready to attack Barack Obama and bring his dishonorable campaign tactics to the debate stage.

Obama continues to lead on the economic crisis with a rescue plan for Main Street.

* Over the course of the campaign, Barack Obama has laid out a set of policies that will grow our middle class and strengthen our economy.

* But he knows we face an immediate economic emergency that requires urgent action - on top of the plans he's already laid out - to help workers and families and communities struggling right now.

* That's why Barack Obama is introducing a comprehensive four-part Rescue Plan for the Middle Class - to immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities, and help struggling homeowners.

* This is a plan that can and should be implemented immediately.

* Obama has shown steady leadership during this crisis and offered concrete solutions to move the country forward - and his Rescue Plan for the Middle Class builds on the plans to strengthen the economy and rebuild the middle class that he's laid out over the course of this campaign.

* Already in this campaign, he's unveiled plans to give 95 percent of workers and their families a tax cut, eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000, bring down the cost of health care for families and businesses; and create millions of new jobs by investing in the renewable energy sources.

* John McCain has been erratic and unsteady since this crisis began - staggering from position to position and trying to change the subject away from the economy by launching false character attacks.

END

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My own letter to the Presidential Debates Commission

There is a lot of outrage over tonights Vice Presidential Debate and specifically over the selection of an obviously biased moderator Gwen Ifils. What did she do? She has written a book praising Obama which has a scheduled release date of Inauguration Day. Forgetting how she feels about Obama, does it not sound like she has a financial interest in seeing him elected? Will he book party not be a flop if he and Biden are not elected?

Below is a letter I sent to Janet Brown, the Executive Director of the Commission on Presidential Debates. Her email is jb@debates.org.


To Janet Brown:

I am confused how the Debates Commission could sponsor a debate of the Vice Presidential candidates that features a “moderator” that has a financial interest in one side to the detriment of the other. From your own mission statement:


The organization, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) corporation


I surely do not have to explain to you what the words in your own organization’s mission statement mean. But I would expect that most independent observers would define a moderator who:

1. Has a clear financial interest in one candidate winning over the other
2. Has had formal complaints lodged against her in the past for
unfair treatment of both parties in a debate
3. Has recently received formal complaints about her actions involving one of
the participants of THIS debate


It is incumbent upon the Debates Commission to ensure that Gwen Ifill be removed as the moderator fo the Vice Presidential debate on Thursday. It would demonstrate that the Debates Commission actually believes in non-partisan basic fairness.


Regards

Dennis

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