ScrappleFace: News Fairly Unbalanced. We Report. You Decipher Free ScrappleFace Email Updates




Top Stories...




Ifill Stays Moderator, Pete Rose Enters Hall of Fame

by Scott Ott for ScrappleFace · 26 Comments

(2008-10-02) — In an 11th-hour compromise, Gwen Ifill, who failed to disclose that she has written a forthcoming book celebrating “the age of Obama,” will be allowed to remain as moderator of tonight’s vice presidential debate in exchange for baseball star Pete Rose’s entrance into the Hall of Fame.

The Hall had previously banned Mr. Rose for life because he bet on the sport. Ms. Ifill stands to profit if Sen. Obama is elected president, and to get stuck with a trunk full of worthless books if voters pick Sen. McCain.

“They each gambled on a game where they could affect the outcome,” said an unnamed spokesman for the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), the bi-partisan organization that sponsors the forum. “Since we’re letting Gwen play such a pivotal role in America’s second favorite pastime, despite her undisclosed stake in the outcome, it didn’t seem right to keep Pete Rose out of the Hall.”

Your Donation Fuels Family-Friendly Satire


Bonus Quick-Hit Satire: Follow ScrappleFace on Twitter
Print This Story Print This Story |  RSS Feed

Related Stories...

FREE ScrappleFace Email Updates
Get free instant notice when new story posted. Emails contain unsubscribe link. Cancel anytime.

Tags: Media/Journalism · Politics

26 responses so far ↓

  • 1 JamesonLewis3rd // Oct 2, 2008 at 3:40 pm

    God Bless America

  • 2 boberinyetagain // Oct 2, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    Is that really true? (the Pete Rose part?)

  • 3 beekabok2 // Oct 2, 2008 at 3:53 pm

    I am sure that she will be very nuteral throughout the debate. I can just here her now:

    Gwen Ifill: This first question is for Senator Biden. Many people have ask me, What is The Age Of Obama? So senator, just how old is your running mate?

    Biden: Umm, Uhh, Umm, Umm 46, I think.

    Gwen Ifill:And a very handsom 46 I might add! Now for Govenor Palin: What is you favorite color of lipstick and do you like bacon?

    Palin: …………………………….

  • 4 JamesonLewis3rd // Oct 2, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    Of course it is.

  • 5 onlineanalyst // Oct 2, 2008 at 4:02 pm

    We interrupt for an OT.

    Do you think that Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco were big scandals where the CEOs and CFOs laughed all the way to the bank? Their crimes and punishments don’t begin to compare with the video at this link: http://hotair.com/archives/2008/10/02/video-comparing-fanniefreddie-to-enronworldcomtyco/

    WV Believe it or not, “twit” “arguments”
    This is who and what the Obama trolls will post after my own.

  • 6 ep29030 // Oct 2, 2008 at 4:07 pm

    Ifill was allowed to remain after MSNBC published their poll results, asking all 20 viewers, “Do you think Ifill will be objective as a VP debate moderator?” They noted that 15 of 20 viewers (75%) felt she would be “more likely than not” to be objective, providing strong proof of her objectivity. This poll agreed with DNC poll results, released earlier in the day. Given this groundswell of confidence, the debate commission left Ifill as moderator.

  • 7 boberinyetagain // Oct 2, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    ep, funny! probably accurate too

  • 8 woodnwheel // Oct 2, 2008 at 4:24 pm

    “Ms. Ifill stands to profit if Sen. Obama is elected president, and to get stuck with a trunk full of worthless books if voters pick Sen. McCain.

    As the son of prolific authors, I am almost sympathetic to Ifill being “stuck with a trunk full of worthless books” — but not enough to vote for two of the most pro-choice candidates running.

  • 9 JamesonLewis3rd // Oct 2, 2008 at 5:56 pm

    F&F were scams from the get-go and they need to be shown to the dumpster of History. Now. First Thing. Quick, Fast and in a Hurry.

    Otherwise, I’m not behind this gelatinous glob of greasy lard.
    ~~
    On a lighter note:
    :shock:
    I suggest the use of a Made in the USA Hydrogen-Powered Clear-Plastic Automaton, assisted by a faceless, hairless, unisex, chartreuse-skinned hologram to lob questions at debaters.

  • 10 gafisher // Oct 2, 2008 at 6:05 pm

    Imagine what a record he could have set if Pete Rose had been an Umpire like “Play Ball” Ifill!

  • 11 gafisher // Oct 2, 2008 at 6:07 pm

    “… we’re letting Gwen play such a pivotal role in America’s second favorite pastime …”

    I’d dispute that. Gwen’s a major player in the oldest … oh, wait, you said pastime, not profession. Sorry.

  • 12 camojack // Oct 2, 2008 at 6:24 pm

    I’m glad more and more people are figuring out all the time that the “mainstream” media cannot be trusted.

  • 13 mindknumbed kid // Oct 2, 2008 at 6:26 pm

    I am fairly certain that with the MSM of today that a Demakook candidate could come out against the porkout plan and get away with it. I have my doubts that any conservative could do it, unless his opponent also opposed the plan. And if we are to be so fortunate as to have the House defeat it (don’t hold your breath) the MSM will spin it into a negative for McCain.
    I would think that with the results of the Demickratic control of both the House and Senate, and what they have done to states such as Michigan, and formerly California, that the average Joe would at least think twice about it when he/she goes to vote. But obviously many voters are not informed, not teachable, and I suspect they really want to be on the winning side when the voting is finished and thus rely on what the polls tell them to figure out who they will support. And let’s face it, there are plenty of opportunities to educate yourself ( if you are one of the few that meet the qualifications to learn) but few bother making an attempt. Even a blind fool should see through this whitewashing of Oblinger (bling coutesy of MSMania), and the poo-slinging toward the Lady Sarah Palin (may God exalt her highly), but the majority are drunk on the nectar of the mess-I-ugh and will not sober up until at least two years into the “tribulation”, if then.
    “If my people, which are called by my name
”, tonight is a good opportunity to make intercession for Lady Palin d.b.a. America. Try it out for the remainder of the time until the election, perhaps God still remembers our nation…

  • 14 JamesonLewis3rd // Oct 2, 2008 at 6:26 pm

    How anyone, with a straight face, can suggest that any person even remotely associated with PBS is unbiased…..

    Verbal Gymnastics by virtually thousands of screaming Leftists trying to convince somebody that one of theirs is unbiased is great entertainment.

    They all [mix-and-match your pick of perps] continue to wave the banner of Bi-Partisanship when, in a situation such as we are being flushed down, NON-PARTISANSHIP is what We The People Need, Want, DEMAND.

  • 15 mindknumbed kid // Oct 2, 2008 at 6:37 pm

    But we never seem to get it JL3, probably as much of a pie in the sky as the liberal’s Utopian dreams.

    wv - defending Tulsa. Is Obama there?

  • 16 Palin Vs. Biden: Liveblogging the VP Debate : Stop The ACLU // Oct 2, 2008 at 6:43 pm

    [...] from the media are low for Palin. We will see. Enjoy some satire too.…and meet the moderator in the tank for Obama in the [...]

  • 17 mig // Oct 2, 2008 at 7:41 pm

    ‘Please write, email and continue your selfless support to our Marines. Your support is what keeps them going although they may be too busy right now to remember to tell you that! They are truly an exceptional group of talented, loyal Americans proudly serving our country.’
    A commanding officer in Iraq…

  • 18 RedPepper // Oct 2, 2008 at 7:42 pm

    I suggest an experiment.

    Announce that, in the interest of “balance”, Fred Barnes will be the moderator for the next dozen Presidential debates (however many elections that would cover).

    Then ask a variety of “journalists” (such as Charles Gibson, Chris Matthews, Katie Couric and George Stephanopoulis) to comment on the “fairness” of this arrangement.

    Any predictions as to how they would answer ?

  • 19 Ifill Stays Moderator, Pete Rose Enters Hall of Fame | Chris Clark's Web Site // Oct 2, 2008 at 10:23 pm

    [...] Ifill Stays Moderator, Pete Rose Enters Hall of Fame [...]

  • 20 Fred Sinclair // Oct 3, 2008 at 4:14 am

    I listened to the debate on the radio tonight. The Sarah we all met in her first two speeches was gone. Tonight it seemed to me that the Sarah I knew had been so watered down by the McCain crew that I wondered what they put her through.

    When she was asked about the ‘bailout’ and who was responsible, I couldn’t see her but her words sounded like they were being strained through tightly clenched teeth. I think that without her muzzle in place, she would have fired back. “You Senator Biden, you and your fellow cohorts in our Congress by way of threats and intimidation forced Freddy, Fanny and all those other lenders to make bad loans to people no sane banker would have even considered.

    To force a loan letting a minimum wage worker with a net income that guarantees a mortgage payment is impossible is insanity. Franklin Raines waked away with over $100 million dollars he stole and the day before yesterday paid a $31.5 million dollar fine to buy his way out of prison. Yes Senator it’s you and other crooked liberal Democrats of your ilk that is responsible. ”

    One at a time she could have ticked off name after name 100% Democrats. Then she could have named Democrat after Democrat “Politicians including your running mate Barack Hussein Obama who was the #2 recipient of all those million and millions of dollars flowing from them into their war chests.”

    “Here’s a list Senator Biden of the guilty Democrats involved and as Vice President I will push for Grand Jury Indictments to put these crooks in prison, and if you’ll look closely Senator, you’ll see your name is in the list of 25 crooks.

    Now shall we continue the debate? Because I’ll get back to you later. You can count on it.”

    But with the muzzle in place, all she could was think it and fume! Oh, Sarah was good, real good but in the manner of a well trained run of the mill politician.

  • 21 gafisher // Oct 3, 2008 at 6:17 am

    Governor Palin easily won last night’s debate, Fred, not by setting Joe’s hair plugs on fire but by besting both him and expectations set by a hostile media establishment. I’d have enjoyed seeing (or hearing) her tackle Obama-Biden and liberals in general as she could have done, but every fiery point would have become a sound bite used to make her sound like a conservative Hillary. By keeping her points just at a simmer she was able to counter Biden without handing the media a toolbox for building negative ads or “news” clips. She also showed herself to be very good at diplomacy.

    In the overnight “analyses” even the liberal media is calling the debate essentially a tie, which means (a) Sarah won handily and (b) the ability and experience questions didn’t hold up. We’ll start hearing the really negative stuff later today after the lib spinmeisters recover from their hangovers and get their talking points worked out, but the unvarnished truth is that Governor Palin left Senator Biden in the dust without roughing him up enough to be pitied.

  • 22 mig // Oct 3, 2008 at 7:23 am

    The media does not allow us the freedom of thought process, it makes us lazy in our intellect and confuse the whole process of lazy. The media wants no discussion of freedom unless it is layed out in this manner: that freedom is impossible because the human condition is never free from the ordinary occurances such as hunger, illness, disease or physical discomfort and accidents. Man can never be free of the tyranny of nature. So why should he object to the tyranny of a political dictatorship?
    One value that is lost on people that would vote for a man like Obama is human ability. That it is our own ablility that can make our fortunes through personal effort, in free trade, using no compulsion, no help from the government. Couldn’t they just learn a different premise? They might learn to hold, not death and taxes, but life and production as their two absolutes and as the base of their code?

  • 23 How some Christian bloggers scored the Biden v. Palin debate | blogs4God // Oct 3, 2008 at 7:47 am

    [...] - Ifill Stays Moderator, Pete Rose Enters Hall of Fame In an 11th-hour compromise, Gwen Ifill, who failed to disclose that she has written a forthcoming [...]

  • 24 danimal // Oct 3, 2008 at 9:06 am

    Don’t be silly, mig. We all know that we are all endowed by our government certain inalienable entitlements, and that list of entitlements grows every day.

    You should feel good that you have such a benevolent higher power looking after you. And this deity is generous enough to step in and take charge of any aspect of your life that you find too difficult to do yourself. So work hard and do your patriotic duty by sacrificing your property and freedom at the altar of government; you will soon be issued your fair allotment. It’s for the “Common Good”, comrade.

  • 25 NeaL // Oct 3, 2008 at 10:07 am

    Well, I watched it via live streaming video online, since I don’t have television. Once the debate was over, I shut down and slept on it.

    I watched the C-Span footage, which was good because they did a split-screen, showing both faces side-by side.

    Presentation: I felt that Governor Palin looked down at her note cards too much while Biden was talking. This gave me the impression that she wasn’t really listening to him and her attention was elsewhere. Biden occasionally got this brief silly grin on his face while Palin was talking, like he kept thinking up wise cracks to make and then had to exercise self-discipline to keep it to himself. It sometimes looked like he was trying to generate a look of amused disbelief about something Palin had just said, while thinking that maybe she just zinged him and Obama but he hadn’t figured it out, yet.

    I’ve got to give Gwen Ifill credit for staying even and impartial. She reprimanded both of them a couple of times with the remark that neither candidate had actually answered her previous question. I didn’t pick up on any bias in her attitude, though I did notice at least one question which seemed to play more to Liberal strengths. I’d have to go back and review the video clips on YouTube, if they are up yet, to find any specifics.

    I did catch a comment from someone on the radio this morning about how he felt that Governor Palin would get a question on, like, immigration, and she would reply with something different, like taxes.
    I don’t remember exactly what topics the DJ said, but I would like to address that here:

    Taxes on businesses is one of the reasons why corporations are outsourcing our jobs overseas. While those kinds of jobs are drying up here, people are immigrating to the U.S. illegally and finding work. How is it that our jobs are disappearing yet other people are coming here and finding work to do??? Illegal immigrants aren’t filing tax returns and people are hiring them, paying them directly out-of-pocket instead of going through all the tax paperwork (W2 forms) and health insurance benefits, etc. that come with hiring a U.S. citizen.
    Don’t you see? Taxes, immigration, health care, and job security are all interconnected! When you’ve got only 90 seconds to answer a simple question which does not have an simple answer, you don’t have a lot of time to make your all points and then connect the dots so everyone can see the big picture.

    I say that to the defense of both Biden and Palin. They both were accused of not directly answering the question because some of those questions brought up problems which do not have direct solutions. Many of these things need to be addressed on multiple fronts.

    That’s why it’s short-sighted and unfair to hammer the candidates for specific answers to current issues. They can’t make policy for today because they won’t be sworn into office until 3 months from now. Less than a month ago, we did not have this big economic meltdown we are seeing today.

    There was a huge difference in our nation’s priorities between
    September 10, 2001 and September 12, 2001.

    The important thing is to look at the overall strategy each party wants to employ to accomplish their goals. The specific tactics they use to achieve those goals will be changing on a day-to-day basis. These pundits and media wonks want to lock them in on the record with their tactics today so they can go back and hammer them about changing course 3 months from now.

    If you don’t know the difference between a strategy and a tactic, you aren’t going to know which direction you need to take at the crucial moment.

    And that’s about all I’ve got to say about that.

  • 26 Fred Sinclair // Oct 3, 2008 at 10:14 am

    mig #22 - ” They might learn to hold, not death and taxes, but life and production as their two absolutes and as the base of their code?”

    If they did that, it would be evidence of them having brains (functioning) and to quote the title of one of Ann’s better books (they’re all wonderful) ‘If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d be Republicans’.

You must log in to post a comment.