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Pundit Questions Propriety of Presidential Debates
Semi-News/Semi-Satire ^ | 19 Oct 2012 | John Semmens

Posted on 10/19/2012 9:58:14 PM PDT by John Semmens

While debates have been a part of the electoral process since the beginning of this country, MSNBC's host of the show Hardball—Chris Matthews—questioned whether they should be.

“Should the President of the United States—America's 'first citizen' so to speak, and acknowledged leader of the free world—have to put up with the likes of someone like Mitt Romney?” Matthews wondered. “Isn't it bad enough that Romney is allowed to traipse about the country lambasting the President's policies? Is it fair to force the President to be confronted face-to-face with his detractor?”

Particularly irksome from Matthews point of view was the moment in last Tuesday's debate when Romney rebuffed Obama's interruption by urging the President to wait for his turn before speaking.

“Who does Romney think he is?” Matthews demanded to know. “Obama is THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. He should speak whenever he deems necessary. If the situation requires that he interrupt someone else then he should interrupt. Preventing him from interrupting strikes me as possibly unConstitutional.”

Matthews further charged that “Romney's notion that everyone should get a turn is simply childish. This is not some playground game. Treating it like it is was very disrespectful. While President Obama was too much of a gentleman to put Romney in his proper place I'm hoping the voters aren't so squeamish.”

In related news, CNN dismissed GOP complaints that their moderator—Candy Crowley—gave Obama more time to speak than Romney, interrupted Romney three times as often, and gave Obama the last word on 8 out of 11 occasions. “This debate was in line with the previous two debates of this campaign,” the network's managing editor Mark Whitaker maintained. “Showing the proper respect for the sitting President and Vice-President is not something we should be criticized for. Governor Romney should consider himself lucky he was allowed on the same stage as the President. The President would've been entirely within his rights to refuse to debate Mr. Romney, as was President Johnson when he refused to debate Goldwater in the 1964 election campaign.”

if you missed any of this week's other semi-news posts you can find them at...

http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Opinion/121059-2012-10-19-semi-news-a-satire-of-recent-news-october-21-2012.htm


TOPICS: Government; History; Politics
KEYWORDS: debates; media; obama; satire
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To: John Semmens
I suppose it's not too surprising, that as Obama plays an arrogant "King of The Hill", and Romney approaches with the intent of knocking him off his perch, partisan morons like Chrissy Matthews would decry the propriety of his doing so.

Geez, what a flaming idiot.

Good one, John. Keep 'em coming.

21 posted on 10/20/2012 9:41:19 AM PDT by dayglored (Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!)
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To: John Semmens

22 posted on 10/20/2012 10:26:36 AM PDT by rawcatslyentist ("Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one," Jeremiah 50:31)
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To: John Semmens

Good one John. Thanks for the ping


23 posted on 10/20/2012 4:32:54 PM PDT by rockinqsranch (Dems, Libs, Socialists, call 'em what you will, they ALL have fairies livin' in their trees.)
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