Thread: Another debate, another biased moderator: Quijano dumps on Trump, Pence

Another debate, another biased moderator: Quijano dumps on Trump, Pence

By Dan Gainor
Published October 05, 2016 FoxNews.com
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We’ve been here before. The alarm clock sounds and it’s another biased debate presided over by the supposed “neutral” media. Yes, it was a “Groundhog Day” debate Tuesday night at Longwood University. That’s where CBS anchor and debate moderator Elaine Quijano did her best Lester Holt impersonation (or was it Candy Crowley or maybe CNBC) – throwing hard questions mostly at Republican Gov. Mike Pence and allowing Sen. Tim Kaine to interrupt at will.

Quijano turned left from the very first question – citing 1988 liberal, Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen’s comment about the responsibility of being vice president. She recalled that he said, “if tragedy should occur, the vice president has to step in without any margin for error.” That set the stage perfectly and signaled viewers that the debate was to be seen consistently from the left. And Quijano didn’t disappoint.

By a factor of 8-to-1, Quijano peppered Pence with tough question after tough question. She reserved just one for Kaine.
For conservatives, it was like Groundhog Day. If viewers saw their shadow, that will mean slightly more than one month more of the most-biased media election in human history.

By a factor of 8-to-1, Quijano peppered Pence with tough question after tough question. She reserved just one for Kaine.

Quijano started out fine, asking Kaine how he, “praised Secretary Clinton's character, including her commitment to public service, yet 60 percent of voters don't think she's trustworthy. Why do so many people distrust her? Is it because they have questions about her emails and the Clinton Foundation?”

But that was it. Conservatives got their moment and the rest of the debate was either Kaine or Quijano taking turns trying to interrupt Pence.

Even The New York Times admitted she took sides: “Elaine Quijano, the moderator, helped Mr. Kaine along, opening one question with a recitation of Mr. Trump’s statements.”

Of course, the Times also deleted that quote later in the evening and eliminated any reference to the moderator in the story.
Thanks to the helpful site NewsDiffs, it’s clear how Times editors whitewashed their own reporting. The story sits ironically under the headline: “Vice-Presidential Debate: What You Missed.”

It didn’t matter. Nothing Quijano did broke Pence’s rhythm. The result? Many in the media are admitting Pence won. For now.
It was so obvious, that Team Trump posted the comments with links back to the originals. They included fun tidbits such as Times campaign reporter Michael Barbaro: “9:18 and Pence is dominating this debate.”

Or The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza: “Mike Pence direct to camera and conversational = winnng [sic, but, hey, it’s Twitter].” He also listed Pence among the debate’s “winners.”

Even MSNBC’s thrill-up-my-leg guy, Chris Matthews, said Pence was “eloquent,” “excellent” and “looked like a grown-up.”
Not that it will matter either. CNN’s Jake Tapper already showed where the media would go post-debate, keying in on Kaine’s allegation that Pence couldn’t defend his “running mate’s position.” “I wonder what the media coverage is going to be like over the next day or two. …The night goes to Pence, but I don’t know about the week,” said Tapper, alluding to the media that will follow.
Tapper understated the case. We all know what the mainstream media will do. At least he admitted it.

Not every media outlet gave the night to Pence. Left-wing Fusion’s Twitter feed was hilariously biased. Univision owns Fusion and it’s the same network that brings Hispanics a one-sided view of almost everything via anchor Jorge Ramos. Ramos is too adult to be the one handling Fusion’s juvenile Twitter account, but it was just as biased – more than 30 tweets pushing Kaine or attacking Trump/Pence. Just 10 gave Pence’s message.

The running comments during the debate were almost laughably childish. When Kaine talked about protecting Social Security, Fusion ran a gif (a couple-second video) showing the “Golden Girls” celebrating. When he accused Trump of loving dictators, Fusion posted another gif with the line “OOOOOH…BURN!” Pence was accused of “Subtle sexism” for referring to “broad-shouldered leadership” and we learned “Tim Kaine schools Mike Pence on Trump's Putin ties.”

Four-year-olds tweet with more depth.

While Quijano allowed Kaine to make Pence look calm and quiet, she also had the occasional good line. “The people at home cannot understand either one of you when you speak over each other I would please ask you to wait until it is the other is finished,” she chided. Of course, she then allowed Kaine to interrupt Pence another billion or so times. (The actual tally of debate interruptions promises to be entertaining and slightly less than a billion or so.)

Last debate, Holt gained mainstream media plaudits for his anti-Trump strategy – pushing the birther issue, harassing Trump about his taxes and pushing Trump about not having “the look” to be president. He avoided being Lauered and now so did Quijano.

The third debate on October 9 includes CNN lefty Anderson Cooper as one of the two moderators. Expect to hear “I Got You Babe” coming from your clock radio.

Dan Gainor is the Media Research Center's Vice President for Business and Culture. He writes frequently about media for Fox News Opinion. He can also be contacted on Facebook and Twitter as dangainor.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/...ump-pence.html

She may have been tougher with Pence, but she was certainly an improvement over Lester Holt.