Captain's Quarters Comments - Latest Comments in Define 'Undecided'

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Jon - Sac town — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 18:04:40 -0000

The CNN You-Tube Debate will be the Republicans' first on CNN. Considering how CNN manipulated it's audience and continues to avoid detailing the truth - I encourage the Republicans to NOT participate in the upcoming CNN debate.

Republican candidates should stand for TRUTH and INTEGRITY.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Jon - Sac town — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:59:48 -0000

As an independent - conservative leaning voter - I was outraged to learn CNN had scripted these "undecided" voter questions. I feel betrayed by the presumed ethics of CNN and manipulated.

I sent emails to each Republican Candidate - urging they boycott CNN's You-Tube Debate. Until CNN comes clean and fully discloses their participation in this Political "Theater" - Republicans should treat CNN with the same dignity that Dems bestow on FOX.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

AUNT SADIE — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:03:39 -0000

OH, SORRY, WE DIDN'T WATCH. I'M A MOM, GRANDMOTHER AND GREAT-GRANDMOTHER AND WHENEVER IS SEE HILLARY I GET VERY QUEASY, THE HAIR ON MY ARMS
STANDS-UP AND MY "WOMAN'S INTUITION IS BLARING NO, NO, NO, I CANNOT
LOOK AT HER. SHE IS TOO SCAREY AND THE WORD 'EVIL' ENTERS MY MIND. SORRY.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

dasher — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:36:10 -0000

Luckybogey : "... The moderators made several statements about the candidates positions which were not accurate. These questions often misrepresented the candidates positions, and I felt that it was not an accurate description and could bias the viewers and audience in favor of or against a candidate based solely on the way the question was asked. ..."

If course that is a big problem. One never knows what a Democrat's position really is. It is easy to misrepresent there position, since it depends on the time of day.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Jenny Bea — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:57:35 -0000

MUCH more information here: 100% irrefutable links, in an easy to read format :-)

Everything on at least three and possibly four of the questioners BIG political ties and HUGE backgrounds.

http://pcexposed.blogspot.com

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Teresa — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:51:57 -0000

So now we've gone from stalking 12 yr olds who get SCHIP to
people who ask questions at a debate? You say you want
"ordinary citizens" to ask questions, but then stalk these people.
What ordinary citizen would want you wingers tearing their life
apart trying to find out if -- gasp -- they are a Democrat at a
Democratic debate?

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Teresa — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:49:53 -0000

Please.... Really? You really think that question helped Hillary? I sure don't.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

sanssoucy — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:40:31 -0000

The problem, of course, is that when CNN hosts a Republican debate, the undecided slice-of-Americana invited to ask questions will be:

A Democratic Party bigwig
An antiwar activist
A Union official
An Islamic leader
A Harry Reid staffer
A radical Chicano separatist

...only this time, the questions won't be along the lines of, "How may I serve you, O wise ones?"

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Nathan — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 05:42:04 -0000

What I wonder about is whether any of these "undecided voters" debate moderators are always trotting out actually get to ask their own questions. Does CNN really have to cojones to let party activists (or anyone else for that matter) ask unscripted, unpredictable questions? Do they filter the questions? Do they provide questions, and just have somebody read them so it doesn't seem like CNN is asking?

I don't know the answers to these questions, but I think anyone who really believed we were hearing the unvarnished concerns of undecided voters in these debates was drowning in naivety.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

NahnCee — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:21:47 -0000

What's the difference between an infomercial, propaganda, and brainwashing?

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Eugene P Podrazik — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:54:02 -0000

The purpose of the debate was to make the Democrats all look good; and Hill in particular. This is more accurately referred to as an infomerical.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

essucht — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:41:41 -0000

Not really. They were selling Saddam's propaganda before Bill and Hill's...remember Peter Arnett?

Re: Define 'Undecided'

GoDaddy — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 20:51:44 -0000

This is the perfect analysis...and quite succinct in pointing out the significant problem with what CNN did and their bias...CNN clearly knew who these people were and should have described them as such.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

hunter — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 20:37:25 -0000

Wasn't CNN a news organization back in the old days, before it sold out to the Clinton wing of the DNC? Wasn't Wolf Blitzer a journalist before he got re-educated? I forget.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

ClydeS — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:03:12 -0000

If everything was on the up-and-up, why did they feel the need to have "Maria Luisa" not use her real name, Maria L. Parra-Sandoval? The implication that CNN gave was that these were "just ordinary folks," undecided voters. That was disingenuous, to say the least.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

DayTrader — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:27:11 -0000

For any who missed it and may wish to have a look the streaming video of the debate is still available online to stream only, you can not download and save it.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POL...

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Etain P — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:18:31 -0000

Has CNN done a Republican debate yet? It would be interesting to look back at any 'ordinary folks' that they may or may not have had and who they were. My feeling is that the questioners at the Republican debates would be awfully similar to this one, ie, Democrat operatives.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Etain P — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:18:30 -0000

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Archdean — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:17:34 -0000

I read and UNDERSTOOD your piece ED but I can't buy it!!
Integrity does matter and yes I watched it!! CNN had/has and no doubt WILL never have any.
It was cheap and tawdry, be thankful that you didn't see it, as a rewrite would be in order on the above!! It smelled to high hell...

Re: Define 'Undecided'

DayTrader — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:13:27 -0000

Ok here are some of the issues with this debate.

Specifically CNN via Blitzer opened the audience portion with the characterization of those to be interviewed as undecided voters per their own "informal" transcript on their website. He did not say nonpartisan.

One of the participants LaShannon Spenser who is a Democrat Party operative from Arkansas was purged from the online transcript.

However she still shows up in transcripts of the debate that are posted on other new sites.

There is confusion by many but there are two mothers of Iraq soldiers who were used.

Catherine Jackson is the mother of Christopher Gallagher (called Jackson in their transcript) the three tour Marine.

Jeannie Jackson also has an un named son in Iraq and she talked about military versus civilian contractors security types payscales.

There are also many issues with the remaining audience member to numerous to go into here but many blogs have addressed the issues.

The bottom line is many rate the debate as poorly managed and moderated and having very questionable choices of audience participants.

Other questions have been raised as to the venue change and pressure brought forth by groups such as Media Matters.

Crowd behavior , especially in view of the 1/10th the size venue , influenced what the debate tone was like with applause and booing which have no place in a debate.

Many are pointing to these and other issues which degraded the debate quality and thus appears to have shortchanged any interested supporter of the candidates involved and was less than optimal for real undecided voters to have a fair hearing to help them come to their own conclusions.

Also what many see as the theater put on here was obscuring positions that the opposition will have to address in the campaign ahead.

In short all people of any political persuasion were short changed with the events as they occurred.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

MagicalPat — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:54:07 -0000

CNN was trying to create a 'Boxers or Briefs' moment for Hillary. I think it would have been hilarious if they did in fact ask her that. It could have made her seem more human, although we would have had to hear that cackle.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

MagicalPat — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:52:08 -0000

I agree. For the undecided voter who watches both the Republican and Democrat debates, these faux events are intended to sway voters to the left. My other complaint is how pro-Hillary this debacle was. I would be less bothered if they distributed the love evenly amongst all the candidates so you could see just how empty they all are. Instead, they took down everyone but Mrs. Clinton.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

tacodawn — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:42:04 -0000

There was a member of the military. The anti-war activist questioner was a mom who had her Marine? son with her that stood up and spoke also. Their question (besides stating he'd done 3 tours) was re: Iran and their fear he would be deployed there what with Bush's saber-rattling currently going on.

(to the best of my recollection)

Re: Define 'Undecided'

tacodawn — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:32:27 -0000

Out of the 2000 people attending, those particular six "Undecideds" (IMO) could never claim to be your typical "Undecided Average Joe."

I watched.

Re: Define 'Undecided'

Etain P — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:19:18 -0000