As the memories of the first presidential debate are lingering in the air, it is time to turn the focus toward the vice presidential debate. Thursday night, Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden will face-off in St. Louis over both foreign and domestic issues. Gwen Ifill of PBS was selected by the Commission on Presidential Debates to be the moderator for Thursday's debate. Controversy is following Ifill as she travels from Washington to St. Louis due to her upcoming book, "Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama".
The Commission announced their moderator selections on August 5, months after the first announcement of Ifill's book. According to Amazon.com, the book "surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama's stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power." Due to this book, Ifill has a vested economic interest in seeing Obama elected because her book is scheduled to be released on Inauguration day, January 20, 2009. With Obama as president, Ifill has a greater opportunity for selling more books.
Presidential candidate John McCain is optimistic about Ifill's performance. In an interview, McCain referred to Ifill as a professional and said "I think that she will do a totally objective job because she is a highly respected professional." Despite his view, many conservatives are calling for Ifill to recuse herself from the debate. Ifill announced that she broke her ankle at home in Washington while preparing for the debate but she is confident that it will not keep her from serving as moderator. Or will it? Feigning a broken ankle and claiming a medical emergency seems like a legitimate excuse to bow out of her duties.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/01/gwen.ifill/
http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/10/01/mccain-i-have-confidence-in-ifill/
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