The CNBC Debate's Teaching Moment
Gee, I don't know, Brian. Maybe spend more than a few minutes preparing to moderate a presidential debate and check our egos at the door?
Equally clueless was Brian Steel, CNBC's senior vice president of communications, who released a statement saying he stood by the moderators.
"People who want to be president of the United States should be able to answer tough questions," it read.
No doubt. But tough is one thing; insulting is another. It's the job of the journalists to ask questions, not to argue with candidates until they cough up what the panel considers the right answer. The goal shouldn't be to make the candidate look incompetent or extreme, but simply to give viewers at home a closer look at the candidate. Ah yes, the viewers. Remember them?
In 2007, I was one of the media questioners in a PBS debate between Democratic presidential candidates. If you didn't know that, or if you knew but forgot, then I did a good job.
A debate moderator knows that he's failed when he becomes the story. He is supposed to put a spotlight on the candidates, and then disappear and be forgotten. In moderating the debate between Democratic candidates, CNN's Anderson Cooper pulled that off. Obviously the CNBC anchors did not.
The network's Republican debate will not soon be forgotten. Nor should it be, until journalists are able to look in the mirror and fix what's broken.
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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.
Copyright 2015 Washington Post Writers Group
