Barbara West, a right-wing reporter with WFTV in Florida, surprised Joe Biden by asking him questions from the far-right-wing — which is to say, questions that pretty much reflect the framing of the McCain campaign.
West: “You may recognize this famous quote: “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” That’s from Karl Marx. How is Senator Obama not being a Marxist if he intends to spread the wealth around?”
Biden: “Are you joking? Is this a joke?”
West: “No”
Biden: “Is that a real question?”
West: “That’s a real question”
The liberal blogosphere has reacted to West with disdain, demands for an apology, and calls for West to be fired. And the Obama campaign blackballed WFTV from any further interviews before November 4.
Journalist Frank James writes:
Embarrassing and painful are two words that quickly come to mind to describe West’s interrogation of Biden last week. [...]
Whatever she was going for, it certainly wasn’t straight-ahead journalism. Where was the balance or the attempt at fairness?
Most journalists have their points of view and political leanings. We’re citizens. We’re allowed that.
But any journalist who’s covered politics and politicians long enough knows it’s important to keep a certain distance. You don’t want to drink the Kool-Aid of either political party.
I disagree. I thought it was a good interview, and I want to see more like it.
Don’t get me wrong — West clearly has guzzled the kool-aid until its running out the nostrils. And despite her denials, she’s ridiculously biased. But what’s wrong with that?
On November 4, 2000, then-President Bill Clinton was making get-out-the-vote calls to radio stations, one after the other. And some assistant had failed to vet the calls properly, so Clinton ended up on the phone with Amy Goodman (of Democracy Now) and Gonzalo Aburto. What followed was a half-hour interview — one that Clinton clearly was astonished to find himself giving — and the only time Clinton was interviewed by unapologetic left-wingers in his eight years of presidency. Goodman and Aburto asked about “Leonard Peltier, Racial Profiling, the Iraqi Sanctions, Ralph Nader, the Death Penalty and the Israeli-Palestinian Con,” among other subjects.
I remember listening to the interview with astonishment and glee. I felt… included. I felt represented. For almost the first time in my life.
It shouldn’t have taken eight years before Clinton was asked questions from the left. And it should have happened more than once in eight years. My concerns aren’t so worthless that they shouldn’t ever even be addressed by the conceited, arrogant people who think so much of themselves that they think they’re qualified to rule over us, but at the same time, are shocked and appalled if they have to answer a single question from outside the comfortable circle of mainstream political concerns. And neither are Barbara West’s concerns.
Probably 20-30% of Americans think that the questions Barbara West asked Joe Biden are serious questions, and are are eager to hear Biden (and Obama) answer them. 20-30% isn’t a trivial number of Americans. There are likewise probably 20-30% of voters who, like me, share a lot of Amy Goodman’s and Gonzalo Aburto’s views.
There are some views that are so extreme that they needn’t be included; I don’t want to see KKK members interviewing major candidates, or folks who think the moon landing was faked. But Barbara West’s views are shared by millions of voters.
When Obama (or, if disaster strikes, I suppose, McCain) becomes President, they won’t be President of only the middle-ground 40% or so of America. They’ll be President of the entire country; they’ll be my president, Amy Goodman’s president, Barbara West’s president. Why is it a given that they should only have to face questions from the middle 40%?
