Oh Please!

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the Democratic Pennsylvania debate on Wednesday. The debate proceeded much like its predecessors, where moderators baited the two candidates until one or both tripped up. The only difference was that this time, Senator Hillary Clinton was not the target of most of the pointed personal jabs. For forty-five minutes, moderators Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos shot one character- related question after another to Senator Barack Obama, inquiring about his associations with Jeremiah Wright and Willaim Ayers, and his infamous “guns and religion” speech.

Many of the reactions to Stephanopoulos and Gibson’s questions have been negative. The Washington Post’s Tom Shayles wrote an editorial entitled “In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser is ABC,” and threats of a petition against ABC on the website MoveOn.org have recently surfaced. Excuse me, but where was this outcry when Tim Russert hassled Senator Clinton about her position on driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants? Where was the indignation when Senator Obama basically parroted Senator Clinton’s response to a question on Russia’s Dimitri Medvedev?

The infallibility of Senator Obama is bordering ridiculousness. As a presidential candidate, one needs to be able to fight criticism and defend one’s own positions. While the presidential race should focus on the country’s issues, candidates’ personal characteristics are important as well. And let’s face it; there were around twenty debates prior to Pennsylvania. If you have not grasped the candidates’ positions by now, you never will.

If Barack Obama’s supporters truly believe in his message, let him fight his own battles.