Procedural facts regarding the second Presidential Debate

PeteEU said:

Err no.. the role of the moderator is to interrupt when needed. In fact the moderator should be the only one interrupting.

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It would be helpfull if the moderator knew what she was talking about when she decided to interrupt. Crowley stepping in to save Obama on the Libya issue was another appauling example of media bias.


"ROMNEY: I think (it's) interesting the president just said something which -- which is that on the day after the attack he went into the Rose Garden and said that this was an act of terror.

OBAMA: That's what I said.

ROMNEY: You said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack, it was an act of terror. It was not a spontaneous demonstration, is that what you're saying?

OBAMA: Please proceed governor.

ROMNEY: I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.

OBAMA: Get the transcript.

CROWLEY: It -- it -- it -- he did in fact, sir ... call it an act of terror."


She even knew she was wrong but couldn't restraint herself when it was time to save her man.


"Crowley, during and following the debate, pointed out that despite Obama's Sept. 12 remarks his administration was peddling a different story to the public. She said it took two weeks for officials to say more definitively that the attack was more than an out-of-control protest.

And she continued to clarify on CNN that Romney was making a legitimate point.

"Right after that I did turn around and say, 'but you are totally correct that they spent two weeks telling us that this was about a tape'," she said.

Click for the full Rose Garden transcript.

Four days after Obama's Rose Garden remarks, Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., went on five networks' Sunday shows and cast the attack as hardly a coordinated strike by terrorists."


Read more: Moderator Crowley says Romney 'right in the main' on Libya, despite debate intervention | Fox News

I didn't count it myself, but I understand that Crowley interrupted Romney 28 times and Obama 9 times. She must have realized that her guy was totally outmanned.

PeteEU said:

Err no.. the role of the moderator is to interrupt when needed. In fact the moderator should be the only one interrupting.

Click to expand...

In case you have not actually read the transcript of the Rose Garden speech and are relying on the left wing media for your information, here are the key points:

"Since our founding, the United States has been a nation that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others.

But there is absolutely no justification for this type of senseless violence. None. The world must stand together to unequivocally reject these brutal acts. Already many Libyans have joined us in doing so, and this attack will not break the bonds between the United States and Libya. Libyan security personnel fought back against the attackers alongside Americans. Libyans helped some of our diplomats find safety, and they carried Ambassador Stevens' body to the hospital, where we tragically learned that he had tied."

These are contiguous paragraphs.

Seven paragraphs later he comments:

"No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for."

Read more: Transcript of President Obama's remarks following deadly attacks at US consulate in Libya | Fox News

Boo Radley said:

I do mean largely they are irrelevant, espcially from just one debate, with no real analysis of how it progressed. As I said, it's a fliud situation. Not very structured, with any consequence for not following procedure. No one gets disqualified, for example.

Largely, I choose not to look for two reasons. Time, as I'm often merely jumping over to give a quick comment. And second, as I've stated, I don't think the numbers you gathered matter much. I've tried to explain why I think that. Now, I do commend you for the effort. I just don't think it tells us much.

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Gotcha. I've don't largely disagree. I don't think the numbers unquestionably tell us anything other than what I put in the summaries. They could be used to make a larger argument, but its reasonable to suggest they are too small of a sample and too erratic to extrapolate more from them

My issue was it seemed you were saying they were inaccurate, not simply irrelevant to a larger meaning. Thanks for clarifying

There are multiple treads discussing the Libya question. Unless its directly in relation to interruptions or who went first/last, I'd ask that third thread not be derailed as another one focusing on what Crowley did/Obama said/Romney said on the issue