The essence of the complaint against Gibson and Stephanopoulos is that they asked wedge issue questions partially intended to trip up Obama and put him on the wrong side of various culture issues in ways that conform to Republican tactics or politics. Or something like that.
Okay, complain away, I did. But I think a lot of folks fail to understand that the first 45 minutes of the debate were aimed at superdelegates, not PA voters.
But where were these people during all of those Republican debates when Chris Matthews, Anderson Cooper, various Youtubers and the like were constantly trying to trip Republicans in very similar ways?
The key distinction is that when Gibson & Stephanopoulos asked their questions they could rationalize their actions by saying “this is what Republicans will ask.” But when the press asks these sorts of questions of Republican candidates we’re told it’s simply “good journalism.”