Reason No. 1 why Democrats should stop complaining about the horrid ABC debate in Pennsylvania: TV Newser showed it’s the highest-rated TV debate in this cycle, at almost 10.7 million viewers. Or, to be blunt, about twice as many viewers as Katie Couric was attracting on CBS last week. Second place went to the last prime-time Democrat debate on ABC in January, which was on a Saturday night. (By contrast, if instead of an ABC debate with George Stephanopoulos, the Fox broadcast network gave John McCain a two-hour interview with Brit Hume in prime time on a weeknight? Would Republicans look silly to protest McCain’s air time?)
Do you ever wonder if leftist blog-storms are summoned up to cover up the obvious piles of free time the Democrats are being awarded as this race has been prolonged? As much as the liberal TV pundits worry about this long march hurting the Democrats, their coverage and free-time offerings seem designed to minimize the damage, or make the long contest a net plus.
CNN offered more favorable messaging by having a “Compassion Forum” in prime time on a Sunday night (April 13) to help the Democratic contenders build the image that they’re deeply, devoutly religious. (A second shot, actually, since CNN hosted one with the leftists at Sojourners magazine last June, while they never organized a faith debate for the Republicans.) The transcript is here. CNN’s Campbell Brown really threw the tough ones at Hillary:
Let’s talk about your faith. And we warned people the questions tonight would be pretty personal. So I want to ask you. You said in an interview last year that you believe in the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. And you have actually felt the presence of the Holy Spirit on many occasions. Share some of those occasions with us.