Lynch Report

I watched some of Charlie Gibson's interview with Governor Sarah Palin this evening.  How did we, as a society, allow talking heads from the news media to assume such positions of authority and critique over people and issues in this country.

Aside from being an observer and commentator, what has Charlie Gibson ever actually done?  Why do we permit people, who have as their sole badge of accomplishment that they have witnessed events or asked questions, to display such hubris, and unwarranted prestige?

It is right and necessary for us to observe and listen to a candidate for political office be respectfully questioned, and their answers probed and challenged where appropriate.  It would seem to me to be the high mark of professionalism for an interviewer to be able to do that, and not have the audience remember their role in the event.  Charlie Gibson does not meet that mark.  Unfortunately, as with many of the press who have become celebrities, he assumes that he holds a position of importance, when he does not.  His attitude of snobbery, and demeanor of disdain in the interview clips that were played this evening, show once again, the hostility and condescension of the press towards most political outsiders, especially Republicans.

Listed below is a profile of Charlie Gibson from Wikipedia....again I ask, what has Charlie Gibson ever actually done of merit?  Is this a person who relates to any but a select few in this country?  Is it probable that he even socializes with people who are not elitists?  It would be difficult to assume that the answer to that question would be yes.

Governor Palin's responses to his questions, will be reported on and discussed at length across all the media outlets tomorrow, but will there be any comments about the process, or interviewer?  There was one aspect of Mr. Gibson's interview that was particularly disturbing, and that was his focus on her religious belief, and her voicing it in here speeches.  Particularly egregious was his using a truncated video clip, and taking out of context her comment about the war being part of God's design.  She very effectively responded to his blatant attempt to denigrate her view of the deity in our affairs, and quickly demonstrated that her statements were aligned with the majority of previous great Presidents in their view of God's role in the affairs of the United States.

I also watched the "forum" on Service that featured separate discussions with Se. McCain and Sen. Obama.
In my opinion, it was a purposeless event, hosted by two inept and emotive people, with an obvious high comfort level with Sen. Obama.  But, enough about that, here's Mr. Gibson's background:

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Gibson moved to Washington, D.C., when he was 12. He attended the prestigious Sidwell Friends School, a well-known private college-preparatoryschool in the city. Gibson graduated from Princeton University where he was news director for the university radio station, WPRB-FM and a member of Princeton Tower Club. He now serves on Princeton's Board of Trustees. Originally, Gibson planned to go into law, but reconsidered when he determined his grades were not sufficient for top tier law schools. Gibson joined the RKO Radio Network in 1966 as a producer, but then switched gears given the Vietnam War and joined the Coast Guard and worked as a reporter/anchor for WLVA (now WSET) in Lynchburg, Virginia as one of five employees. He then moved to WMAL-TV (now WJLA) in 1970, and took a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanitiesin 1973 before joining ABC in 1975.

Gibson's wife Arlene is an educator who recently retired as Head of School at the Spence School in New York. She has also held positions at other schools in New York and New Jersey and was the head of the middle school at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore in the 1980s. Arlene is a trustee at her alma mater, Bryn Mawr College.