The Chris Matthews Show Goes To The Reagan Library

Last night's Republican debate was fascinating -- no, not so much the candidates or their answers -- but because its presentation by MSNBC was a really a caricature of a Republican debate.  From liberal host Chris Matthews (oh, yes he is) to the panel and the questions asked, it was clear that this was a show designed by Democrats for Democrats.

The left may be fascinated by questions such as "tell me what you hate most about America," but it would never occur to anyone on the right to even ask it.  It was designed specifically to trip the candidates up, not to bring to light their opinions on the issues that matter to the Republican primary voter.  It was just as dishonest as that sophomoric interview question, "name one of your weaknesses,"  and it was asked in the manner of, "do you still beat your wife?" 

The best answer I thought of was "smug, liberal talk-show hosts who think they're capable of moderating a presidential debate."  But that would have been rude and no Republican would behave that way in front of a camera.  Truly shameful question.

The other telling area was the focus on the war in Iraq and on President Bush.  There again, those are not particularly hot topics on the right.  There's virtual unanimity that we must win the war and while there's disappointment over Bush's high spending (aided by Democrats, of course,) there's little appetite to bash him.  The bias extended even to the coverage this  morning by NPR.

On the morning news show, the announcer highlighted the debate by mentioning that Rudy Giuliani was the only candidate who favored legal abortion and Mitt Romney was the only one in favor of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.  That was it -- two left-wing issues from a right-wing debate.  But NPR cuts it right down the middle, don't they?

I mean that's what they tell us.  Yeah, right (no pun intended.)

One more.  The candidates were asked if they believe in evolution.  Fair question, you say -- if you're a Democrat.  But the Democratic candidates weren't asked, for example, if they believe in God.  Or how about this one, "do you deny that cutting taxes spurs the American economy?"  I didn't hear Hillary have to respond to that.

In the end I'll give the Republican candidates credit for not running away from what they surely knew would be a hostile evening.  But such is media life for Republicans, they know they'll have to deal with it.  The Democrats ran scared from a debate to be televised on Fox News, but that only highlighted their inability and lack of desire to argue their beliefs in a setting that isn't stage-managed specifically for them by their like-minded journalist-friends.

As has been pointed out [Coulter maybe?], if they're too scared to confront Brit Hume, can we really trust them to face down Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?