DEBATING THE DEBATE

Americans were once naive about media and assumed it was a medium that tried to be as neutral and objective as possible when both reporting news, staging political roundtable discussions and or airing debates, but that innocence is long over.

The first question asked by Bret Baier was right out of the Carl Rove playbook of political hoaxing when he asked who would raise their hand if they would not pledge to run as independent, if they lost the primary. The audience was not fooled and conservatives throughout the country knew it was a trap question directed at Trump, designed to both shame him, if he raised his hand and tie his hands in the future, if he did not. 

It was so obvious a contrived question for Trump and Trump alone that the conservative onlookers readied for the wrestling match event "Dump Trump" rather than an issue orientated fair debate. They were not wrong, everything cried out the wrestling metaphor of a  body being muscled to the mat, except it was the referees (Kelly, Baier and Wallace) doing the pinning.  

 There was nothing subtle about that opening punch to the frontrunner and it raised the ire and suspicions of conservatives soured and tired of being hustled by Washington's political power brokers.   

Last night's 2016 primary debate was tainted with staging manipulation even before it started when Fox news announced months earlier that it would not include all the candidates in one forum. It claimed that with so many GOP candidates in the race, a single inclusive forum was undoable. However, Fox failed the fairness factor in the main debate when they promised equal time to candidates but instead distributed the minutes in favor of Trump and Bush.

The debates were directed more like a reality show than a forum to showcase the views and opinions of candidates vying for the highest office in the land. In fact there were three areas in which the engineering of the debates seemed to reveal a collusion of undue GOP establishment influence and Fox News lust for ratings, the time allotted candidates, the bash first, then ask questions and the post debate commentary.

As already alluded to, Trump and Bush received the most talking time but not because they sucked the oxygen from the stage and bullied for it, but rather because they were asked more questions by the panel. Why? Well simply the GOP wants to embarrass Trump and his supporters and of course promote their guy (puppet) Jeb Bush. Yes, it is just that simple. 

As for the nature of the questions, Trump was attacked in almost every question posed to him. Attacked by Megan Kelly's (are you still a misogynist) question that listed choice words Trump used when angered by female critics, and Chris Wallace's question about Trump's bankruptcies. I guess the audience was suppose to believe that Trump is a 10 billion dollar failure that is disrespectful of women. 

Sorry GOP, and sorry Fox News it may have given Hillary Clinton fodder against Trump but just as the candidates onstage have found out on many occasions, that when they bash Trump, the effect is that their polling slips down not up. Americans are tired of being steered and roped by media.

Even beyond the Trump bashing and the Bush softball questioning that made the audience wish Bret, Megan and Chris would just be honest by holding up poster placards with the face of Carl Rove in front of their faces, the questions were, in a word, lame.

The country faces multiple serious issues such as the debt crises but instead of asking a straight forward question (such as what specific plan do you have to reduce the deficit and pay down the debt?) we heard a litany of snipe hunting prior to an inquiry. The records of the Governors running for president were all slammed in one way or another, Walker, Christie, Kasich and even Huckabee's Arkansas past before they were asked about the debt.

I would say all the governors on stage were criticized but that would include Jeb Bush of Florida, but no, Jeb was spared the stabs and jabs before the question. Why? Again because he is the establishment GOP candidate or their next in line, puppet for D.C. politics as usual.

After the debates the moderators slap themselves on the back, bashed Trump a bit more by suggesting that Megan Kelly was attacked by Trump (hardly think saying he might not be nice, is an attack) and then insulted conservatives by inviting Debbie Wasserman Schultz to comment on the (cough) rampant misogyny among the candidates.

Moreover. their use of a Frank Luntz focus group, that nobody believed was not coached, regardless of protestations to the contrary, that also ended up being, (what do you know) anti-Trump.

Lastly. their unscrupulous opinions intended to sway voters as to who were the winners and losers, with of course the theme remaining constant, that all agreed, (like a chorus) that Trump lost.

Like Trump or not, even detractors would agree it was a GOP, and Fox News political gang tackle of the Donald last night, and we are still waiting to see who will be holding the ice to their face in the days ahead. What is clear to Americans however, is that the media and Washington politicians are as cozy under the sheets of mutual pleasure hugging and kissing their mistress lover, corporate money and sponsorship, as unblushingly sycophantic as ever.  

So to sum up the grade for the hosts (Fox) of the first debate, I will give it the following:

A= for its effort to diminish Trump's popularity and trying to raise Jeb's curb appeal.

F= for completing the task.

F= for disguising the deceitful task.

F= for being "Fair and Balanced".