Return to Washington Examiner Homepage
May 20, 2013 | 02:58 AM
politics
Washington D.C. weather

Raddatz favored Biden 40% to Ryan 25%

October 12, 2012 | 12:11 pm | Modified: October 12, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Leave a comment
Photo - AP Photo
AP Photo

A vice presidential debate analysis from a conservative media watchdog group found that debate moderator and ABC correspondent Martha Raddatz asked 19 pro-Obama questions Thursday night, but just 12 skewed Republican, a 40 percent to 25 percent margin.

"Any moderator whose weighted questions favor liberals over conservatives by a 19-12 margin is biased," charged Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center.

But he was quick to add that Raddatz, a virtual expert on the Iraq and Afghan war and also a White House correspondent, showed no bias in her specialty.

"The record shows it is not as bad as conservatives think, and not as good as liberals are stating," he said.

According to their analysis provided to Secrets, of the 48 questions and follow-ups from the moderator, "19, or 40 percent, incorporated a pro-Obama/Biden or anti-Romney/Ryan agenda, vs. 25 percent or 12 questions that skewed in the other direction and 35 percent or 17 questions were neutral or purely information-seeking," they said

"Raddatz showed almost no bias in her foreign policy questions, which split down the middle: eight pro-Romney vs. seven pro-Obama, not counting the neutrals. But on domestic issues, especially on the budget and taxes, she joined Joe Biden in pounding on Paul Ryan, with a remarkable dozen questions that incorporated liberal campaign themes, compared to just four based on a conservative premise, a stark three-to-one liberal tilt," said the group.

Bozell said "she deserves a good deal of credit for taking Joe Biden to task for the Obama Administration's failures in Benghazi. She asked the hard, pointed questions that the administration has managed to dodge for weeks. Her conduct during the opening segment was refreshing and professional.

"But over the course of the 90-minute debate the wheels came off, especially when she shifted to domestic economic policy. Any moderator whose weighted questions favor liberals over conservatives by a 19-12 margin is biased."

From WeeklyStandard.com

  • Ideological Revenue Service

    With three different scandals threatening to consume the White House last week—the Benghazi cover-up, the Justice Department’s seizure of the phone records of dozens of Associated Press...

    Read More...

  • The Real Scandal

    Everyone in Washington, except those in the crosshairs, likes a good scandal, and THE WEEKLY STANDARD is no exception. What’s more, in the case of the Obama administration, comeuppance is well...

    Read More...

  • When It Rains, It Pours

    There is no curse on the second term of presidents. When presidents lose credibility, when trust vanishes and their word is no longer accepted, they have only themselves to blame. That was true...

    Read More...