As this goes to post, Wolf Blitzer is preparing carefully and cautiously for the Republican foreign policy / national security debate he will be moderating tonight on CNN.
The questions were written long ago, but they are being checked and rechecked again. No chances can be taken tonight.
The hopes of the Beltway Republican media and blogosphere rest on Wolf’s shoulders.
He must be stopped, at all costs. He being Newt:
And so it is that I will come to TV tonight hoping to see one of the few anchors who has the stature and the credibility to call out Gingrich take the candidate of bluster on for his phony game of pounding the press by telling moderators how “stupid” (one of his favorite words) or “wrong” (another) their questions are.Blitzer is a journalist who prizes civility and even-handedness in his handling of interviews, which is another reason he might be one of the few who can challenge Gingrich to answer the questions asked of him instead of trying to use the stage to direct a dishonest attack on the press.Others have written more eloquently than I can do in this space about what a shabby excuse for an intellectual Gingrich is [link mine] — and what it, perhaps, says about how dumbed down we have become collectively to consider him one.There’s a civil but firm way to deal with bullies like Gingrich in follow-up questions and remarks, and I hope Blitzer will use his stature and intelligence to do that tonight. I’ll put Blitzer’s professional experience and John Hopkins University graduate education in international politics up against Gingrich’s education and intellectual track record any day.
Come on Wolf, you can do it. Keep their hopes alive.
Update: SoccerDad notes that the author of the quoted text is not a Republican. But his sentiments match exactly the wave of anti-Newt sentiment of Republican pundits, which is an interesting point.
And thanks to reader Jeff who e-mailed this link to Blitzer’s abysmal Jeopardy performance, Wolf Blitzer Loses on Jeopardy to a Comedian and an Actress. This time, however, Wolf only has to ask the questions, not answer them, unless Newt subjects him to cross examination.
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