If you Cant Make It, Now It Seems You Can Fake It! I have been in the real estate business for over 30 years! Many Many colleagues have told me about their "secrets" to close the deal in order to make the standard 6 percent commission! Using fake documentation for someone that couldn't qualify under a "normal" loan WAS ENCOURAGED! With Websites like www FAKEPAYCHECKSTUBS com out there, it seems like the "hungry" real estate professional used it's services to defraud the Lender and "help" the loan through the pipeline! SIC When is big print going to write about real estates dirty little secret?

Obama has not actually done anything yet, but she should have recused herself. It just looks bad

follow the money...

she a moderator who stands to personally make more money if one of the debating candidates wins election?

i don't care if the candidates are ok with it or not, this doesn't pass the sniff test.

follow the money...

she a moderator who stands to personally make more money if one of the debating candidates wins election?

i don't care if the candidates are ok with it or not, this doesn't pass the sniff test.

follow the money...

she a moderator who stands to personally make more money if one of the debating candidates wins election?

i don't care if the candidates are ok with it or not, this doesn't pass the sniff test.

This woman should do the honorable thing and step down. She's already received milions of dollars in free PR for her book. For the integrity of the debate, she should step aside.

The book's publication date is January 20, 2009.

I will be LMAO if McCain wins. And yes, she should have recused herself even if the Commission didn't know.

But then that would involve integrity which the beloved Ms. Ifill seems have in short supply.

she's in the tank.
people like her helps make the point that's Politic's is riged

she's in the tank.
people like her helps make the point that's Politic's is riged

she's in the tank.
people like her helps make the point that's Politic's is riged

I don't understand how studying an issue makes you biased in some way.

Does this mean we need to be suspicious of all the folks who've written books about the Soviet Union or Osama bin Laden? Hardly.

this is sad for PBS, the integrity of the debates, Gwen Ifle who seems to have journalism and bias mixed up. I was looking forward to seeing something I could determine a vote on. Is it true she also determines the questions? Obama could win without all of this. When he does we will all look back on it and say what were they thinking. No one enjoys rigged show. The sad thing is that when objectivity is lost, the loser doesn't even know it.

If Ifill is compromised, so is Tom Brokaw, who has demonstrated his bias in favor of John McCain more than once, and as recently as last week. If Ifill is going to be replaced, it's only fair that Brokaw be, too.

I feel badly for Ms. Ifill to the extent that I think she is a woman of integrity and that, in fact, she never intended to and will not display bias tomorrow. Indeed, the refs have been worked and she will undoubtedly go out of the way to show impartiality.

That is hardly the point, and neither is it the point that the McCain campaign should have known about Ms. Ifill's book before today or yesterday. The point is that the book revelation creates an appearance of impropriety and it has sullied the integrity of the process. In so many other facets of life, politics included, we take appearances seriously. It bothers me that the press, in reporting this story, would not address the appearance in this instance, to wit, with respect to a fellow journalist.

I understand why conservatives are both outraged and delighted by this. Candidly, they have every right to be both. This is a media embarassment.

Judging by the promo and her career in general it seems obvious that the book is an exercise in journalism rather than a work of opinion meant to promote Obama or any other African American candidates. That the book does not come out until the inauguration in January lends more credit to Ifill in that it seems to intentionally avoid any influence on the outcome of the current election. That being said, i'm sure talking heads and republican strategists will turn a non-issue into a big story leading up to the debate tomorrow night. Also, both campaigns signed off on all moderators for the debates, and Ifill has most certainly been working on the book since that took place. Either the McCain campaign was aware of the book and gave her the okay anyway, or they did a poor job of vetting her work. Either way, there should be no grounds for complaint.

I see no one has mentioned the fact that Tom Brokaw is the personal liaison between the McCain camp and NBC--and Brokaw was instrumental in demoting Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews--and Brokaw is moderating the third Presidential debate. Where is your indignation there? It's only unfair when it benefits the other guy. You republicans are such hypocrites.

She has to be allowed to be the "moderator" because otherwise she will scream YOUARACIST! and nobody will remember what was said in the debate, only that a Black woman has screamed Racism.

Obviously, Ifill should have declined to host the debate. I'm an Obama supporter, and I don't want there to be any question about bias after Biden gets done wiping the floor with the dumb little bulldog.

How does marveling at the historic nature of Obama's campaign make her biased?

John McCain himself has marveled at the historic nature of Obama's campaign and ran an ad congratulating him the day of his nomination.

Plus, tons of journalists marveled at the Straight Talk Express back in 2000, and McCain calls the big media his "base."

Give me a break. Every American is biased by this standard.

P.S. Michelle Malkin is not a reliable source of information.

Ask the Commission on Presidential Debates if she will acknowledge her conflict of interest: 202-872-1020.

And here’s the e-mail address of Janet H. Brown, Executive Director of the Debates Commission: jb@debates.org

Gee, the wingnuts are complaining about something else today. What else is new?

This is a non-issue, in my opinion. She probably should step aside, but only to avoid the perception of bias. Whether he wins or not, Obama (along with Hillary) has changed the political landscape of this country simply by being the first African American to get this close to the presidency. So, her book has a legitimate topic regardless of the election's outcome. Someone here mentioned Brokaw's obvious McCain lean. Should he too step aside as debate moderator? Oh, and APPLEBY, racism does exist. Should people stop pointing out instances of racism just because someone like yourself might whine about it?

Is there any reason at all to believe that the Commission wasn't aware of this upcoming book and that the McCAIN camp wasn't aware of the book when she was selected -- and AGREED TO -- as a moderator? Book deals are not made overnight and I'm sure she was doing nothing in secret. -- Why is everyone assuming that this is new and heretofore-secret information?

Felicia, you took the words right out of my mouth.

"I see no one has mentioned the fact that Tom Brokaw is the personal liaison between the McCain camp and NBC--and Brokaw was instrumental in demoting Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews--and Brokaw is moderating the third Presidential debate. Where is your indignation there? It's only unfair when it benefits the other guy. You republicans are such hypocrites."

This debate should be about the candidates, not the moderator. The chosen moderator unfortunately, due to a potential conflict of interest, has become the center story and she should step aside or be made to step aside

It is no different than letting a defendent hand pick a jury of his close friends.

This is appaling and we deserve better.

Ifill has always had a bit of a pro-obama bias. I remember her on Meet the Press during the primaries. She basically said the Hillary Clinton campaign was racist. I've never heard her say anything critical of the obama campaign. I knew she was a bit biased before even hearing about this book. I really don't have any use for her..especially considering how she handled herself during the primaries. Very anti Hillary.

Felicia wrote:
"I see no one has mentioned the fact that Tom Brokaw is the personal liaison between the McCain camp and NBC"...

No one is saying that every pseudo-journalist (cause they all are these days) has no leanings and biases, because they all do, but that is remarkably different from a direct financial conflict of interest.

If you believe that Brokaw has a conflict of interest which should prevent him moderating the debate, then bring forth your case. Ifill's conflict is clear.

Having tools like Olbermann demoted is not a conflict of interest. This is ethically challenged is the most rudimentary way.

Couldn't the commitee find a single African American woman "journalist" in the tank for Obama that isn't writing a book about him in this presidential cycle?

Seriously folks, get a grip on reality.

Using the same standard Tom Brokaw should not host the second debate either. Brokaw carries water for McCain.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Ifill's book since she is writing it as a impact of one candidacy. Every journalist has a right to pen down whatever they observe. The book promo is very clear.

We need to know the following:

Did McCain campaign know about the book before the moderators were announced? If they knew it and did not have any objections that time then no one should make it a issue now.

If McCain campaign did not know about the book earlier, do they have any concerns now? If they do they should come out and say it openly NOW.

By all means she should step down and let someone impartial moderate the debate -- someone like Sean Hannity who's proven he can lob softballs to Sarah Palin.

Elizabeth @ 1:55 - I completely agree. Is it just coincidence that this is coming out now, one day before the VP debate? These stunts have happened so many times that you can almost set your clocks to them. This smells of being completely, deliberately timed. What I find curious is how the Obama campaign didn't see this one coming - I'm SURE they knew about the book, and I will be interested to hear their response. In case of emergency, break media glass...

You can not find a single historical debate precedence that has this type of conflict attached to a moderator.

Backlash quotes about allowing Hannity to moderate are childish and counter-productive.

I agree with Eddie, if McCain and the debate committee knew about the book, and McCain vetted her anyway , then its tough luck on him. If not, then Ifill must recuse herself.

If McCain knew, where is the official statement from the debate committee explicitly stating as such?

Also, why does anyone think that a private contract between a private citizen and a publishing company is transparent and common knowledge to all?

I'm hoping that she asks Biden about Obama's links with the organization ACORN, and asks him to explain what ACORN meant to the current mortgage crisis.

If the McCain camp didn't know this when they agreed to her as the moderator, they are even more incompetent than I thought since the announcement on the book came out two weeks earlier. Morover, this is a typical GOP/Rove ploy to "kill the messenger" and provide cover for Palin in case she underperforms. If PBS does replace her, the McCain camp will claim bias from PBS. This is a joke and another classic McCain camp attempt to distract the American people from the economy, the wars and all the real issues facing the nation.

If the McCain camp didn't know this when they agreed to her as the moderator, they are even more incompetent than I thought. After all, the announcement on the Ifill's book came out two weeks before they set the date for the debate and agreed on the moderator. Morover, this is a typical GOP/Rove ploy to "kill the messenger" and provide cover for Palin in case she underperforms. If PBS does replace her, the McCain camp will claim bias from PBS. This is a joke and another classic McCain camp attempt to distract the American people from the economy, the wars and all the real issues facing the nation.

This woman needs to step down. This is total BS. PBS needs to return any federal funded dollars if they let this woman even in the same building of the debate.

Jimmy

The point isn't whether she is biased. It's that she stands to gain financially -- and by a very large sum -- if Obama wins, but not so much if he loses. that is textbook Conflict of Interest.

This is outrageous. She needs to go.

This is totally ridiculous! This smacks of the same thing Democrats criticize Wall Street CEO's of; MILKING THE SITUATION! How can she possibly be objective. Ifill's willingness to still moderate the debate is not surprising, but if the Presidential Debate Commission does not ask her to step aside, this will be. All America is watching if the PDC, along with the debates they sponsor, have lost their credibility.

I think it is ridiculous to think that someone who is benefiting from the success of the Dem ticket can be neutral. Neutrality is the key to the debate. It is a farce otherwise.

I think it is ridiculous to think that someone who is benefiting from the success of the Dem ticket can be neutral. Neutrality is the key to the debate. It is a farce otherwise.

No, they should not have picked her because even a hint of bias should not be tolerataed. Also, in that light, Tom Brokaw should not be a moderator either. It was recently reported that Mr. Brokaw has been in contact with the McCain Campaign guaranteeing that he and NBC would be neutral to McCain. This was done because of Olbermann's vitrol to the Bush Administration. Mr. Brokaw should not have been the liason if he were the moderator. Now we are left with the impression that in effort to be objective he may instead tred lightly on McCain.

This woman cannot and I state(cannot) ask biased questions. Shara Palin should make an opening statement that the woman moderating the debate is of an opinion and will not be fair and is biased.

Jimmy Carter

The democrats are starting to get a reputation for playing underhanded!Putting one of their own as moderator! wow! The liberal medea don`t seem to care if they are seen as partison,they are trading their integrity for unimployment checks.Ifil will probably envigorate and fill with passion the conservative right,they know who she is!Look at her when she adresses Biden,whith a smile and soft voice. Then compare when she becomes stern and tight lipped when adressing Pallin. also look for Body language!aggessive pencil or finger pointing,and hard voice when adressing pallin.different from the voice she will use with Biden, her hands will also be covering her nails as she speaks to biden.I have learned these things and many more from personal life experiences.It`s called racism by any other name!same body language and attitude.same stuff!

Honestly, does this surprise anyone? Will she be have journalist integrity, sure she will. She will handle herself like the majority of the media! and she has further incentive. If Obama is elected, she has hit the lottery!

The potential moderation of tomorrow night's debate between the top two VP candidates
by Ms. Gewn Ifill
is unacceptable given Ms. Ifill's obvious financial interest in a Sen. Obama victory:
for which she stands to personally benefit in excess of US$250,000 should Sen. Obama win.
Her further participation in the VP debate or the Presidential debate at any level in any role
is outrageous.

I am not a right wing nut job. I have been heretofore a registered Democrat in three different
jurisdictions: Washington DC, Montgomery County Maryland, and finally Clark County Nevada.
I gave money to Gen. Wesley Clark in the 2004 primary campaign, matched it in the primary
campaign for Sen. Kerry, and donated throughout 2004 to Democratic candidates.

Allowing Ms. Ifill to moderate the debate smells so bad I cannot stand it.
As a registered Democrat, I would like a clean win no matter what the outcome.
The last two presidential elections were shameful and ugly.
If Ms. Ifill remains in place a clean win for either side will not be possible. The fact the McCain campaign has apparently rolled over for this does not
excuse it. Mr. Lehrer is a former Marine. How could he condone this?
Has his moral compass been put askew by some steel or iron object?
Is he wearing his steel helmet?
In the US Army they taught us to take our helmet and hand it and our M-14 to someone else while we read the compass. Maybe Marines do not do this.

Did Ms. Ifill disclose her book? If she did, why was her name even allowed to be put forward
to moderate the debate? If she did not disclose her book, SHAME on her.

Stop this NOW!
The American people and the American voters deserve better.
Although I did not serve in Viet-Nam like Sen. McCain or Sen. Kerry,
I am a VietNam era veteran. Politics got real ugly back then.
I did not wear the uniform for this sort of nonsense!

People see and hear only what their biases allow. That is why the appearances of a conflict of interest is a conflict of interest. If Palin looses, all the McCain supporters will cry foul, even if Ms. Ifill bent over backwards to be fair.

Ms.Ifill should step aside. If she doesn't, it will be interesting to see if she calls Gov. Palin by her title and not try to talk down to her by calling her by her first name. Apparently Senator Obama lacked the decency to address Senator McCain by his title. This only shows lack of class.

Jimmy Carter

If Palin looses, all the McCain supporters will cry foul, even if Ms. Ifill bent over backwards to be fair.
Steve T. | 10.02.08 06:23 AM

I agree. And this is all made possible by a debate commitee that should have removed this moderator. The qualifier that Ifill "may" be fair is the center of the problem. When the moderator of the debate becomes the story, the debate is adulterated.

This is just a distraction. The book is not about Obama. It's about black leaders. Why the phony surprise?

>>>Why the phony surprise?

B/c that's ALL the Republicans have.

It should no longer be a shock, it is now *expected* that they whine and complain about everything.

They want it THEIR way or the HIGHWAY, remember?

The Republican Party = Putting the Country Last

(Want proof? Just look at the last 8 years and the latest Republican crisis du jour)

Gwen Ifill SHOULD STEP DOWN, IT'S CALLED CONFLICT OF INTEREST BUT IT'S THE SAME OLD THING, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, SCREW THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

if you cant handle a PBS moderator, you dont deserve to be VP. Actually, if you can't handle a Couric invterview, you dont deserve to be VP.

Shes in trouble without those cue-cards she was able to use in the Alaskan debates where she became governor.

First off, PBS is like Planned Parenthood, getting our tax dollars and presenting views and actions that are repulsive to many if not most Americans.

Jim Lehrer showed his bias in the last debate, cutting off McCain right as he was making his salient point.

These people aren't at all representative of the center; they lean left, just like the rest of the elite media. Why didn't they get Rush Limbaugh to moderate?

I know--I know. You think that's patently absurd. Well, I think choosing Ifill is just as ridiculous. I was shocked to discover she had gotten the nod. She shouldn't have to recuse herself; she shouldn't have been assigned.

What a preposterous turn of events.