Crowley backed up Obama inserted herself into the argument and basically was incorrect when Romney made the statement that the Obama administration did not call the Libyan embassy a terrorist attacks until 2 weeks later.
Absolutely disgraceful.
We’re done with the second presidential debate, but it was apparent 45 minutes in that between the questions Crowley chose and her handling of who was allowed to speak and when, that this debate was a total and complete setup to rehabilitate Barack Obama.
If these are truly undecided voters, they’re apparently undecided between Obama and the Green Party. Moreover, as I write this, Obama’s already enjoyed four more minutes of speaking time than Romney. In a ninety-minute debate, that’s a big deal.
The lowest and most dishonest part of Crowley’s disgraceful “moderation” was when she actually jumped into the debate to take Obama’s side when the issue of Benghazi came up. To cover for his and his administration’s lying for almost two weeks about the attack coming as the result of a spontaneous protest over a YouTube video, Obama attempted to use as cover the claim that he had called the attack a “terrorist attack” on that very first day during his Rose Garden statement.
Romney correctly disputed that.
Crowley, quite incorrectly, took Obama’s side and Mrs Obama started the crowd clapping when she clapped at the correction.
Here’s what Obama said that day:
“No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for.”
Context matters and the context here is that Obama connected this “act of terror” to … a mob action over a YouTube video — not a deliberate terrorist attack. Obama was using the term generically and it would be almost two weeks before he used it again.
Let’s not forget that Susan Rice said declaratively on the five Sunday shows four days later that it was NOT an act of terror.
And during those two weeks the Obama administration lied like a rug. For Crowley to step in and attempt to correct Romney on a statement that is at best arguable, was completely out of line. The debate over this debate has only begun.
Politico’s Dylan Byers: “After the debate, even Crowley seemed to acknowledge that she had erred.”
*** Even Politico’s Mike Allen is questioning Crowley’s call.
*** Even Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler says Crowley got it wrong: Obama “did not say terrorism.”
*** After the debate, Anderson Cooper was the first member of the CNN post debate group to question whether or not Romney really got the Libya issue wrong. They then brought Crowley on and after all the damage she had done during the debate, she finally admitted that Romney was “right” but “picked the wrong word.
It certainly helped the President because the moderator actually took sides, a big no/no.
Transcript of the exchange:
“I think it’s interesting the president just said something, which is that on the day after the attack he went into the Rose Garden and said that this was an act of terror,” Romney said.
“That’s what I said,” Obama replied.
“You said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack, it was an act of terror,” said Romney. “It was not a spontaneous demonstration, is that what you’re saying?”
“Please proceed governor,” said Obama.
“I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror,” said Romney.
“Get the transcript,” Obama replied.
For the first time during the debate, Crowley moved to correct one of the candidates.
“He did, in fact, sir. So let me — let me call it an act of terror…”
“Can you say that a little louder, Candy?” Obama asked.
“He — he did call it an act of terror. It did as well take — it did as well take two weeks or so for the whole idea there being a riot out there about this tape to come out. You are correct about that,” Crowley clarified.
Imagine the reaction if Crowley had fact-checked Obama’s false claim that Planned Parenthood performs mammograms in the middle of the debate, as Planned Parenthood does not perform mammograms for women, Obama’s claim was false.
