Does Obama get a Pass from the media?

Carol Jenkins on Alternet yesterday wrote this column regarding the media's role in the handling the two democratic top runners, especially this past Tuesday's debate (2.26/08) in Clevelan Ohio.

http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/78053/

Jenkins does give Brian Williams a passing mark, but I think he did not do his job. He cut Hillary Clinton off for a commercial break when she said Obama did not answer the question regarding his subcommittee on Foreign Relations, Europe that includes jurisiction of NATO, saying they will get back to that question after the break. But after the break--the subject did not get brought up.

Here is the section from the debate transcript from http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/02/complete_transcriptdemocratic.html


. . .
CLINTON: And I believe this is in the best interest. But I alsohave heard Senator Obama refer continually to Afghanistan, and hereferences being on the Foreign Relations Committee.
He chairs the subcommittee on Europe. It has jurisdiction overNATO. NATO is critical to our mission in Afghanistan. He's held notone substantive hearing to do oversight, to figure out what we can doto actually have a stronger presence with NATO in Afghanistan.
You have to look at the entire situation to try to figure out howwe can stabilize Afghanistan and begin to put more in there to try toget some kind of success out of it. And you have to...
RUSSERT: All right. Let me...
CLINTON: ... work with the Iraqi government so that they takeresponsibility for their own future.
RUSSERT: Senator Obama, I want you to respond to not holdingoversight for your subcommittee. But also, do you reserve a right asAmerican president to go back into Iraq once you have withdrawn withsizable troops in order to quell any kind of insurrection or civilwar?
OBAMA: Well, first of all, I became chairman of this committeeat the beginning of this campaign, at the beginning of 2007. So, itis true that we haven't had oversight hearings on Afghanistan.
I have been very clear in talking to the American people aboutwhat I would do with respect to Afghanistan. I think we have to havemore troops there to bolster the NATO effort. I think we have to showthat we are not maintaining permanent bases in Iraq because SecretaryGates, our current defense secretary, indicated that we are gettingresistance from our allies to put more troops into Afghanistan becausethey continue to believe that we made a blunder in Iraq. And I thinkeven this administration acknowledges now that they are hampered nowin doing what we need to do in Afghanistan in part because of what'shappened in Iraq.
Now, I always reserve the right for the president -- as commanderin chief, I will always reserve the right to make sure that we arelooking out for American interests. And if al Qaeda is forming a basein Iraq, then we will have to act in a way that secures the Americanhomeland and our interests abroad. So that is true, I think, not justin Iraq, but that's true in other places. That's part of my argumentwith respect to Pakistan.
I think we should always cooperate with our allies and sovereignnations in making sure that we are rooting out terroristorganizations. But if they are planning attacks on Americans likewhat happened on 9/11, it is my job, it will be my job as president tomake sure that we are hunting them down.
WILLIAMS: And Senator, I need to reserve...
CLINTON: No, but I have -- I just have...
WILLIAMS: I'm sorry, Senator.
CLINTON: No, wait a minute. I have to...
WILLIAMS: I've get to get us to a break.
CLINTON: The question was about invading.
WILLIAMS: Television doesn't stop.
CLINTON: Invading Iraq.
WILLIAMS: Can you hold that thought until we come back from abreak? We have limited commercial interruptions tonight, and we haveto get to one of them now. Despite the snowstorm swirling outsidehere in Cleveland, we're having a warm night in the arena.
We'll return to it right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIAMS: And because our first segment went long and we are ina large arena...
(APPLAUSE)
... we are just now welcoming back both of our candidates to thestage and asking our cooperation of the audience. We're back livetonight in Cleveland, Ohio.
Senator Obama, we started tonight talking about what could beconstrued as a little hyperbole. It happens from time to time on thecampaign trail.
You have recently been called out on some yourself. I urge youto look at your monitor. We'll take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP):

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