Opinion Focus

Washington Post opinion columnist Eugene Robinson was online Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his recent columns and the latest news.

Discussion Group: Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood

The transcript follows.

Archive: Eugene Robinson discussion transcripts

____________________

Eugene Robinson: Hello, everyone, and welcome to another fast-paced hour of solving all the world's problems. Politics and economics are dominating the news cycle, as usual. The Dow was up 100, and now it's down 200, and who knows where it will end up by 4 p.m.? And we have the second presidential debate tonight. Will John McCain look Barack Obama in the eye?

_______________________

Boston: Hello Mr. Robinson. I read your column this morning, and I think you brought up an excellent point about the McCain strategy of distraction. Did you happen to catch Gwen Ifill on "Meet the Press" this Sunday? I was slightly heartened when she was one of the few people pointing out the obvious in saying that Sen. Biden decided that "he was going to debate John McCain," and Gov. Palin decided to "to give a stump speech to the American people."

Gov. Palin in particular was dodging hits left and right, and not even being secretive about how she was ignoring the rules of proper debate. The "debate" left a bad taste in my mouth; after this morning, I think I have a better idea of why it irritated me so much. Thanks for your insight. P.S. -- They need to have you to "Meet the Press" panels more often.

washingtonpost.com: The Flimflam Strategy (Post, Oct. 7)

Eugene Robinson: I thought Sarah Palin's performance was remarkable, but not in a good way. Since then, she has been enthusiastic in the slash-and-burn role that the McCain people seem to have given her.

_______________________

Potomac, Md.: Mr. Robinson, I read Dana Milbank's report on the angry mob at the Palin rally in Florida with a combination of disgust and disbelief. I would venture to say that she was inciting hatred if not violence -- which, as Milbank reports, manifested itself as obscenities being lobbed at the press and racial insults being directed at an African American in the press area.

Is it possible to know if McCain is comfortable with the direction the campaign has taken? Is this the campaign of a man who values honor? Is it possible that he does not know or understand that hate speech is being used by his own vice presidential candidate? I would like to believe that he has not agreed to this tactic.

Eugene Robinson: I'd like to believe a lot of things about John McCain's honor and decency that don't seem to be supported by recent evidence. Because he has fallen behind in so many states that he absolutely has to win, the slime is going to get thicker.

_______________________

Silver Spring, Md.: Today you wrote: "And we should be relentless in demanding that the candidates talk about the economy and the wars and America's place in the world. If they won't sit down to be interviewed, we can shout our questions at them. If they filibuster, we can cut them off. If they give evasive answers, we can ask follow-up questions until we run out of breath."

When you wrote this, who did you have in mind? Please be specific. Bloggers like Froomkin have been trying to get reporters to be more aggressive for years, and I've seen very little improvement. The truth is, reporters today -- for whatever reason -- are cowed. Politicians, especially those in the Bush administration have learned how to control the press, and the press generally has acquiesced. I've read that Palin's handlers won't even let reporters talk to Palin supporters. How do we change this?

Eugene Robinson: I don't know how we change it, but somehow, the balance of power between politicians and the media has shifted. Far too often, we let them get away with canned talking points and empty nonsense. Sometimes rudeness is called for. Someone suggested that Bill O'Reilly should moderate one of the debates. As you will have gathered, I'm no fan of O'Reilly or his politics, but that would be interesting, because he (or someone like him) at least wouldn't be artificially deferential and wouldn't hesitate to interrupt when candidates started to filibuster.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: Gene, thanks for taking questions. Do you think that bringing back up the "guilt by association" is a poor tactic for McCain to choose? It seems as if he doesn't want to talk about issues he will have to deal with as president (if elected). Also, it opens the door for the Keating discussion, and McCain seemed much more involved (flights to the Bahamas and more than 100 times more money in campaign contributions) than Obama's questionable associations. The Keating scandal probably would seem very similar to the current Wall Street issues. The tactic by McCain could backfire greatly.

Eugene Robinson: It's a risky tactic, but the McCain camp clearly doesn't think there's a good alternative. Two things caused a significant shift of support to Obama. First, the financial crisis -- the economy was always going to be a losing issue for McCain, the candidate of the incumbent party. Second, the first debate let wavering voters see that Obama didn't come across as the callow neophyte the McCain campaign claimed he was. I think the McCain people were worried that the election was starting to break definitively against them.

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: You are saying that whatever was discussed during the primaries is now old news and fully vetted. Unfortunately, the questions never have been fully answered -- they have been danced around and tossed to the side once Obama won the nomination. Character questions reveal who Obama really is, so why are they irrelevant to bring up, as you claim?

Plus, it seems that you buy into a partisan talking point when you dismiss the issue because Obama was eight when the events happened. Obama has had a lot more contact with Ayers than has been widely reported ... and you seen to accept the Obama explanation that Ayers "is someone who just lives on his street." Who is being partisan now?

Eugene Robinson: What further answers do you want? Reporters and opposition researchers have examined Obama's life through a microscope. I think most people will base their vote on reality instead of innuendo.

_______________________

Ottawa, Ontario: Thanks for taking my questions. What is your opinion about last week's debate, when no follow-up questions were asked, and today's debate, when not follow-up question will be allowed?

Eugene Robinson: I'm a big fan of follow-up questions. Witness Katie Couric's interviews of Sarah Palin. She politely but relentlessly bored in and asked for specifics. Palin had none to offer.

_______________________

Richmond, Va.: "I don't know how we change it. But somehow, the balance of power between politicians and the media has shifted. Far too often, we let them get away with canned talking points and empty nonsense." With blogs, AM talk radio, and other nontraditional outlets, the candidates don't need the media as much any more. This reduces the media's leverage. That's the "somehow."

Eugene Robinson: True, but we still should try to do our jobs.

_______________________

Manassas, Va.: Some awesome McCain and Palin rallies yesterday -- they're really starting to hit their stride! When people get to the ballot, they'll ask themselves "do I really want to vote for someone who might get arrested for committing terrorism?" Then they'll vote for McCain/Palin. Just watch, McCain will pull out one last election!

Eugene Robinson: "Someone who might get arrested for committing terrorism"? Is the McCain/Palin campaign that desperate? This is way beyond the bounds of political discourse.

_______________________

Anonymous: It's easier for the media to report statements, true or false, than to analyze issues, and their audiences may prefer it that way. The concept of the deficit, for example, is difficult to explain and understand, and seems to have less of an immediate impact than, say, paying taxes, so if someone advocates lowering taxes, how many stories will delve into the impact on the deficit? If McCain says Obama will raise taxes, who is going to take the effort to explain how lowering taxes while financing two wars to the tune of $10 billion a month (a staggering sum) will impact the deficit -- and what that means to us?

Eugene Robinson: Actually, The Washington Post will do those complicated stories, and so will the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and NBC and CBS and all the major news outlets. But they are long, involved stories without a lot of sizzle, and we tend to do them once and then expect the reader or viewer to remember them indefinitely. So when McCain and Palin call for massive tax cuts, we don't mention the implications prominently in the news story about the event. We should.

_______________________

Pittsburgh: One of our local columnists, Tony Norman, had a great piece today that captures well what so many of us find repugnant about her. Do you think that most voters will draw similar conclusions, based on their own school days, which will ultimately cause some backlash against the Republican ticket?

washingtonpost.com: Sarah Palin, the classic schoolyard bully (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Oct. 7)

Eugene Robinson: If the image of Sarah Palin triggers an immediate regression to high school for many voters, the McCain/Palin ticket is in more trouble than I thought.

_______________________

New York: Hi Gene, and thanks for the chat. Instead of yammering about Obama's past and character, John McCain could have presented himself as a serious candidate of greater experience to deal with all the big problems we face. While the experience argument ran its course before the bailout, now that the economy's in the toilet, it would be a good time to trot it out again. But he's cut himself off from that nobler argument with his choice of Palin. He chose a pit bull over a stateswoman. Too bad.

Eugene Robinson: I do think that the Palin nomination was a big gamble that changed the tenor of this election. The McCain campaign clearly decided that this isn't an "experience" election, it's a "change" election. So they decided to try to horn in on the "change" theme by bringing onto the scene a total outsider. McCain himself, after all, hardly could paint himself as a fresh face.

_______________________

Montreal: Eugene, if Obama wins, how hard do you think it will be for republicans to tone things down and get to the job of practical governance after running such an extreme campaign? Once you've labeled a man a terrorist traitor, how do you do business with him -- or perhaps more importantly, how do you get that past your base?

Eugene Robinson: If Obama wins, the Republican Party will have its hands full with an internal struggle over identity, direction and leadership. I'm not sure the party would be in much shape to launch any kind of effective assault against the new administration or the Democratic Congress. But they'd be back in a couple of years with a retooled message.

_______________________

Pittsburgh: Regarding guilt by association, I have served on several church, charitable and civic boards. I can think of one in particular in Central Virginia that might be of concern if I were to run for office. I don't remember the names of all my colleagues, but they struck me as George "macaca" Allen types who had progressed greatly in their views on race. But who knows what they were like in their teens and 20s during the time of massive resistance in the South? I'd hate to think I might be sunk because I unwittingly "palled" around with Klansmen!

Eugene Robinson: When I was in high school, I was named a Presidential Scholar, which meant you got to come to Washington and meet your state's representatives in Congress (and also go to the White House). That's why I have a photograph in my study of me and a smiling Strom Thurmond. Thus, I have consorted with a former hard-line segregationist. Unelectable.

_______________________

New York: Gene, John McCain's relationship with the news media sure has changed since the days of donuts on the Straight Talk Express and barbecues at his house in Arizona. Regardless of whether he wins, what do you think the relationship will be after the election? Thanks.

Eugene Robinson: The truth is that it'll be whatever he wants it to be. If he starts inviting reporters out to Sedona, they'll go. We can't resist access.

_______________________

Baltimore: If the McCain camp wants to turn away from the issues and start talking about other things, why then doesn't the media take the bait? For instance, The Fact-Checker suggests that McCain was a bad pilot who made wrong decisions. Maybe he deserved graduating so low in his class from the Naval Academy? Also, maybe he has a reputation in the Congress as a "maverick" not because he was the only person who was right on certain issues -- maybe he's a Maverick because he doesn't play well with others. There have to be stories about how McCain has dealt with his colleagues on the Hill. I'm sure not everyone up there likes him. I'm also sure that a lot of them won't like him much if he does win, based on the way he's running his campaign.

Eugene Robinson: McCain's temperament has always been an issue in this campaign. It hurt him politically when he responded erratically to the financial crisis. There are two sides to "maverickness."

_______________________

Vice Presidents: Do you worry when a VP candidate states that Franklin Roosevelt spoke on national TV about the stock market crash in 1929? If Sarah Palin had said this, "Saturday Night Live" would have done a full hour on this subject, and you, E.J., Maureen Dowd, The Washington Post and the New York Times editorial boards, etc. would be howling how dumb this makes her look ... but when it's Joe Biden, no one in the press really seems to care. As usual, there are dual ways of reporting things by the mainstream media.

Eugene Robinson: Really? Watch the clip of Joe Biden saying "television" when he should have said "radio." Then watch the clip of Sarah Palin telling Katie Couric that she's a foreign policy expert because Alaska is near Russia, and how Putin rears his head in comes into the airspace of the United States of America. Then watch the clip of Palin talking to Couric about the financial bailout. Then watch the clip of Palin talking about her reading habits. Then decide.

_______________________

Washington: Enron and Fannie and Freddie? The real test for Obama and the next administration will be if he calls for investigations of Fannie and Freddie and we put people in jail, the way we did with Enron and WorldCom. Or given that Jim Johnson is a former Obama advisor, will he get a pass? On a financial scale, Fannie and Freddie is 100 times bigger than Enron.

Eugene Robinson: I won't argue, except to ask why we need to wait for a new administration to launch those investigations. Why can't the Bush administration do it now?

_______________________

Melbourne, Fla.: Is this next President destined to only serve one term, considering the economic black hole the current administration is leaving for him?

Eugene Robinson: The next president will have to spend his first year or two or three digging the country out of this deep hole. It is not irrational to ask why either Obama or McCain would want the job at this point.

_______________________

Austin, Texas: I think Sarah Palin is going beyond the limits of civil political discourse and treading perilously close to inciting violence. Am I exaggerating?

Eugene Robinson: I sincerely hope you're exaggerating. I'm starting to think, though, that the words "Sarah Palin" and "limits" don't easily coexist in the same sentence.

_______________________

Fairfax County, Va.: Just wanted to report as a Virginia volunteer for Obama that I actually am feeling a little sad and empty today that the voter registration deadline is over. All summer, it seemed like Oct. 6 was almost as important as Nov. 4, and now it's gone and I can't help anybody else register. Humph. I'm sure I'll be fired up again in a few days, but for now, I'm feeling a little melancholy that that part of the campaign is over.

Eugene Robinson: Don't be sad. In just a few weeks, you -- and the McCain people -- we be back out there, wrangling all those new voters to the polls. All that work doesn't matter if the people don't vote.

_______________________

Eugene Robinson: My time is up, folks. Thanks for dropping by, and I'll see you again next week.

_______________________

Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.