I didn’t mind Lehrer going solo for the debates in 2000 and 1996, but this year, he’s getting some help.
Jim Lehrer, host of PBS’s “News Hour,” will be a moderator for the presidential debates, but unlike past election years, he will divide the work with ABC’s Charlie Gibson and CBS’s Bob Schieffer.
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced its selection of the three Friday, along with the choice of Gwen Ifill, a “News Hour” correspondent and moderator of PBS’ “Washington Week,” as moderator for the debate between Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic Sen. John Edwards.
I’ve always found Schieffer to be fair, but Gibson may pose a problem. As many of you probably remember, he was the one who got into quite a little dust-up with Kerry in April over whether Kerry threw “medals” or “ribbons” as part of a Vietnam protest in 1971.
Of course, I should note this line-up isn’t final.
The announcement from the commission is somewhat preliminary as representatives for Bush and Kerry are still negotiating the number of debates and format.