Posted by Jed Lewison on Sun Oct 5, 2008 at 4:49 PM Pacific

What Is Tom Brokaw Talking About?

Brokaw on The Today Show, talking about Palin's attack:

It's been a little curious to me by why the Obama campaign didn't address it earlier.

Would it have been wiser for him, however, to get at that much earlier than now, when--30 days before the election?

Excuse me, but WTF is Brokaw talking about? Barack Obama addressed this line of attack six months ago on a nationally broadcast debate. There is absolutely nothing new about it.

Here's what Obama said at the April 16 debate:

This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.

And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values doesn't make much sense, George...

...So this kind of game in which anybody who I know, regardless of how flimsy the relationship is, that somehow their ideas could be attributed to me, I think the American people are smarter than that. They're not going to suggest somehow that that is reflective of my views, because it obviously isn't.

So Brokaw's "concern" is entirely misplaced. Moreover, I find it hard to believe that Brokaw believed the words that he uttered; for that to be the case, he'd have to be staggeringly ignorant.

Normally, such foolishness might belong below the radar. But the problem here is simple: Tom Brokaw is moderating Tuesday's debate. If he does as poor a job of moderating that debate as he did on Meet The Press earlier today, then it's going to be a long night.