I didn't know anything about this woman (other than she is writing a book that has caused people to question her objectivity in the VP debate tonight), but from that video, she seems like a great journalist and political pundit. I love that she called those men out for not speaking about what Imus said.

It's an insult to Ifill's years of journalistic professionalism to suggest that because she's authored a book on the emergence of African-American candidates, she's somehow partial to those candidates. Sarah Palin was chosen largely because the McCain camp thought she'd sway over women voters by virtue of their shared chromosomes alone. Ifill is being question by conservatives because they think she will favor Obama because he is black like her. When will racist and sexist conservatives get a clue?

Amen, Courtney and Samhita! Ifill's picture is on my wall of personal heroes and role models for my kids. I was psyched to hear she was moderating the VP debate - I only wished she was moderating one of the presidential debates instead. I'm PISSED OFF that the McCain campaign is impugning her journalistic ethics and ability to be professional and impartial in an effort to head off the potential Palin train wreck. It's not unexpected, but shameful nonetheless.

It's pretty clear that none of these conservative bloggers and pundits have watched "The News Hour" on a regular basis. It's my only television source of news (in the traditional format), and Gwen Ifill is one of my all-time heroes. She is able to expertly question the guests in an even-handed yet ruthless way that gets the best answers with the least amount of spin possible. I'm confident that she won't take shit from either candidate tonight. Whether the mainstream media will let Palin's performance rest on its own merits (or lack thereof) is another issue entirely.

As for political positions, I know that Jim Lehrer himself has never voted or shown favor to any candidate, in order to be as neutral as possible, but I'm not sure about Ifill. The fact that both I (a far-left queer feminist) and my parents (far- to solidly-right fundie Christians) watch "The News Hour" and see it as the most fair and balanced news program on TV certainly says something.

So, thanks a million, Gwen Ifill!

i've been watching her on the news hour for ages and she is a great journalist.

i didn't know that quote about her being unmarried--yet another way in which gwen ifill kicks ass. i fully expect her to do very well tonight.

I don't watch "The News Hour," but I remember being very impressed with her during the last VP debate. Woot, only 3 more hours! :D

I feel proud to go to the same college that Ifill went to (Simmons College) - she's incredibly smart, articulate, and a damn good journalist!

I like Ifill, but her moderation was pretty lackluster last night. This was no doubt in part due to the debate format... but I also wonder whether she felt the need to hold back on pushing for more specific answers in the face of conservative screeching. We learned from responses to the Couric interviews that the right wing is very VERY concerned about the sexism in the media that rears its head whenever we request that Palin actually answer the question that she has just been asked. We saw a mediocre performance from Ifill, to the delight of conservative pundits everywhere.

Additionally, because of the faux handwringing from the right, Palin felt free to signal her disrespect for Ifill in her opening ("And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people...") and closing ("I like being able to answer these tough questions without the filter, even, of the mainstream media kind of telling viewers what they've just heard..."). Ugh.

I agree, Cebes. There were several moments that I wished Ifill would have brought Palin back to the question, much in the same way that the moderator for the Obama/McCain debate did when they dodged a couple of questions. I, too, found myself wondering if she was holding back because of all of the fuss to make sure that nothing she said could be taken out of context by the conservatives and twisted to make her seem biased. And yeah, that "I may not answer the question" bit was beyond annoying. Palin didn't want to answer questions because we have had a pretty good first taste of her "off the cuff". She needed to stick to a scripted speech to avoid revealing any more ignorance on the topics. She sounded more like she was giving a speech than a debate at times and I wish she could have been reigned in a little more. Of course, I don't know how much freedom Ifill had on this matter.