Pop quiz: Who was the last woman to moderate a presidential debate in the United States?
It's understandable if you can't come up with the answer. After all, it's been 20 years since a woman has been given the chance to broker a presidential debate. But with the 2012 presidential debates just around the corner, there is growing pressure on the commission responsible for organizing the debates to appoint a female moderator.
Rachel Maddow, anyone?
Three high school students from New Jersey, for example, have launched a signature drive on the popular website Change.org to get a woman moderator. As of this writing, the petition has gotten nearly 109,000 signatures - and lots of comments in support of Maddow, the left-learning MSNBC talk show host, in particular.
"Men are no more capable of performing these tasks than women - but for the last two decades, only men have been given the job," the petition reads. "Women and men will never be truly equal in our country until they're one and the same in positions of power and both visible in politics."
Gwen Ifill of PBS moderated the vice presidential debate in 2008. But there hasn't been a woman moderator in a presidential debate since 1992.
Wrote one supporter of the cause: "I think Rachel Maddow would be perfect. Plus it seems that a lot of the hot issues right now (birth control & abortion, gay marriage, the health care system) effect women more so than men. It is important for us to stand up for our rights and ask the questions we want to hear the answers to."
That, friends, is an outstanding point.
Oh, and here's the answer to our trivia question: The last woman to moderate a presidential election was Carole Simpson of ABC News, who brokered the 1992 showdown between Republican incumbent George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.
Comments
Rachel Maddow would be a horrible choice. She is an extreme left-wing ideologue. Gender aside, would anyone choose Rush Limbaugh as a suitable debate moderator. I thought not.
Rachel Maddow would be a horrible choice. She is an extreme left-wing ideologue. Gender aside, would anyone consider Rush Limbaugh a suitable debate moderator? Thought not.