Don't Whine to ABC on Friday, Act Today

E-mail ABC and Charles Gibson and demand that he gives the American people the interview deserving of a VP candidate who is a heartbeat from the presidency--not just a forum for her to deliver Steve Schmidt designed attacks on Obama, unchecked.

On Thursday, Charlie Gibson is giving Sarah Palin her first "press interview." We all know that this is going to be a complete joke. A sham.

Charlie Gibson is not in this to further the cause of a vibrant and independent press. He is in this for one thing: ratings. And as we've seen, Sarah Palin will deliver ratings. In order to get ratings, Charlie Gibson will go easy on her so he can get a longer interview that can air over more days. It's as simple as that.

Now, let's take a brief time machine trip back to the last time ABC and Charlie Gibson weighed in so one-sidedly:

April 2008, Pennsylvania.

Remember this:



The pushback that followed was staggering. Chuck Todd on April 18th:

*** ObamaNation’s power: Curious of what the bitterness and anger could look like if Obama is somehow denied the Democratic nomination? Check out the reaction from the ObamaNation over Wednesday’s debate. To put it simply, ABC was under siege yesterday. This may only be a taste of how the ObamaNation would react to a Clinton nomination. If MoveOn is motivated to do a petition campaign against the media over a debate, imagine what Clinton delegates and undecided superdelegates would face this summer if there is doubt. And as the Politico’s Ben Smith pointed out yesterday, it’s also what the GOP would face in the general election, especially if Obama is nominee.

Here's the problem. We knew it was coming. But we didn't act until after the damage had been done.

And let's be honest, for all of the pushback that ABC received, they still rolled over at the first sign of intimidation from the McCain campaign.

History repeats itself. ABC has made their intentions known, and we're not going to like the result. We have a choice now: wait docilely and get taken to the cleaners on Friday, or else preempt the shameless Republican pander and make noise about it now.

E-mail ABC and Charles Gibson and demand that they give the American people the tough interview they deserve.

E-mail MoveOn and get them to act now--before it is too late.

E-mail your local newspaper and news stations.

E-mail Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films.

Diary this on The Huffington Post, Daily Kos and the other major blogs.

Do something today, or else don't whine about it on Friday.