CNN's Bohrman apologized to Republican candidates over question in YouTube debate, but has yet to apologize to Democrats

Written by Matt Gertz

Published

Since the CNN/YouTube Republican presidential debate on November 28, much coverage has been devoted to CNN's selection of a video question by retired Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr, a member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Americans for Hillary Clinton steering committee and a co-chairman of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-NY) Veterans and Military Retirees for Hillary Committee. In a statement published in a November 29 post to CNN's “Political Ticker” blog, CNN senior vice president David Bohrman, the executive producer of the debate, apologized for allowing the question to have aired, given Kerr's campaign affiliation: “We regret this, and apologize to the Republican candidates. We never would have used the General's question had we known that he was connected to any presidential candidate.” But CNN has yet to apologize for questions it selected for airing during the Democrats' YouTube debate on July 23. As Media Matters for America noted, in anticipation of the Republican debate, Bohrman reportedly pledged to weed out questions that “you might describe as Democratic 'gotchas' ” from those asked of the Republican candidates. But as Media Matters also noted, CNN gave no indication that it applied that standard to the Democrats' debate and, indeed, selected possible Republican “gotchas” such as the following, in which the questioner echoed the enduring Republican myth that Democrats are taxers and spenders: “I'd like to know, if the Democrats come into office, are my taxes going to rise like usually they do when a Democrat gets into office?” The Boston Herald reported in a July 25 article that Bohrman said of the debate: “I think it worked. The questions were really good. The feeling and the energy of the program felt really good.”

In addition to the question about taxes, the Democratic candidates were asked the following other possible Republican “gotchas” at the July 23 CNN/YouTube debate, as Media Matters for America documented:

  • To all the candidates: Tell me your position on gun control, as myself and other Americans really want to know if our babies are safe. This is my baby, purchased under the 1994 gun ban.
  • My question for all the candidates: How do we pull out now? And the follow-up: Are we watching the same blankin' war? I certainly wasn't a big fan of the invasion/liberation. It sickens me to hear about soldiers wounded and getting killed daily, not to mention innocent Iraqis, but how do we pull out now? Government's shaky; bombs daily.

Don't you think if we pulled out now that it would open it up for Iran and Syria, God knows who -- Russia -- how do we pull out now? And isn't it our responsibility to get these people up on their feet? I mean, do you leave a newborn baby to take care of himself? How do we pull out now?

  • My question is for Mike Gravel. In one of the previous debates, you said something along the lines of, “The entire deaths of Vietnam died in vain.”

How do you expect to win in a country where probably a pretty large chunk of the people voting disagree with that statement and might very well be offended by it? I'd like to know if you plan to defend that statement, or if you're just going to flip-flop. Thanks.

  • I'm a proud serving member of the United States military. I'm serving overseas.

This question is to Senator Hillary Clinton. The Arab states, Muslim nations, believe its women as being second-class citizens. If you're president of the United States, how do you feel that you would be even be taken seriously by these states in any kind of talks, negotiations, or any other diplomatic relations? I feel that's a legitimate question.