Gibson can't stand too much on deference, can he? He's the guy, after all, who at an April debate put Obama in a full-nelson. The crowd that night in Philadelphia groaned, and commentators torched Gibson and co-moderator George Stephanopoulos.
But the debate did answer questions, as the TV men said, that were "out there" in the electorate. Obama was forced to discuss his association with a onetime member of the radical 1960s group the Weathermen; his statement that poor voters "bitter" about their lot turn to guns and religion for solace; and his failure to more quickly disassociate himself from the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., his racially polarizing former pastor.
Those issues "came in," as the lawyers like to say, because the people needed to know, Gibson told the Democrat.
The ABC anchor, for example, asked Obama about his "bitter" comment, saying that Pennsylvanians "find that patronizing and think that you said actually what you meant."
Gibson also aired a tape of a Latrobe, Pa., woman who asked Obama (who did not always wear a flag pin) about his patriotism: "I want to know if you believe in the American flag?" Gibson defended the question by pointing out that such queries were "all over the Internet."
Even without that flimsy standard, Gibson should have no trouble finding the justification to ask Palin a few of these questions:
* You have been skeptical that global warming is caused by humans. On what basis do you reject the scientific consensus that fossil fuels and human activity have contributed to climate change?
* You asked the librarian in your town about the policy for banning books. Are there books you think should be kept from the public?
* You have claimed credit for killing the "bridge to nowhere," the $398-million link between Ketchikan and Gravina Island. Didn't you support it until it was clear Congress was not willing to pay for the much-ridiculed project?
* You have said students should be allowed to "debate both sides" of evolution. Should creationism be taught alongside evolution in the public schools? Do you believe in evolution?
* What's at the root of the terrorist problem in Pakistan? And how would you make progress, which has eluded the Bush administration, in that dangerous country?
* Your opponents claim you and McCain would just extend the Bush administration for another four years. Cite three instances in which you have differed with the president.
That's just a start. I'm not sure how much time Gibson is going to have, but he can turn to his own viewers for other questions, posted by the hundreds on ABC's website.
During that April debate, Gibson set another standard. He interrupted when he thought his question wasn't being answered. He called Obama out, for instance, when he thought he was not clear enough about gun control.
Hardly deferential, but appropriate -- both for the Democratic star of the first half of the campaign season and the Republican star just stepping to center stage.
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james.rainey@latimes.com
