In their first broadcast of 2007, ABC’s Nightline devoted the entire program to re-airing portions of stories from 2006 dealing with "power," including the shift in political power in the United States. The final segment of the newscast, entitled ‘Here Come the Democrats,’ featured three friendly profiles of prominent Democrats, including Cynthia McFadden’s tea with Senator Hillary Clinton and Terry Moran’s ‘Oba-mania’ during his interview with Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Here are some examples of the softball questions to Clinton and Obama re-broadcast Monday night:
Cynthia McFadden: "Do you actually like it? Do you actually like campaigning?...So, an association game, if you'll--if you will, a word or two about the following political folks, okay? President George Bush?
Senator Hillary Clinton: "Disappointing."
McFadden: "....So George Bush is disappointing....Is America ready for a female president? What do you think?"
Terry Moran: "Right now you're on a roll. You're--people, 'Oba-mania, they, they call it. The rock star. You get a big cheer when you get up there....It seems sometimes that much of your politics is about bridging divides....Republican-Democrat, black-white, red-blue. Is your politics about your biography?"
Follow the links to read more from the original McFadden and Moran profiles on two of the top contenders for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.
The third story featured during ‘Here Come the Democrats’ was Moran’s November 8 post-election interview with House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi. While the segment did feature Moran asking Pelosi about whether ending the war in Iraq prematurely would be "cutting and running," there were softballs for her as well:
Moran: "You're about to break one of the great glass ceilings in American life and there are a lot more women in power now because of yesterday in Congress. How will the country feel that, that there are more women in power and a woman in a top job in Congress running the House?"
Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi: "Well, first of all, let me say, a glass ceiling is nothing compared to here. This is a marble ceiling. This, this institution, Congress, is steeped in history and tradition and didn't have a lot of opportunity for women. So, this is quite an historic achievement, I say, immodestly."
Moran: "You say it's time to end the war in Iraq. What if the other side, the enemies of the United States don't want it to end? Isn't ending a war when the other side still fighting it cutting and running?"
Pelosi: "No, it isn't at all. Our presence in Iraq has been provocative to our enemies. It is viewed as an occupation and is persisted not only by Iraqis but others in the region and those troublemakers, few in number, but nonetheless, a menace, would probably leave Iraq when we left Iraq. They're there because we're there."
Moran: "You gonna use that mother of five voice a lot to keep Congress--"
Pelosi: "When the mikes are off, yeah, the mother of five voice comes in handy, oh, and it--my colleagues hear it coming, they, they know."
In closing the piece, Moran ended with a promise for ABC’s viewers:
Moran: "Well, here come the Democrats, that story for sure, to be continued in 2007."
