Major time imbalances pointed to in CNN-moderated Democratic debate

Michael Roston

Published: Sunday June 3, 2007 Print This Email This

A chart published by the Presidential campaign of Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) indicated a major imbalance in the time allotted to different Democratic hopefuls by CNN broadcaster Wolf Blitzer, who moderated tonight's two hour debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.

The 'Talk Clock' showed that Senator Barack Obama came out in front, with 16 minutes of air-time. Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel received only about a third of Obama's air-time at 5 minutes, 37 seconds.

Senators Joe Biden (D-DE) and Dodd both finished behind Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the Ohio Democrat who has distinguished himself in the field of candidates with a foreign policy built around principles of non-violence. Kucinich had 9 minutes to answer questions, with Dodd getting about 8 1/2 minutes, and approximately 8 minutes for Biden.

In the post-debate analysis, Blitzer was clearly conscious of the lack of time received by some candidates.

"Everybody thinks they deserve more time...but you do the best you can," the CNN news host said. "There'll be more debates down the road, and hopefully it'll balance out over time."

Blitzer himself spent close to 13 1/2 minutes asking questions and following up with the answers.



