Regardless of how the outcome of the October 2, 2008 Vice Presidential Candidates' Debate is perceived, John McCain and the Republican-shill Fox News, in advance, made it about race.

By innuendo, in a Fox "interview," McCain questioned the credibility and neutrality of Gwen Ifill, the debate's moderator, also managing editor of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." Ifill who has moderated numerous debates in national elections, including the Vice Presidential debate in 2004, is also the author of the soon to be released, book The Breakthrough:Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. Predictably, because of Ifill's race and book, for many right-wingers, the dots of racism have been connected and exploited.

What's hypocritical about this is that the same people who used a racist smear against McCain in 2000, are now doing it to Obama on McCain's behalf. In 2000, they engineered a "push poll" in South Carolina, making phone calls to registered Republicans before the Bush -- McCain primary asking; "Would you vote for McCain if you knew he had an illegitimate black daughter?" The Republican slime-machine used McCain's dark-skinned, adopted daughter from Bangladesh, to concoct a disgusting, racist innuendo-lie that cost McCain the primary.

Given the recent interviews of Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, it would appear that she is not particularly knowledgeable about foreign policy, Supreme Court decisions, reading material, the Bush Doctrine, how American air space is restricted and a number of other items about which one would like a potential VP to be aware. But even Sarah Palin, if not John McCain or hardcore right-wing bigots, should be able to figure out that although Gwen Ifill is an African American -- a fact that might make her a kindred spirit to Barack Obama -- she is also...a woman. You know, like Sarah Palin. Duh!

More importantly, that Sarah Palin began the "debate" with a declaration stipulating, in effect, she would not be answering the questions asked by moderator Ifill, and, that Ifill did not immediately inform Palin that the mutually agreed upon debate format would be followed, says to me that the Fox News-McCain race-baiting had an intimidating effect on the moderator. Add to the mix Ifill's uncharacteristic failure to ask more pointed questions or to press the candidates when their answers seemed weak or incomplete, what we should conclude is that Sarah Palin and the McCain ticket are not so much debaters as they are evaders!

Arthur Gurmankin