CNN Plants a Question

(h/t ThinkProgress)

Last night University of Las Vegas student Maria Luisa got the final question of the debate: "Do you prefer diamonds or pearls?" as what seemed to be a lighthearted end to the intense questioning and bickering. Marc Ambinder from The Atlantic.com reports today that CNN planted that question:

"CNN ran out of time and used me to "close" the debate with the pearls/diamonds question. Seconds later this girl comes up to me and says, "you gave our school a bad reputation.' Well, I had to explain to her that every question from the audience was pre-planned and censored. That's what the media does. See, the media chose what they wanted, not what the people or audience really wanted. That's politics; that's reality. So, if you want to read about real issues important to America--and the whole world, I suggest you pick up a copy of the Economist or the New York Times or some other independent source. If you want me to explain to you how the media works, I am more than happy to do so. But do not judge me or my integrity based on that question."

All media outlets who do these debates screen the questions ahead of time - that goes without question. They have to avoid embarrassment to themselves and the candidates and for other issues like time and eveness - you can't have 6 people in a row asking the same question.

However, is it ok for either a candidate OR a debate sponsor to fabricate the viewer experience?

Here's the question the young lady wanted to ask:

Yucca Mountain, NV is the proposed site for the country's nuclear waste repository. Despite scientific evidence that it is a vulnerable site, the federal government continues to push for the plan to move forward. The evidence relied on is unsound and the risks involved in transporting high-level radioactive waste across the country are high. What will you [Sen. Clinton] do to ensure that the best site/s is/are chosen for the storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel?

Now, according to a CNN spokesperson to Talking Points Memo, "Questioners were told in advance that they didn't want duplicate questions to be asked on topics that were already covered. The spokesperson argues that Yucca Mountain had already been discussed for some time as the debate wound down last night. According to the spokesperson, as the debate drew to a close, CNN wanted to ask one last question. A CNN employee (it's unclear who) asked the girl if she wanted to ask the "diamonds and pearls" question. She said yes."

This would have gotten no attention if CNN hadn't jumped so hard on the Clinton Planted Question Story as they did. CNN is taking some heat for being pro-Clinton after that softball jewelry question, but here's CNN's Rick Sanchez doing a hatchet job on Clinton with Captain's Quarter Blog and Blog Talk Radio's Ed Morrissey - hypocrisy is now the norm.