Gibson interviewed BarryO over the summer, shortly after he won his slot on the ticket. It's definitely more puff and fluff than he gave Palin. No questions about whether he knows foreign heads of state, if he can look America in the eye and say he has enough experience, or hard-hitting queries about foreign policy.

Here are the questions he was asked, per the transcript on the ABC website:

GIBSON: Senator, I'm curious about your feelings last night. It was an historic moment. Has it sunk in yet?

GIBSON: What'd she [Barry's grandmother] say?

GIBSON: Public moments are not your own. There's a million people pulling you in a million different directions, but when everybody clears out, the staff is gone, you're in your hotel room at night and you're alone -- do you say to yourself: "Son of a gun, I've done this?

GIBSON: (inaudible) when you announced, did you truly, in your gut, think that a black man could win the nomination of a major party to be president of the United States?

GIBSON: You don't get much time to enjoy this before people immediately start talking about the vice presidency.

(LAUGHTER)

On what criteria and what timetable will you choose a vice president?

GIBSON: But there obviously is one name that looms over all. Hillary Clinton has already, to some extent, expressed her willingness. There are supporters putting out petitions. There is a drumbeat of pressure. There are those 18 million votes.

Is she a special case that you have to deal with before the others, or is she considered just like everybody else? How long can you let the "Hillary Clinton on the ticket" question linger?

GIBSON: Does there have to be a yes or no on the issue of Hillary Clinton before you get to the others, or can this issue linger on, because it pervades everything?

You want to move on to the general election. You want to pivot to a campaign against John McCain.

Can you do that while this question hovers over you?

GIBSON: So, you won't do -- you won't deal with her first, get that out of the way, and then either move on or not?

(there are two or three others about Hilary - not all that exciting or relevant)

GIBSON: On what three issues will this campaign turn to you?

GIBSON: Do you worry that it could turn on race, age and class?

GIBSON: John McCain has issued an invitation to do a series of town meetings (inaudible). Going to do it?

GIBSON: Will you go to Iraq?

OBAMA: I will, almost certainly, travel to Iraq and probably engage in some other foreign travel, as well, during the course of the next four or five months.

GIBSON: Public financing: Going to take it or going to say no?

GIBSON: If you already see that money coming in, it seems to me you're saying...

OBAMA: Well, but I also have to -- you know, my belief is John McCain is now the leader of his party and that he's got some control over this process, just as I have some control over the Democratic Party and how they spend their money.

GIBSON: Is the hardest part of all this behind you or ahead of you?

(LAUGHTER)

GIBSON: The picture of you in the paper, this morning, with your wife, watching the Clinton speech. What did you think of the Clinton speech?

She didn't exactly acknowledge your victory.

GIBSON: And finally your daughters. What did they say to you? Did they take it as a matter of course that Daddy could be nominated to be president? They never knew what older people know in terms of discrimination, although they may still feel some. What did they say about that?

GIBSON: I watched closely your countenance last night, your mien, as you stood in that hall. You didn't smile much. Has the joyfulness of this hit home yet? Do you take joy from it?

Because Obama's already been questioned by Gibson. Not that that will matter to those of you determined to protect Palin from any questioning whatsoever. For example, he doesn't need to ask Obama if he's met any heads of state because we already know that he has from the intensive coverage of him over the past year or so. Why would you ask a question that everyone knows the answer to already?

Link

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Reading is Fundamental.

It was fluff. Complete fluff.

Any previous questions asked of Barry weren't asked of the Democratic Nominee Obama.

Just a flip little "Going to Iraq?".... not anything about his positions on Iraq, trying to discern his understanding or opinions of the various factions.... nothing.

The only things missing were the warm cocoa and the sheet music to kumbaya.

Obama was interviewed right after winning the Democratic primary. That was the subject of the interview.

Gibson interviewed McCain on the night of his nomination. I don't see any tough questions here either.
ABC News: Transcript: Gibson Interviews John McCain

It's getting closer to the election. I do think that Gibson should interview Biden.

I think that Olbermann should interview McCain. Heck, I'd settle for Matthews. After all, Obama faced O'Riley.

McCain's afraid of The View ladies -- did you read Cindy's whine this weekend that they "picked our bones"? He certainly doesn't have the spine to face Olberman.

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Reading is Fundamental.

Gibson first interviewed Obama in 2007. Gibson certainly treated Palin very differently.

In 2007 Interview, ABC’s Gibson Greeted Obama With Softballs | NewsBusters.org

"Nearly a year ago, when the inexperienced presidential candidate Barack Obama sat for his first interview with Charles Gibson, the ABC anchor did not try and expose any gaps in Obama’s foreign policy knowledge or press him about his readiness for the job he was seeking. Instead Gibson emphasized Obama’s personal story, about how his parents met, how Obama met his wife, etc."

Exactly, Forest. He was just "getting to know" Barry. It was so Oprah-ish. With Palin, he was trying to figure out where she falls short.

And that's appropriate if he treats *all* his interviewees that way.

But with Barry... they just do a lot of giggling and smiling at each other.

I'll bet they hugged a little after the cameras went off.

ETA: I think at the heart of it, the difference is that he wanted to know about Obama's *feelings* and Palin's *knowledge*.

I'd rather seem someone dig into *beliefs* and *records*.

I agree! It's difficult to do with Obama. If you look at his record, he has voted "no vote" A LOT. And then to brush it aside claiming that he "hit the wrong button" ??!! That's ludacris. . .better keep him away from that button in the Oval Office.

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Can you show me a hardball question that was lobbed at McCain in the interview that I referenced?

Possibly because they were trying to get to know him. A year ago, many people did not know his life story.
OReilly certainly was not easy on Obama last week. I've seen other interviews where they aked tough questions to Obama. Check YouTube for his interview with Nevada political commentator Jon Ralston. So it works both ways here. They get easy interviews and hard ones. I think it all depends on your perspective.
Personally, the politicians need to be hit hard with tough questions. I wish the press had been that way durring the lead up to the Iraq war.

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