Matt Lauer mistreats Hillary during the Commander-in-Chief forum

Matt Lauer mistreats Hillary during the Commander-in-Chief forum

By Roger Caldwell

      Every day the media spends an insurmountable amount of time on Hillary’s email scandals. I was expecting at the Commander-in-Chief forum that the moderator would discuss each candidate’s vision, knowledge, and leadership goals for the position. Commentator Matt Lauer of NBC News devoted a good portion of time questioning Hillary about her email scandals. This made very little sense because in July, the FBI recommended no charges be brought against the Democratic presidential nominee.

Clinton has been in America’s public eye for over three decades, and she has never been convicted of any wrong doing, or criminal activity. In this 2016 campaign, Americans and the media appear to be determined to convict Hillary in a public court, even though she has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Instead of Lauer asking questions about her management style, and how she would correct the problems in the federal government bureaucracy, he drilled her about her email scandals. Many political experts were disappointed in his moderating skills because he is an excellent interviewer with a wealth of experience and knowledge.

Lauer was well aware that both candidates had less than 30 minutes to answer his questions, and he spent 11 minutes grilling Clinton on her email scandals. If I did not know that Lauer was an NBC reporter, I would have thought he was working for FOX.

Many critics were horrified with Lauer’s performance because after grilling Hillary, he seemed to rush through other important topics. He interrupted Clinton as she attempted to give answers to his questions, and kept reminding her that their time was running out.

To be honest, some of Lauer’s problems started with the format of the show.

Each candidate was given approximately 25 minutes by NBC to answer questions, and there was not enough time to do a good job.

To some reporters, this event was a debate between the moderator and the candidates. It was also a town hall meeting where the audience was given the opportunity to have their questions answered by the candidates. There were just too many things happening at the same time during the forum for the event to be effective.

Many pundits are saying Lauer’s performance failed because both candidates needed follow up questions when they stretched the truth. Clinton made the claim that she would not put ground troops in Iraq, yet there are thousands still there. When Trump made the statement that America should have taken the oil from Iraq, Lauer should have asked Trump if he was proposing that America disregard international law.

With 14.7 million Americans watching the Commander-in-Chief forum, the concept of the show was an excellent idea.

It is a documented fact that Clinton has more knowledge and experience with the federal government bureaucracy. Many thought that Lauer was much harder on Clinton, and failed to challenge Trump on his controversial statements.

Lauer also made subtle changes when he gave each candidate the rules for the forum. With Clinton, Lauer asked her to tell us what qualities she possessed to lead the country without attacking her opponent, and she made an attempt to follow that rule.

When Trump’s time began, Lauer rephrased the question, and asked Trump to keep attacks to a minimum. This opened the door for Trump to repeatedly attack Clinton during the forum.

There are less than two months until the election, and it will be tough being the first woman running for president. Trump has been convicted for breaking rules and laws, but he gets a pass. At this point in the campaign, Clinton cannot back down, and when she feels she has been mistreated or disrespected, she must speak up.