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CNN Exec’s Internal Memo: Obama Got More Debate Time ‘Because He Speaks More Slowly’

Oct. 18, 2012 12:24pm Madeleine Morgenstern

Candy Crowley debate

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A top CNN executive said President Barack Obama had more time to talk during Tuesday night’s debate “because he speaks more slowly.”

Mark Whitaker, executive vice president and managing editor of CNN Worldwide, said moderator Candy Crowley and her producers tried to keep the speaking times for each candidate equal but that Obama’s pace meant that he went on longer, according to a staff memo obtained by the Hollywood Reporter. Obama received roughly 44:04 minutes compared to Romney’s 40:50.

Whitaker promised a word count to see who actually spoke more.

Whitaker also defended Crowley for correcting Mitt Romney during his response about the terrorist attack the U.S. Consulate in Libya. Crowley said Obama “did in fact” use the term “act of terror” the day after the assault. Obama actually said “no acts of terror,” leaving it open as to whether he was referring to Benghazi specifically or to terror attacks in general. Crowley said afterward Romney had been “right in the main.”

“It should be stressed that she was just stating a point of fact: Obama did talk about an act (or acts) of terror, no matter what you think he meant by that at the time,” Whitaker wrote.

Praising Crowley’s performance as “superb,” Whitaker said Romney supporters are criticizing her “no doubt because their man did not have as good a night as he had in Denver.”

Read the full memo below, via the Hollywood Reporter:

Let’s start with a big round of applause for Candy Crowley for a superb job under the most difficult circumstances imaginable. She and her team had to select and sequence questions in a matter of hours, and then she had to deal with the tricky format, the nervous questioners, the aggressive debaters, all while shutting out the pre-debate attempts to spin and intimidate her. She pulled it off masterfully.

The reviews on Candy’s performance have been overwhelmingly positive but Romney supporters are going after her on two points, no doubt because their man did not have as good a night as he had in Denver. On the legitimacy of Candy fact-checking Romney on Obama’s Rose Garden statement, it should be stressed that she was just stating a point of fact: Obama did talk about an act (or acts) of terror, no matter what you think he meant by that at the time. On why Obama got more time to speak, it should be noted that Candy and her commission producers tried to keep it even but that Obama went on longer largely because he speaks more slowly. We’re going to do a word count to see whether, as in Denver, Romney actually got more words in even if he talked for a shorter period of time.

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Comments (181)

LakewoodEd
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:46pm
Well, that’s liberalism in a nutshell, you speak slowly, you’re entitled to more time.

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- Detroit paperboy
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:56pm
  Ten minutes worth of uhhh,s and uhmmmmmm,s…………….Odumbass.
  
  Report this comment
- Wayner
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 1:01pm
  It takes him more time to do the “uh,uh,uh,uh,uh…. He leaves those out when he’s on teleprompter and replaces it with the fake stutter.
  
  Report this comment
- Brother Winston Smith
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 1:02pm
  Actually, it’s LEFTISM. Monopolist leftists (democrat/republican) not only demand more time, most of the time they simply COLLUDE AND EXCLUDE their competition (third parties) all together. And the MSM (FOX, CNN, Clearchannel, MSNBC, Hannity, Crowley, Rush, Matthews, Beck, Ed, etc.) never say boo.
  
  Report this comment
- mike551
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 1:06pm
  Hahahahahahahaha! Good one. My chuckle for the day. Thank you.
  
  Report this comment
- 1592
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 1:30pm
  No TELEPROMTER….
  Obama is a nitwit when He is lying. …………If He tells the truth it rolls off like tolet paper.
  
  Candy ate 1/2 of ALL LIBERAL’S BRAINS!
  You don’t keep that name after you hit 200+ Lbs.
  
  Report this comment
- lovenfl3
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 1:40pm
  Maybe the liberals could pass a new law restricting the rate of speaking. They would call it the “fairness of speech” act. Because you know they’re working on a study right now that shows that speech slowness disorder affects minorities and women the most. Oh brother!
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlmEt4ESH20
  
  Report this comment
- Popp40
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 2:00pm
  Come on people….you don’t haven’t heard the reason why Obama stutters is because his mind is thinking so fast that his mouth cannot keep up so he stutters and says uhh..uhhh..uhhh a lot.
  
  I’m not lying, I had a liberal actually tell me this and argued with me for 30 minutes trying to get me to believe this….now many will ask why I wasted 30 minutes of my time even debating this….the reason I did was because it was so entertaining to see the extent liberals will go to make Obama look so smart.
  
  Report this comment
- Shasta
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 3:32pm
  You speak less truths, you are entitled to more time.
  
  Report this comment
- 13Lena
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 3:47pm
  So Obama is stupid.
  
  Report this comment
- GOT2BME
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 4:06pm
  Quite a few people have been amazed that Candy actually had a transcript of the Obama’s Rose Garden speech…but I find it even more amazing that Obama KNEW she had the transcript!! How does that happen? When then makes me wonder if Obama had a sneak peek at the questions, or more likely she was supplied with the questions to ask… Just sayin’.
  
  Report this comment
- aragona
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 4:16pm
  I don’t know why people are complaining about this. It’s not like he realized in advance that he only had 2 minutes to speak on a topic and therefore needed to speak in such a way as to squeeze his arguments into those 2 minutes. D’oh!
  
  Report this comment
- ObamaForward_OverTheCliff
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 4:36pm
  “Crowley said Obama “did in fact” use the term “act of terror” the day after the assault. Obama actually said “no acts of terror,” leaving it open as to whether he was referring to Benghazi specifically or to terror attacks in general. Crowley said afterward Romney had been “right in the main.” ”
  
  As Bill Clinton says, ” ‘Is’ doesn’t mean ‘is’ “.
  
  Report this comment
- Bluebonnet
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 5:10pm
  Whoop-de-do. Keep lying and someday, someone might believe it, but most of us DO NOT.
  
  Report this comment
- Bluebonnet
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 5:23pm
  About the act of terror or just an incident because of a video……….why, did we hear Carney, and other news people, even the prez for days afterward, calling it the fault of the Video????? I heard it with my own ears.
  
  I remembered thinking to myself that something was wrong because war against our own people in an American Embassy is war against America, whomever caused it. And I’m with Romney, about Obama not taking it seriously and running off to Vegas to get ‘mo bama money’ after all, getting that money was more important than any serious act against our Embassy. Right?
  
  I’ve been praying daily for America and Mitt Romney, and as often as I think about it. WE MUST
  SAVE AMERICA from those who don’t stand with us. God Bless America!
  
  Report this comment
- bulletsinthegun
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 10:01pm
  I think it is because he thinks slowly so he talks slowly. In other words he rode the short bus
  
  Report this comment
- Bill Rowland
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 5:50am
  These people worship at the Sweet Old Barack throne. They think the American people are to dumb to realize that they are making excuses for Crowleys help to Obama. Her interrupting and backing Obama on the terrorism statement, her allowing him to go over the limit was all a little to obvious.
  
  Report this comment
- Bohump
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 9:30am
  If Speaking slowly Got Him More Time, .. He would have 90 min., To Say the First Two Word’s !
  
  Report this comment
- Lachoneous
  Posted on October 19, 2012 at 4:22pm
  What’s funny is that Romney got just about 47% of the total debate time, and he still invested it better than BroBama.
  
  Report this comment
MiCurmudgeon
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:43pm
I was wondering if CNN had a memo to report that Obama is invested in foreign countries like China and the Cayman Islands through his Illinois State Employees Fund. He also will in fact draw a larger pension from Illinois and the USA than Romney, since Romney does not get any pension from Massachusetts or any other government or company.

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Female
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:42pm
Do they count all the “nopes” and other verbal interruptions? Can somebody add those moments in? And the clapping? Plus the moments CC helped through 28 interruptiona and Obama supportive speeches or questions?

Just wondering?

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- The_Jerk
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:46pm
  If you add Crowley’s interruptions of Romney, the difference is more than 10%.
  
  Report this comment
BurntHills
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:41pm
my SUBMIT TIPS button doesn’t function, please tell Blaze Tips there is an EXCELLENT BRAND NEW AD showing on FOXNATION [opinions] that has clips of obama playing golfing dancing drinking with his celebs — and it says to the effect “IT’S TIME TO END THE BEER SUMMIT AND PARTYING AND BRING IN THE ADULTS (ROMNEY RYAN) ”.

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kalli
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:40pm
CNN is a laughing stock…he needs time to stutter with uh, ah, I, and a, uh, ah, let me be clear. He is an empty chair without a teleprompter.

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Chrison
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:39pm
Crowley didn’t do a “superb” job, as her job was to MODERATE the debate, NOT participate in it! That she would be biased in Obama’s favour was a given and well-known before the debate, so that’s not a “big deal” to me. However, that she injected herself into the debate, defending Obama and cutting off Romney, IS a big deal and was TOTALLY inappropriate!

If talking slowly will get a candidate more floor time in the debates, Romney should utter one word a minute when answering the first question in the last debate. That way, he’ll use up the whole 90 minutes giving his first answer!

In other words, what a bunch of BULL!

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Wool-Free Vision
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:38pm
Even if this BS were the true, it only goes to reinforce the notion that this is the media’s idea of affirmative action for the job of Chief Executive of our nation. Nauseating.

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- Fonebone
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 3:02pm
  I had the same thought. So Obama gets a “slow-talker” extra time bonus? It is exactly like affirmative action. If Obama gets tongue-tied are they going to give him a “designated speaker” next? Oh yeah, I guess they already do that, too, every time the moderator steps in to help Obama.
  
  Report this comment
- Shasta
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 3:33pm
  You guys nailed it. And I am sure CNN does not understand why we think this is a bad thing.
  
  Report this comment
- revron
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 3:34pm
  If slower time is a result of slower thinking, and faster talk faster thinking, isn’t that another reason to vote for Romney?
  
  Report this comment
Rowgue
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:38pm
Lol morons. The word count is irrelevant. The participants and the moderators are aware of the rules of the debate before it happens. It’s equal time not equal word count. If one guy can fit more into his alloted time that’s irrelevant.

Your job is simple. Ask a question and hold both participants to the agreed upon time limit. Anything outside of that is you not doing your job. And if you can’t do a job that simple one would question your qualification for being there in the first place.

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turfdog
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:36pm
Perry Mason to Crowly: So, how was it you had a copy of the Rose Garden transcript handy at the debate?
Crowly: Uh….
Mason: So how did the President know you had a copy handy?
Crowly: Uh…
Mason: Is it possible that you tipped the President on the questions?
Crowly: Absolutely not. That would be illegal!
Mason: And why did the President smile when you asked that question? And why did the President said to read the transcript? Did the President tell you to have a transcript handy?
Crowly: Are you insinuating…
Mason: If it looks like a pig, if it smells like a pig, and if it acts like a pig…no amount of lipstick in the world can hide the facts.

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- huey6367
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 1:00pm
  Good point. Anyone have answers to that?
  
  Report this comment
- SimpleTruths
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 2:47pm
  Nobody said she had a transcript, Obama said “look at the transcript”. He wasn’t telling her to read her copy of the transcript. Obama is far smarter than Romney, he set the trap and Mitt stepped right into it. If Obama is so dumb, as you people claim, that makes Mitt dumber. Pity how he would do on the world stage if he can’t handle himself with Barack.
  
  Report this comment
- landman1
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 3:13pm
  Simple truth, How can Romney handle the world if he can’t handle Obama you ask??? If your memory is so short as to have already forgotten the smashing in Denver then you need help. The results of that debate has had more effect on this race than any debate in the history of presidential debates. In fact Obama was overheard telling the White House staff that they might as well remove all the toilets because he had LOST HIS ASS!!
  
  Now granted, Romney has to fight off his opponent and the moderator at the same time. And Monday’s debate will be even more biased as that bastion of liberalism from CBS, Mr. Scheiffer will be at the helm. But I look for Mr. Romney to continue to keep showing the voters that he is the answer for our nation going forward. Godspeed!
  
  Report this comment
- antann
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 3:15pm
  Simpletruths, you are right. But it is a moot point.
  
  Ms. Crowley moderated in favor of President Obama to the tune of 4 minutes. Hardly impartial accident. Mitt Romney kept mentioning the time, and she interrupted Romney 28 times. She had no intentions of running a fair debate. If she did then she would have been firm about what she controlled, the time.
  
  Do you think it is hypocritical for a party that speaks of ‘fairness’ to bend the rules of fairness?
  
  None the less, Americans are smart. Acts of terror are not the same as a planned terrorist attack. “Is” is still “is” and will always be connected to what is real verses perception. And a minute is 60 seconds whether a person speaks fast or slow. They see the double standard and do not trust the media. Candy Crowley and President Obama lost on the trustworthy issue with their games.
  
  Report this comment
- BacktotheFounders
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 4:55pm
  @ Simple…………
  
  As soon as Governor Romney made his statement, Obama barked at Crowley, “Candy – the transcript.” He knew she had it. She picked it up from the desk and appeared to be reading from it when she made her pitiful excuses for him.
  
  Report this comment
bobbyjoe
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:36pm
It’s ok zero, the short bus will be there to take you back to shitcago soon

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:45pm
  BOBBYJOE, LOL, that is what I have called the city since my first visit over thirty years ago.
  
  Report this comment
- RightUnite
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:50pm
  Yeah, then he and the friggin cow Moochelle can have their party in the moving truck back to Chitago….
  
  Report this comment
conservativeblackman
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:35pm
Yes, it does take more time to lie than to tell the truth. Simply because one’s new lie cannot appear to conflict with one’s previous lie.

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catfanatic1979v1
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:35pm
Why did the Romney campaign ever agree to these moderators in the first place? Lets get some conservatives to ask the questions next time and stop agreeing to three liberals every cycle!

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mike551
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:35pm
If they do these things to influence the election, is that not treason? If not, someone please explain. IMPEACH THE MUSLIM OBAMA NOW!!! GET US OUT OF THE UN!!!

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FEMALL
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:35pm
I think that’s racist. It is the soft bigotry of lowered expectations. Yes, He Can’t.

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jakartaman
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:34pm
Only a liberal mind could come up with that excuse.
Sad very Sad

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AvengerK
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:34pm
Ok so is anyone still wondering why CNN is losing ratings by the bucketfull?

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- atlasshrugged
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 1:40pm
  Ahhhhh, what ratings?
  
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:34pm
Its not that he speaks slower, he simply stutters, duhs, and uhs more! C’mon CNN, if you’re going to screw with 0bama at least tell the truth.

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Bonnieblue2A
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:33pm
Obama speaks slowly because he is making up the lies as he goes along. When he reaches VP Biden’s age, the lies will come more quickly but less believeable.

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- Joel Knows
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 5:42pm
  Or BO was wearing an ear piece and was being fed the words to say.
  
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StandingOnMyHead
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:32pm
Always knew he was handicapped!

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- getitgotitgood
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:39pm
  If obama wins i am leaving the united states of america
  
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- TSUNAMI_22
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:49pm
  @ standing…
  
  You reminded me of this skit.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkQQGsOegv0
  
  Report this comment
- J_Ind_Boston
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 1:05pm
  @Getitgititgood
  If he wins you won’t have to leave because we will cease to be the USA, we will need people here to rebuild.
  
  Report this comment
- SimpleTruths
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 2:50pm
  GETITGOTITGOOD – good and take all the Blazer’s with you.
  
  Report this comment
Dismayed Veteran
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:31pm
Change out of your hip waders and put on the chest waders, the BS is getting deep.

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The-Monk
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:31pm
“Whitaker promised a word count to see who actually spoke more.”

But…. he only has 10 fingers.

It’s going to take the whole staff at CNN and MSNBC to complete this task.

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:35pm
  Hi MONK. LOL!
  
  Report this comment
PATTY HENRY
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:31pm
Uh…speaks slowly… uh…okay… okay if that’s what you say… did you calculate that in advance…as in… Obama speaks 10% more slowly than Romney, therefore we’ll give Obama 10% more time?? Was
that in the Debate Contract??? You dope.

ALSO: Can YOU ‘splain to me how it was that OBAMA KNEW CANDY HAD THE TRANSCRIPT OF HIS ROSE GARDEN SPEECH??? Millions of Americans HEARD Obama CALL OUT “SHOW HIM the TRANSCRIPT, CANDY” . CHEATERS, SNEAKS, CREEPS, SPINELESS LOOSERS. Do you honestly think American people are so foolish as to be fooled twice by this CON-ARTIST you have as President now? DEFILING THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT, I might AD.
DO YOU KNOW how wonderful it’s going to be not to have to even see that ARROGANT TWIT prancing around the TV —DAILY????

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- Joel Knows
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 2:26pm
  I guess that BO having access to the questions ahead of time so the “right ones” could be asked, and what seemed like some scripting between BO and CROWley as to what she would do to keep Romney off his back, and make him look good didn’t enter into the equation either for the debate.
  To be a member of the audience for the debate all questions had to have been submitted last week, last week. They were then to be given to CROWley so that she could go over them and pick those questions she wanted to use as moderator of the debate. Where is BO all weekend? At a resort in Williamsburg, VA. Why yes, they did expect that question to come up, it was pre-planned to get Romney to react! The transcripts with the wording carefully edited was given to her to read from if they really had to do it. The Rose Garden speach was so obscurely done that they didn’t think Fox would have a good copy of it, or not prepared fast enough to make it of value. Besides, all it has to do is make people pause and question a little bit if Romney is being honest or not, just question his credibility with enough people.
  Even given all the set-ups BO still did a poor job. He picks losers, and most of the tricks he tries backfire, even when he has all the help sneaking around and pulling dirty underhanded tricks on Romney.
  
  Report this comment
- SimpleTruths
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 2:54pm
  Liar. Obama said “read the transcript” and he said it to Mitt not Candy. Just makes things up like Romney, your side is do good at it. Like 5 point plan, Mitt might as well say I have a handful of 5 magic beans. You people make me sick.
  
  Report this comment
M13
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:29pm
I guess it’s hard to talk when you can’t remember how you lied about it before.

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RightUnite
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:28pm
Do you idiots at CNN ever get sick to your stomach with all the spin-spin-spin you have to do for this president??

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:36pm
  They did the same thing during the Clinton Administration. They only toned it down a bit while Bush 43 was in office.
  
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- conservativeblackman
  Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:38pm
  I’ll answer your questions for the liberals. NO, liberals don’t have a conscious.
  
  Report this comment
bobdiamond
Posted on October 18, 2012 at 12:28pm
It’s sad that this kind of thing is all the left has to defend such a demonstrable failure of a President. Read political commentary at: http://smallcraftadvisorychronicles.blogspot.com/

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