Conservatives Howl Over Veep Debate Moderator

Martha Raddatz Image by getty images

Josh Nathan-Kazis August 23, 2012

Conservatives are inflamed over a report that the moderator of the upcoming vice presidential debate is the former wife of a high-level Obama appointee.

The moderator is ABC senior foreign correspondent Martha Raddatz, who is scheduled to moderate an Oct. 11 debate between Paul Ryan and Joe Biden.

Her ex-husband is FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, whom the Forward profiled as a “Talmud ace” two years ago.

Genachowski and Raddatz divorced in 1997, according to right-leaning news site The Daily Caller.

“How could it be? How could it be a conflict of interest?” Rush Limbaugh asked facetiously on his show today. Slightly misrepresenting the report, Limbaugh continued: “If you are in the dominant liberal culture of Washington, and you have a former top Obama official married to a debate moderator, where could there be a conflict?”

The dispute mirrors a recent criticism of former CNN host Campbell Brown, who was accused of not sufficiently disclosing her marriage to Romney advisor Dan Senor.

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].