A 90 minute Dean commercial from the mainstream media.
And Dean didn't have to pay a penny!
"DURHAM, N.H. - Thanks a lot, Ted Koppel, for the worst presidential nomination debate yet.
The way the ABC celebrity newsman moderated the affair among the nine Democratic presidential candidates here the other night confirmed often-heard public complaints that the news media, and especially television, have grown too big for their boots.
Mr. Koppel's opening gambit of calling on all the candidates who thought former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean could beat President Bush next year to raise their hands immediately set a destructive tone for what was supposed to be an exploration of the issues facing the country.
When only Dr. Dean reached half-heartedly for the sky, the 90-minute farce started on a downhill slide from which it never recovered. Mr. Koppel kept pushing it down with questions about former Vice President Al Gore's surprise endorsement of Dr. Dean, practically turning the affair into a Dean commercial..."
http://www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.witcover12dec12,0,5345523.column