The Ayers conversation has largely distracted from the odd role Tom Brokaw has been playing as a “liason” to the McCain campaign to assure them that the debate will be “fair”. As Josh Marshall recalls, during the Democratic Convention, Brokaw suggested that criticism of McCain was inappropriate because of his status as a former POW. A couple of weeks ago, he pulled some rosy poll numbers for John McCain out of his tookus on Meet The Press. Last week, he remarked that McCain’s grumpy sarcasm, which has his own aides worried, is part of his “charm.”
Marshall says that Brokaw is not “just some hack.” It matters less what Brokaw “is” than what he does.
