Barbara West Interviews Joe Biden on WFTV

Barbara West, on October 23, 2008, interviewed the Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden, asking him whether he was "embarrassed" about Barack Obama’s affiliation with ACORN, allegations of voter registration fraud by ACORN in elections past, comparing Obama’s response to a question from Ohio voter "Joe the Plumber" to a quote from Karl Marx, and suggesting that Obama was a Marxist who wants to turn the U.S. "into a socialist country much like Sweden." At one point during the interview, Senator Biden asked West if she was joking, and later suggested she was offering "talking points" against Barack Obama.

The Obama campaign responded by canceling a subsequent interview with the candidate’s wife, Jill Biden. The campaign’s official statement was, "This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election." Obama’s Florida spokeswoman, Adrianne Marsh, called Biden’s interviewer, Barbara West, "both combative and woefully uninformed about simple facts."

WFTV’s news director defended West, saying she had not been inappropriately tough, but some media commentators criticized her performance by comparing it to her interview with Republican candidate John McCain when she had asked him questions such as "Why haven’t you gone after [Obama] on these serious issues of voter registration fraud and the mortgage crisis?" and "Do you feel that the Democrats are trying to paint you into a box - in other words, make it impossible for you to criticize Sen. Obama?"

West was principal assistant to Peter Jennings while he was anchor for ABC’s World News Tonight in London. She helped cover such stories as the Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana and the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

West makes only two specific claims in the beginning of her WFTV.com biography. Those claims were that her work has taken her to President Bush’s inauguration and to President Clinton’s impeachment.

Barbara West has served as health reporter and anchor for WFTV’s news at noon and 5:30 for the past 16 years.

West attended the University of Vermont. While there, she won the 1969 Miss Vermont contest and was selected to represent her state in the national Miss America competition. She later obtained a Master’s Degree from the University of Vermont. Before starting her career in television news, she was an assistant professor at the University of Vermont.

Barbara West is married to Wade West, a political and media consultant for politicians, professionals and organizations.

If the video above is taken down by YouTube, as most videos critical of Obama are, click here to view the interview on WFTV site.

On October 27 West did an equally tough interview with John McCain, who answered the questions, and didn’t issue a statement later that he wouldn’t go on West’s show again, like cry baby Obama did. Click here to see West interview McCain.

The interviews West did with both McCain and Biden were some of the best, and most direct, I’ve ever seen. West should win a bunch of awards for asking questions of both candidates that we’d all like to hear. It’s just too bad that Obama didn’t allow West to interview him directly, but instead sent his scape goat Joe Biden.