Rough stuff …

Robert Boyd, Washington bureau chief for Knight-Ridder Newspapers, at the 1984 Vice Presidential debate:

“Congresswoman Ferraro, you have had little or no experience with military matters and yet you might someday find yourself commander-in-chief of the armed forces. How can you convince the American people and the potential enemy that you would know what to do to protect this nation’s security, and do you think in any way that the Soviets might be tempted to try to take advantage of you simply because you are a woman?”

Rougher stuff…

CNN’s Bernard Shaw, 1988 presidential debate:

“Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?”

Then there’s this question asked of Barack Obama …

George Stephanopoulos, 2008 Democratic debate:

“Senator, two questions. Number one, do you think Reverend Wright loves America as much as you do? And, number two, if you get the nomination, what will you do when those sermons are played on television again and again and again?”

The roughest stuff?  Hardly.  We align ourselves with what Jake Tapper tells Howard Kurtz:

ABC correspondent Jake Tapper defended his colleagues in an interview, saying: “They were tougher on Obama, yes. He’s the front-runner. By any empirical standard, many members of the media don’t seem to want to ask Senator Obama tough questions, and Senator Obama doesn’t seem to want to answer them. This is the 21st debate. It is the only one where people have complained that the moderators were tougher on Barack Obama than on Hillary Clinton or any other candidate. How on Earth is that possible?”

Good question.  We’re stumped too.