Did Tavis Smiley’s Rant Ruin His Forum?

On September 27, Tavis Smiley hosted the 2008 Republican Presidential Forum. Like the Democratic Forum held in July, the major Republican candidates appeared to discuss the issues that heavily affect African Americans. However this time there was a slight problem. Four of the Republicans didn’t show up. Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senator John McCain, Governor Mitt Romney, and Senator Fred Thompson were all no-shows. It gave Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, Rep. Ron Paul, Sen. Sam Brownback, Rep. Tom Tancredo, and Former Ambassador Alan Keyes the upper hand. However, Tavis wasn’t as thrilled as the candidates. He was beyond furious and his anger almost ruined the forum. Tavis spent at least 10 minutes ranting about the no shows. Tavis, Tavis, Tavis. Have you learned nothing from the Democratic Presidential Forum when there wasn’t nearly enough time for the candidates to address important issues? It’s understandable that you were very upset about the four Republicans not showing up but you’ve got to let it go. You had a whole week to vent anger, yet you wasted precious time during the Republican Presidential Forum. Now I’m not saying that the missing candidates didn’t deserve it. I’m just saying that you should have been a little more professional and a little less emotional.

I know where you’re coming from. It bothered me when I heard the four top runners in the Republican Party weren’t going to show up for the forum. But that’s on them. They made themselves look bad. Tavis, I strongly believe you should have spent more time with the candidates that did show up.

To make it clear Tavis, I think you handled the situation all wrong. With four candidates missing, you should have used time to question the candidates who did show up. What is the point of the forum if there isn’t enough time for the candidates who did show up to get their message out? Next time you want to express your anger during an important forum, just count to ten.