ESLER SITS WITH THE LEFT AGAIN

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Today's Dateline: London panel was much more balanced than usual, with two right-of-centre voices (Janet Daley of the Sunday Telegraph and the ever-excellent Thomas Kielinger of Die Welt) being set against two left-of-centre voices (Stryker Maguire of Newsweek and the ever-appalling Abdul Bari Atwan of al Quds). The balance was, however, swung emphatically to the Left by the presenter, Gavin Esler. As the panel is normally strongly weighted towards the Left anyhow, Esler's bias is usually somewhat disguised. Not so here. He was a vigorously active participant on the Left's side of each argument. Even David Dimbleby would have had to gasp with admiration at the sheer brazenness of Esler's bias.
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This need spelling out in some detail.
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The first topic up for discussion was Afghanistan. Janet Daley spoke first, then Thomas Kielinger. Next up was Stryker Maguire and, as he spoke, Esler supportively echoed him (..."while saying we're committed to stay, which is a..."). When Janet responded, Maguire interrupted, telling her "It doesn't matter!" and Esler grinned and laughed with him. Atwan followed and, again, his views were echoed by Esler ("He's told Gordon Brown he's going to root out corruption", to which Atwan replied "Exactly.").
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When Janet Daley could take no more of Atwan's extremist drivel there began a 50-second stretch that showed Esler's bias to its fullest extent. He interrupted her 5 times. The first four interruptions all flatly contradicted her. The fifth cut her off to ask Maguire a fresh question. At one stage during this short stretch, it was 3 against 1 - Atwan, Maguire and Esler ganging up against Janet Daley. Esler was sat so close to Maguire, that they looked a little like a double-act (which they sort-of were).
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The story so far then is that Esler has been actively supporting the two left-wingers but repeatedly interrupting and contradicting one of the right-wingers.
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His question to Maguire concerned the American president's slow response to General MyCrystal's request for more troops: "Let me..is Obama being very judicious and thinking about it, or is he dithering?" When Maguire poured scorn on suggestions of a parallel with the Cuban Missile Crisis, saying it's not like that at all, Esler chimed in again with a supportive comment ("It's not that. And it's winter as well, which is not the er.."). Like a loving, married couple they were completing each other's thoughts!
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This was just the first 6 or so minutes of the show!!!
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When Thomas Keilinger spoke next, he was in turn interrupted and opposed by Esler - and opposed from the stance of one of the other (left-wing) guests: "Indeed, but Bari's point...just to put it even more brutally...you know, Afghanistan, do we not suffer from this delusion that Afghanistan was ever a functioning country...". Janet sprang back in but Esler was soon interrupting her again, with first a heckle ("to a fully functioning country?") and then with another hostile interruption: "But why then get hung up on the democratic process, because it's a nonsense." He soon stopped her again and handed the debate back to Atwan, with a supportive question: "But then when there's cause in it Bari, I suppose you would argue we just look at Karzai and think why are we fighting for this chap?"
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When Janet finishes her come-back to Bari Atwan, Esler lands an emphatic "But.." and speaks for Bari yet again: "But, you know, the First World War and the Second World War were existential threats to this country. The reason why Bari's quoting those opinion polls is a lot of people don't see it as an existential threat that's going to effect this country..." (Atwan vigorously nodded his head at this.)
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When the topic turned to the resignation of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, Esler first invited Atwan to comment, and let him do so - without interruption - at some length. When he had finished he turned to Stryker Maguire and, to more nods of agreement from Abdul Bari Atwan: "Stryker, we did this programme from the Gulf last week and they thought it was an absolute disaster for what we call the peace process. It's finished basically." (I saw that programme. It was stuffed with Israel-bashers.)
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Later Gavin Esler's pro-Democrat bias (and long-standing Clinton-worship) surfaced as he put this point to Atwan: "Hillary, who's one of the brighest women around and also Senator Mitchell who knows a thing or two, have they fallen into this trap?" ('Hillary', indeed!). And there was more later, as he described Hillary's support team has having "no lack of talent".
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Yet again Gavin Esler, ostensibly the discussion's neutral chairman, was a protagonist in the debate. The physical layout of the panel, with Atwan, McGuire and Esler on one side - the left-side! - and Janet Daley and Thomas Kielinger on the other could not have been more apt. As I keep on saying, let Esler resign and appear as a guest himself. Then he could spout left-wing opinions to his heart's desire. Let someone who values impartiality take over the chairmanship of 'Dateline London' instead.
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Even on one of those rare occasions when the programme's panel balances Left and Right, it just cannot be fair to the Right.