Great Non-Debate: Wash Post’s Freedman claims paper is not ‘politically motivated’ – Morano in hostile climate debate with TV reporter

[Also see: WaPo’s Andrew Freedman Ducks TV Debate with Climate Depot’s MoranoWash. Post Fires Back: Accuses Climate Depot of having ‘an anti-science and anti-science journalism agenda!’ — Climate Depot Responds]

The great non-debate has occurred. The Washington Post’s Andrew Freedman refused to debate Climate Depot’s executive editor Marc Morano at the invitation of Clean Skies TV. Freedman, of the paper’s Capital Weather Gang, accused Climate Depot of being “anti-science” and having an “anti-science journalism agenda” on September 2, 2009 in the Washington Post. Freedman has since refused to face off with Morano in a TV debate. Instead, Freedman demanded to do a solo segment with the reporter instead of defending his global warming assertions in front of Climate Depot in a televised debate.

Clean skies TV granted Freedman a full 25 minute interview. By contrast, Climate Depot was given a miserly 14 minutes plus, which was peppered with lots of hostile questions from the Clean Skies TV reporter (former CBS News journalist) Susan McGinnis asking just “who” exactly funds Climate Depot. Both interviews aired on September 14, 2009 on Clean Skies TV.

Watch Freedman’s full unedited 25 minute Clean Skies TV interview here.

Watch Morano’s full unedited less than 15 minute Clean Skies TV interview here.

In his interview with Clean Skies TV reporter McGinnis, Freedman could not seem to decide on the exact reason why he ducked the TV debate with Morano. Freedman offered more than half a dozen excuses in one sound bite as to why he refused to debate.

Freedman’s Top & Excuses on why he ducked debate:

Freedman excuse #1: ‘I didn’t think there was much good to come out of an in person debate between us’

Freedman excuse #2: ‘Last week in my life was an incredibly busy week’

Freedman excuse #3: ‘I started my last semester of graduate school’

Freedman excuse #4: ‘So I was not able to schedule [a debate] at that point’

Freedman excuse #5: ‘I felt like we had gone back and forth on the web enough’

Freedman excuse #6: I thought it would devolve into a discussion about carbon taxes and cap-and-trade’

Freedman excuse #7: ‘I am not a policy reporter, so I didn’t think it was appropriate to engage in that [debate]’

Freedman went on to claim that Climate Depot has a political agenda, but the Washington Post does not. “I disagree that