Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Watch Out for Flying Pigs
He's not the first to make this suggestion, but Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin has an interesting proposition for President Bush: Invite your critics, politicians or regular Joes, to debate you on the same stage. Break from the tired, scripted, made-for-tv debates and town hall meetings. I think it would be fantastic to see any politician, not just Bush, throw away the talking points and actually say something real, actually answer a question. Of course, I've seen enough real politics and watched enough West Wing to know this would never happen. Most debates and press conferences are as unscripted as WWF wrestling matches. In our sound-bite society politicians are afraid to say anything off the cuff that hasn't been scripted and examined carefully. I'm tired of politicians hand picking their softball questions. Let's see some real debate.
YOU ARE THE ONE, BRYAN HAILEY!! YOU ARE IT!! ...WOOOOOOOO!
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight. You watch a TV show made by Hollywood to understand how our government runs press conferences. Hmmmm....I am thinking that is not a good idea. Let me tell you how it really works. I have been through the process on a gubinatiorial and candidate level. First the WH press team sits down and thinks of every imaginable question any reporter might ask, the good, the bad and the ugly. They pick the most likely and go over them with Bush and formulate possible answers. Every time. Then they hold the press conference. Someone who hates the President (any President) asks a question the WH press office did not anticipate. They wince. The President actually says what he really thinks. Every time, every President. The same goes for the Presidential Debates. They don't have the questions beforehand, but if they are not stupid they can guess, and the job of Charlie Rose or whomever is moderating is make the pol as embarrassed as possible. That is why they call the press the fourth estate. It is an adversarial relationship. What is really interesting is to read the transcript of the debate, press conference, speech in its totality and then read the spin the PRESS puts on it the next day. It is laughable.
ReplyDeleteLove ya Bryan!