How much do you really need to know???

[FlamingoBlue]

In the U.S., we have freedom of speech, with some limitation. Now that its election time, again, every major candidate for public office is besieged with questions from the Press. Should there be any limits on what a candidate can be asked?

blue

 

[Expertise]

I am of the opinion that some of the questions asked are patently ridiculous.

It makes NO difference to me that Willy was banging an intern. Or that shrub used to snort the Devils Dandruff.

I tend to regard the great majority of media types as pond scum who are there because the are estheticly pleasing. For that matter there are very few of them who have an intelect or depth of knowledge that would allow them to formulate questions less base than they do.

The ultimate example of this was in the Gulf War when military briefers were constantly asked questions like "What are your targets for tonight"? and "Exactly when do you plan to launch the ground offensive"?

Freedom of the press..... aint it wonderfull.

 

[Cheri]

Love your threads Blue!

I think everything is fair game. Only then will the difference between a good politician, one who can lead and control a bunch of reporters, and a weak willed wimp politician become aparent. I mean come on, do you want a president who has the authority to take us to war but can't come up with a nice way to say shut the hell up to a bunch of reporters?

 

[Oliver Clozoff]

I totally agree with Cheri. The right of a free press to ask any question and publish the answer is one of our great freedoms in America.

Our free press is often referred to as "the 4th branch of government" for its great power to reveal wrongdoing in government and make our governmental representatives more accountable for their actions. The problem with press censorship, of course, is that there's no way to guarantee important issues are addressed and only trivial ones are disallowed. Who could we trust to make such decisions? The media would simply become another political battleground and truth would be the loser.

I agree that the questions that are being asked are ridiculous and distracting from the more important issues we should be focusing on, but I again agree with Cheri. The candidates have it fully within their power to ignore the tabloidesque questions and answer only the substantive ones.

 

[insideShiraz]

Electoral College...

I'm still trying to remember the last time I voted for the Electoral College, as the Popular Vote comes in second.

As for the thread, this is the reason our best candidates don't run. Who wants their family to be raped by the Media?

Always the Lesser of Two Evils...

insideShiraz

 

[RonG]

Santayana Deja Vu

Presidential Candidates are certainly free to draw the line and not answer any question they deem inappropriate. But since these folks are trying to create their own cults of personality and they believe that their personal travails are soooo fascinating, they have no restraint

The only question that really should be off limits is how they plan to wash their asses if there is no bidet in The White House

 

[insideShiraz]

Ronnie G...

Did I say something wrong again?

 

[RonG]

IS,

No, just an homage to an earnest, but goofy thread started by Mr. Blue, the graceful blue member of the flamingo family. It is certainly meant as a joke. Search around the How To area to find an older thread by FlamingoBlue to get the straight line.

Some threads are ethereal, that one somehow sticks in my memory.

Ron