“Mr. President, if an airplane were on a treadmill . . .”
And we have a winner!
Mr. President, I am concerned about the recent apparent encroachments on personal privacy, as revealed in the media. I think the nation would like to hear your policies and opinions on the right to privacy, and the touchstones your administration uses when considering the boundaries of the policies.
Mr. President, I know you’re supportive of alternative energy sources. Can you share your view on the future energy policies the nation needs?
Mr. President, what can you tell us about the recent revision of the Medicare program, and how the government is working to repair the strong issues that seem to have been created by it?
… hell. There aren’t any safe topics, but I tried to cut a bright line between puffery and things he won’t answer.
Mr. President, many of our brave men are being injured in Iraq. Thanks to body armor, few are killed, but what is being done to help those who have lost limbs re-enter society?
Mr. President, what kind of person would you favor being your successor as President?
Mr. President, can you name five Democrats you most respect, on a professional level, and can you tell us why?
Do you feel any responsibility for the deaths of our soldiers in Iraq?
“Was my phone tapped?”
Enjoy,
Steven
“What specific proposals do you support for removing both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in federal officials?”
Daniel
Cue the fife and drums:
[Lawrence Olivier]
Do you prefer oysters or snails?
[/Lawrence Olivier]
Mr President, what are you doing to support local self-reliance?
What do you think of Russ Feingold’s resolution to censure you? Do you recognize any wrongdoing on your part, and if so, what would you say is the appropriate remedy?
This is a great question. I think we should make it more specific.
I can see him replying, “I believe God works in complicated ways,” or something similarly vague. During the 2000 campaign he said, “On the issue of evolution, the verdict is still out on how God created the Earth,” using language similar to his discourse on global warming. It would be nice to show that he thinks anthropogenic global warming is on the same level of reliability as evolution.
Perhaps the question could be, “Which do you have more confidence in, that humans evolved from apes as a result of natural selection, or that human activities are adversely affecting global climates?”
When they vet your question, give them a pseudo-softball; something thought-provoking to make him look good, but nothing too challenging…
"What are some of the more challenging aspects we as a nation need to overcome in regards to the Iraqi conflict?
But when it comes time to ask, go with one of these (Just because questions are hard, doesn’t make them disrespectful).
“It’s common practice for most public speakers to respond to hard questions with prepared talking points rather than responding to the content of the question, and I think that this practice is disrespectful to the American People. Can this Q&A session be devoid of such deflections?”
or
"If new information — or intel — came in that counters previously-held beliefs about a situation, Is it better to “stay the course” or to change your previous position? [Brief pause] And if you prefer the latter, how is that different from “flip-flopping?”
There’s no point in asking a question if you already know the answer that will be given.
Ask about the sacrifices of our soldiers, or the challenges facing us in Iraq, or about torture and he’ll swat that can of corn right out of the park with a boilerplate speech.
You get to ask a question, he gets to give the answer. Face facts, you’re not going to be able to ask him a simple 10 second question that exposes him as an idiot on national TV. Asking him why he’s in favor of Evil Policy X isn’t going to get you a useful answer, because he’s going deny that he’s in favor of Evil Policy X, he’s in favor of Good Policy Y, and then he’ll talk about all the good things Good Policy Y has done for America.
Is the purpose of the question to get an answer, or to embaress him?
So why bother asking a question if all you want to do is insult him and/or scream at him? Just go ahead and scream until the nice men escort you outside.
You think he’s never been asked a “tough” question before? Honestly, you just can’t ask him a tough question if all you get is one question with no follow-up. Tough interviewers who ask tough questions are able to do so because they get to sit there and redirect the interviewee back to the question, and they keep prying for more details. The interviewee then has to decide whether to answer the question or end the interview. Of course, nothing is going to get that far with George Bush, because he’s not going to be interviewed by anyone who isn’t a lap-dog in the first place.
There are other possible reasons – e.g., to get him to publicly commit to something, to make a statement to which he can be held later. That’s what I would have in mind if I got to ask him when we’ll be pulling out of Iraq.
Yeah…“a statement to which he can be held later.”
you have any other hilarious ideas for us? That one may have just blown my funny fuse.
-Joe
Count me among the cynics who say the chances of your friend getting to ask George an unvetted and insightful question are right down there with Ann Coulter admitting she’s really a he.
You know, the best question to ask may be one that he’s just been asked and ignored.
“Mr. President, when you were just asked about the lack of Iraqi police readiness, you responded with a vague non-answer. Could you please address the specifics of that question?”
In other words, provide the follow-up to someone else’s question.
Daniel
But then he replies, “I just answered it.”
Why is Iran any different?
Are you a Cylon?