# On the asking of hard questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 21, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461 "2015-08-21T18:58:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461/21 "2015-08-22T09:51:33Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > if I could ask Trump one question, I’d ask this: "You’re 69 years old and you’ve been rich and famous for your whole life. Yet in all that time you’ve shown no interest in politics. The problem with this question is, [he’s shown a fair amount of interest in politics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump#Politics). Asking the question as you’ve phrased it would be an invitation for him to chew you up over that part, and he’d never have to answer the actual question unless he felt like it. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461/22 "2015-08-22T12:14:47Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > What **FairyChatMom** > I don’t remember ever hearing Barack Obama dodging tough questions. Obama has received very few hardball questions and was clearly annoyed about it when they were asked. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461/23 "2015-08-22T14:01:34Z")
Really? The questions I remember Obama getting annoyed over were the softballs. Something along the lines of “The economy’s in a shambles, and you’re worried about how I look in a bathing suit?”. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461/24 "2015-08-22T14:02:35Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Obama has received very few hardball questions and was clearly annoyed about it when they were asked. That’s because the elitist college-educated danged liberal media are all in the tank for Obama! Obama would understandably get annoyed when someone violates the Secret Rules! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461/25 "2015-08-22T14:05:53Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Obama has received very few hardball questions and was clearly annoyed about it when they were asked. That’s much of why he tried to exclude FoxNews from press conferences - Obama isn’t used to hard questions, especially before his staff has given him a statement he can read. Also why he did so poorly in his first debate with Romney. After that debate, the press realized that Obama was going to flounder, because he was used to the press jumping in to help him. So the moderator did so in the second debate, and things went much better for him. Hillary Clinton is another who does not do well with hard questions, although in her case it is not because she is used to any extra breaks the way Obama is - she is [defensive and prickly](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDMQFjAFahUKEwjn4O7a7bzHAhXL2B4KHRvzDeQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2015%2F08%2F18%2Fpolitics%2Fhillary-clinton-email-controversy%2F&ei=U4HYVafrG8uxe5vmt6AO&usg=AFQjCNHGDoA__fcIP_jH2V76LuGbUXQBJQ) because of her attitude that she is above all these petty questions from lesser beings. If the rest of the media treated Democrats the way FoxNews treats them, we would have a better idea of who can answer a hard question. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461/26 "2015-08-22T15:44:42Z")
IOW, what I just said! 😃 Except, sadly, I think you expect to be taken seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461/27 "2015-08-22T16:15:22Z")
Obama wasn’t afraid of hard questions from Fox. He was afraid of stupid questions. No politician, serious or otherwise, wants to be asked stupid questions. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461/28 "2015-08-22T16:45:25Z")
I think controversy arises when the candidate thinks the questions are too hard and the reporter doesn’t. I’m reminded of the [Palin Couric interviews](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin_interviews_with_Katie_Couric). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461/29 "2015-08-22T17:12:42Z")
Couric was in a difficult situation. On one hand, Palin was running for vice president of the United States and Couric had attendant journalistic responsibilities to conduct a meaningful interview. On the other hand, it’s not nice to make fun of the mentally handicapped. On balance, I think Couric fulfilled her ethical responsibilities. Of course to Palin, it was all “gotchas” and entrapment from the danged elitist college-educated lib’rul media. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-asking-of-hard-questions/728461.md?page=1)