Politicians take questions from the audience.
It looks bold. It isn't.
There is nothing better for a magician than to do some trick that looks really hard, but is in fact easy. The audience is impressed. The magician gets credit for being skilled. Win-win.I have seen about a hundred live performances of presidential candidates. Let me let readers in on a trick of the trade. The easiest thing for a politician is to take questions from the general public. The questioner stands and has a microphone. It looks like peril. The audience has the impression that the politician is fearlessly taking on all comers, open to the slings and arrows of hard questions and potential insults. In fact, every question from the audience is the easiest of slow-pitch softballs.
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| Audience applauding Nikki Haley |
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah Pre-existing Conditions blah blah, blah, blah.
Or
Blah, blah, blah, blah, high taxes, blah, blah, blah blah.
Then the politician gives the well-practiced, well-considered position on the key word, in apparent spontaneous response to the question. Easy.
Hostile questions are easy, too. Those fall into well-known problem areas for a candidate. This might be the George Washington Bridge traffic jam for Chris Christie. The politician may give an implausible or evasive non-answer but there is no one to say so. The politician looks and sounds confident and righteous. Smile, thank the questioner for letting the candidate clear that up. Next question, please.
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| Chris Christie, swatting away my question about the George Washington Bridge |
There is controversy over the upcoming CNN "Town Hall" with Trump. Trump demanded the format be audience questions, not questions from a knowledgeable news host who could fact-check in real time or ask followup questions. CNN is giving an unfiltered platform to Trump. CNN wants desperately to reposition itself to look even-handed and fair to Republicans, and that means letting Trump say what he will on their channel.
Buttons for sale at Trump rally
It is a dilemma for news networks, one for which Fox just paid $700 million. If one fact-checks a guest, the network looks hostile, but if one lets the guest talk without contradiction the audience presumes consent with what the guest said.
Trump is a media-savvy, manipulative negotiator. Trump had something to offer CNN and he extracted full price. Trump has a following and credibility as a Republican, and he is bringing that to CNN. In exchange, Trump gets to say what he will on CNN's brand.
CNN got rolled, but they were rolled by an expert.
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17 comments:
Wait a minute! Wait a minute!...what? Trump on "fake news" CNN?
Will the Trumpsters buy it? After a decade of using legitimate media as a foil, suddenly we will need to believe...what, they are suddenly not evil anymore? The spin on this is that CNN is failing and needs Trump, but the truth is that cable news is adjusting to a less chaotic environment, where viewers were breathlessly glued to their screens in crises after crises.
Let's guess! A twice impeached, indicted candidate under federal and state investigation, whose company is a convicted felon, accused of rape? The possibility for a plethora of wacky or incriminating soundbites is too enticing to pass up, not to mention the comedic potential of an audience of MAGA-idiots tossing softballs.
That's some world class entertainment there, Bub! Popcorn and Chardonnay!
This is post-truth America, and Trump is the epitome of it. In order to attract viewers, advertisers and revenue, “news” organizations allow compulsive liars like Trump, Carlson, et al to spew their bullshit as if it had some validity. That’s what now passes for “fair and balanced.”
So, in the matter of audience questions from candidates - unfiltered, and not known in advance. What's a candidate to do?
Seems like this could be and will be a big cluster-f**K.
The usual commenters here can't help themselves in focusing on Trump. Yes, he's the elephant in the room, but I'm sure that he won't have any problem with the questions. He'll answer, make snide remarks, and even trash the questioner if he doesn't like the question. Will it be a robust, detailed answer? Maybe yes, maybe no.
Would the other candidates do it? Perhaps, but likely not.
Even President Biden might have a problem with unscreened questions as he does seem to require some crib notes.
Even KSP seems to be having problems with questions from the vetted people in the press room these days.
In any case the next year and a half is going to be "interesting".
I hope there are moderated interviews, debates, and town halls, if anything to make them worth our time watching or listening to them.
Peter said:
CNN wants desperately to reposition itself to look even-handed and fair to Republicans,
A decade of blatant liberal bias caused a loss of trust among viewers, leading to low ratings for CNN. When they had Don Lemon, all they could make was liberal lemonade.
Trust in the mainstream media is at an all time low, according to polls. Liberal bias is why.
Good points, Peter. Very enlightening. I DO have a method that’s allowed me to almost always ask at least one follow up question. And to usually be one of the lucky few to ask any question.
I always sit on the aisle near the front. Usually, the rep, Senator, etc, has an assistant walking up the aisle, choosing whom to allow to have the Mike. When this young person gets to my position, I simply tell them, “give me the mic.” For some reason, possibly my age, combined with my fit looking six foot six body, they essentially always hand it right over :)
If I ask a “hostile question”, the assistant usually tries to take the mic back while his boss answers. I used to let him/her have it, but no more. And I’ve yet had any assistant try to wrestle me for it.
Usually, I’ll get to ask follow ups. Sometimes, the head guy will try to stop me by saying, “Sorry, Mr. Drake, but we only have time for one question per person.” Since this is a damn lie (funny how often follow ups are allowed for friendly questioners) I ask the follow up anyway. And the head guy usually makes an attempt to answer my followup the best he can come up with, since the question, left unanswered, can be more damaging than his off the wall answer.
I’m not a very aggressive person, but I suspect it doesn’t hurt to elderly and big. But anyone should be able to make this work. Just use your grown up voice!
I hope Trump is found liable for the EJC rape before this CNN circus.
M2inFLA made the observation: "The usual commenters here can't help themselves in focusing on Trump."
Newsflash: He's the subject of Peter's post, and he's the head of the Republican Party.
Rational Republicans, if you'll pardon the oxymoron, might like to change the subject (whatabout other candidates, or the mainstream media's liberal bias), but they're stuck with Trump whether they like it or not because he currently best represents the party's "values" - or lack thereof.
As my comment also mentioned Trump, I got the drift.
My comments was whether he or other candidates might actually answer questions in a town hall, or whether it will actually be worth watching or listening too.
I enjoy my podcasts where host actually has a sibsntive interview or conversation with candidates and elected officials. It's rare.
The town hall will likely get the ratings CNN desires, but I don't expect anything positive from it at all.
Trump is not the inevitable Republican candidate. So says Mike Murphy, inveterate political consultant and anti-Trump Republican. It’s way too early in the process for the polls to reflect anything other than the previous week on cable TV news. You can hear him on this podcast.
There is plenty of time for DeSantis to improve, or for some other candidate like Nikki Haley or Tim Scott to emerge. Furthermore, the Democrats may have screwed themselves by moving the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries out of first place. A lot of moderate Democrats may be incentivized to participate in the Republican primaries in those states, leading to much a more moderate Republican candidate for the presidency.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are stuck with doddering old Joe Biden, and political incompetent Kamala Harris is waiting in the wings, with no possible way for any other candidate to displace her since she is black and female, and the D in Democrat stands for Diversity. (Except, perhaps, Stacey Abrams, who has a recent unbroken record of losing elections.)
The Democrats outlook is definitely Biden or bust. If Biden did have a health issue that took him out before the campaign gets going in earnest, I'd be real surprised if Kamala got the nomination, as she is a very flawed/uninspiring candidate.
I would however be truly shocked if Trump didn't get the Republican nomination. He has a built in base of support among the Republican electorate that pretty much guarantees him a minimum of 40% at worst in any primary. The Repubs only shot at unsettling him would be for the entire rest of the party to unite around ONE alternative who could battle it out with Trump. That's not gonna happen any sooner than it did in 2016 when the other Republicans couldn't swallow their pride and unite against Trump until it was too late.
Which is all kind of ok because Trump is definitely the only Republican that Biden could actually beat. And someone like DeSantis is arguably significantly worse than Trump on the issues and is actually pretty invested in turning America into a fascist dictatorship, unlike Trump who really only gives a shit about being fawned over by his minions and getting richer.
A little reality check:
“Doddering old Joe Biden” got a lot of important legislation passed in his first two years. including but not limited to The American Rescue Plan, a bipartisan infrastructure bill and the first major gun-safety bill in decades.
As far as Trump being the 2024 Republican nominee, not only is he the frontrunner but according to Betfair, his odds improved after being indicted for paying off a porn star. That’s their kind of guy. His odds might improve even more if he’s in jail.
I’ll bet youre PRAYING that Rump doesn’t steal the rethuglikan nomination, aren’tcha? That would make it SO easy to get Uncle Joe re-elected!
Reality check: recent Washington Post poll says 60% think Biden does not have the mental acuity to be president. He “got a lot done” the same way Bernie hosted a party in that movie.
Predictions are hard, especially about the future. — Yogi Berra
I thin I’ll take Mike Murphy’s predictions over those of any of the “experts’ around here, including me.
The podcast is really good. Listen to it and you’ll hear smart thoughts that never would have occurred to you.
Malcolm said...
I’ll bet youre PRAYING that Rump doesn’t steal the rethuglikan nomination, aren’tcha? That would make it SO easy to get Uncle Joe re-elected!
I’m praying that for the good of the country. Trump is too narcissistic and irresponsible to be president.
Reality check: Trump is gaining in the polls. Others aren't. If we should face another choice between Trump and Biden, I'd wager that Mike Murphy would again support Biden, however reluctantly.
Reality check: the polls are meaningless right now according to Mike Murphy.
Murphy supported Biden last time, because Trump was running. I would too, except that I live in Oregon. Oregon’s electoral votes will go for Biden, regardless of what I do, which leaves me free to vote for any non-Biden non-Trump alternative.
I assumed (yeah, I know. Asses of u and me) that Michael is like my daughter's WONDERFUL, AMAZING father in law. Larry's opinion of Trump was exactly like that of Mitch McConnell. Totally unqualified for the job. Mean, evil, dishonest, philandering. ETCETERA . However, asked who he’d vote for in 2024, should the evil one be the nominee, he said, “Trump, of course. But I would actually be voting for the Republican Party, not Trump, per se”.
If trump does win the nomination, though, I’m sure Larry will be rolling over in his grave!
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