Thursday, September 30, 2004
Debate questions
Hoping to see some spontaneity resembling debate during the parallel press conferences tonight, I spent a while looking for questions others would like answered.
For Kerry to hit home runs on
"After the 1998 bombings of American Embassies in East Africa, President Bill Clinton ordered missile strikes against Osama bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan. Should we have responded more vigorously then, and to the bombing of the Navy destroyer Cole in 2000? Was there any additional military option before 9/11 that would have made sense?"
Ruth Wedgwood"The former head of Saddam Hussein's nuclear centrifuge program, Mahdi Obeidi, says that Iraq's nuclear program 'could have been reinstituted at the snap of Saddam Hussein's fingers.' Now in the United States, Mr. Obeidi says that Mr. Hussein continued to back a long-range missile project and harbored 'the illusion in his mind that he had a nuclear program,' constrained only by economic sanctions.
"But economic sanctions against Iraq would almost certainly have been lifted by the United Nations once arms inspections were completed. How then could we have guarded against Mr. Hussein's reckless intentions? If you were president, would you have judged regime change a bad policy, assuming that legal requirements were met?"
Ruth Wedgwood"How might you explain the apparent abrupt change in policy of Libya; the unexpected removal of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb; and the about-face in Saudi Arabia - and what precise plans do you have to induce similar such positive changes in attitude in Iran, Lebanon and Syria?"
Victor Davis Hanson"You voted for the resolution that authorized the President to use armed force as necessary in Iraq. But a few weeks later, you voted against the authorization of $85 billion in funds to support those troops. Wasn't this a classic 'flip-flop'?
Peter B. Young, local columnist"You claim to have a better plan for winning the war in Iraq and the war on terror - that going after Saddam Hussein hurt U.S. attempts to track down Osama bin Laden. What would you do differently and why would it work?"
Houston Chronicle"What changes do you propose to US foreign policy to stem the spread of the ideology of militant Islamist extremism?"
Me
Questions for Bush to strike out on
"You have proclaimed that 'freedom is on the march' around the globe, but freedom in Russia is in rapid retreat. During the 2000 campaign, you blasted President Vladimir Putin of Russia for 'killing children' in Chechnya. Mr. Putin has now been fighting terrorism for years and failing dismally. What lessons do you draw from Russia's experience when considering our own options for fighting terror?"
Madeleine Albright"There are reports coming out of Iraq that your administration plans to conduct military crackdowns on insurgent areas after the election in the United States, to regain control before the Iraqi elections in January. Is that your plan, and do you think that attacking Iraqi cities, as we have done in Falluja and Najaf, is in the long-term interest of the United States?"
Richard Clarke"Do you really believe that there are fewer terrorists plotting against America today than there were before you began the invasion of Iraq?"
Arthur Schlesinger Jr"Your version of Christianity supports and blesses preventive war. What relation is this to the Christianity preached by the pope and by mainstream Protestants who oppose preventive war?"
Arthur Schlesinger Jr"Ask George Bush why he wasted all his money in Iraq and why he lied about the weapons of mass destruction."
Guy on the beach in Florida"How are you using US foreign policy to stem the spread of the ideology of militant Islamist extremism?"
Me
The format of the debate ended up being extremely boring. The Commission suggested the candidates be seated at a table and be able to ask each other questions. The campaigns agreed to require limiting answers to one minute. Frederick Douglas opened the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates with a 5,378 word speech. The President's 2004 State of the Union Address was just shy of that at 5,206 words. One minute and lights like a game show. Bah.
I'd love it if either candidate went over and in response to the moderator reminded America that we were talking about the future of our nation, not their choice of whatever is behind Doors 1-3. But it was the campaigns that set out these restrictive rules for themselves. I suppose it's a free country in a way, and they can agree to dumb down the debates if they wish.
// posted by Erik @ 9/30/2004 11:03:00 AM
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