I’ve long thought that nothing could do more damage to any Republican presidential candidate than to give them one full hour to do nothing but appear on national primetime television uninterrupted and have them talk about the kind of changes they would like to make in our country. Perhaps they agree, since some candidates are squirming over the thought of a potentially freewheeling Youtube debate. And I’d like to think their nervousness is because of people like me, dreaming of how to put them on the spot.
The goal for progressives in such a debate should be to lure the candidates into breaking from the canned replies and making a response so preposterous that it does short or long term damage to their public images.
I have a little list of the questions I’d like to ask, some admittedly impertinent or snarky. But each one is very important to me and could provoke an embarrassing answer. Which would you choose? If you’d like to borrow one yourself and post it to Youtube, go ahead.
- What objective criteria will you use to determine when U.S. military forces can be withdrawn from Iraq?
- Please list all of the nations that you think will require some form of regime change before the U.S. can declare victory in the war on terror.
- According to some poll reports, there are persistently large parts of the American electorate that continue to disagree about facts regarding 9/11 and the war in Iraq. To clarify this, can you state your convictions on whether Iraq was in any way involved in the 9/11 attacks and on whether weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq.
- Do you think the U.S. could conceivably wage war successfully against Iran -- a nation whose population is three times larger than Iraq -- without a resumption of a military draft?
- To resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, President Kennedy gave a promise of no U.S. military intervention in Cuba in exchange for Cuba peacefully giving up its growing nuclear arsenal. Would you consider making a similar offer to Iran, that is, no U.S. military attack in exchange for a verifiable, monitored cessation of all nuclear weapon-making capability?
- If at any time during your administration you find it necessary to resume a military draft, what types of exemptions or deferments, if any, would you allow?
- Is waterboarding torture?
- In general, do you think the wealthy have too much influence on the lawmaking process in Washington?
- Including any or all of the current participants in our health care system – the individual, medical professionals, the employer, the federal government, the state government, and private insurance companies – please describe what you would consider to be the ideal way for health care to be financed in the U.S.
- Is it fair for wages and tips to be taxed at a higher federal income tax rate than dividends or capital gains acquired through the sale of stock?
- We are often hearing that the U.S. economy is doing well, but if that is so, why are so many U.S. companies abandoning their defined-benefit pension plans and leaving their workers without a sustainable retirement?
- Do you support the privatization of Social Security?
- In many areas of the country, the price of gasoline has never been higher. Would you support a thorough, independent investigation into record oil company profits?
- Do you support the recent increase in the federal minimum wage, and, if not, what do you think the minimum wage, if any, should be?
- Should the federal government provide funding for tuition at private religious schools in America?
- Since you oppose proposed legislation that would protect victims of hate crimes based on sexual orientation, would you also call for the elimination of current federal laws that outlaw hate crimes based on race and religion?
- What’s your opinion of Vice-President Cheney’s daughter and her lifestyle arrangement with her companion and new baby, and should government enact laws of any kind to address such arrangements?
- Imagine the following scenario: if the only way to stop a potential terrorist attack on the U.S. was to hire experienced gay linguists and translators into the military, would you do it, or would you permit the attack to take place?
- In the book of Leviticus 20:13, the Holy Bible clearly calls for the execution of all practicing homosexuals. Do you agree with this principle, or is the Bible wrong on this point?
- Was too much done by government officials to extend the life of Terri Schiavo in 2005?
- Has Ms. Valerie Plame Wilson received justice for her exposure as an undercover CIA employee?
- If you were contacted today by a major polling organization and asked the question "Do you approve of the job that President Bush is doing?" would you reply yes, no, or not sure?