If you read me, you know that I think Donald Trump is a dangerously unbalanced person who would damage if not destroy democracy as we know it. Obviously, I think the choice is clear. That doesn't mean that I don't want to know more about the person who might be the next president.
Thought-provoking questions, and the answers would be fascinating to hear. I would like to think that we lived in a time where the press, politicians, and citizens could listen and ponder the responses. I don't need to know before I cast my vote for Harris at this time, though, and I don't think it's reasonable to hold her to a standard that everyone else gets to avoid. But kudos for the aspirations.
Jesus Christ, that’s a lot of questions. I get your point, but have we EVER known the answers to all these questions for ANY president? Am I to be excused from thinking that b/c this candidate is a woman, we have to drill down into her brain to know all the unknowables? It’s a bit much. Pick five and be done w/ it, for now.
Yes. And let's just pay attention to what Trump represents instead of displaying the "gotcha" sexist crap, Mr. Froomkin. It's really ugly. I'm surprised you haven't opined whether Harris is "likeable" or "friendly," or asked her to bake a batch of cookies to prove herself.
I read Press Watch because I really appreciate your take on the press. But this? Seriously?? Have any male presidential candidates ever been asked such questions? “How do you anticipate an average day in the Oval Office?” Really?? “How do you plan to bring the country together?” When half the country are fking fascist lunatics?? I can go on but really Dan, this list is absolutely infuriating. I’m sensing a great deal of how the press dealt with HRC in 2016: with a woman candidate NOTHING IS EVER GOOD ENOUGH! We have 48 days to get out the vote. Concentrate on THAT.
All valid questions to me - many of these I would ask in a job interview to get a sense of the psychology, habits, personality of a candidate - and would love for interviewers to ask me.
(Nobody does: interviewers and companies don't care.)
Do we not care?
I do want to get to know someone better, with whom I'd be working for some time. POTUS? Then those questions would be just an appetizer - and don't get me wrong - it's not about grilling - Kamala gets my vote no matter what - it's about getting to know someone, like Dan said.
I would vote for a dead squirrel before I would vote for Trump. Most Americans with a brain and a conscience would. Or are you hoping to reveal something unplayable about Harris that would push voters to choose that dangerous fascist Trump?
His list is absolutely infuriating. Nothing is ever good enough for a woman candidate. He really disappointed me with his take on this; it’s as if he’s hoping for “gotcha” questions.
During the 2016 SC primary Rachel Maddow interviewed Hillary, Bernie and Martin O’Malley in a pub. She asked the candidates questions submitted by the audience as well as her own. She was very respectful but the questions were not softballs but substantive. I learned more about all three candidates from that show than I have ever learned from a debate or all those typical candidate interviews that are clearly aiming to get a controversial, headline-grabbing answer. The questions Maddow asked were designed to help people get to know the candidates and their proposals better. That is probably why few people remember those interviews.
Obama wrote a whole book about how is absent father influenced how he grew up. Clinton's absent father affected him deeply. How is this remotely sexist?
Mr. Froomkin, I posted a comment earlier and deleted because I thought it was not quite getting at what bothered me about your question re the absent father. Your question isn’t sexist, but why do you ask it? She’s told us a lot about her mother, who was a great parent by all indications. I think some of your readers, including me are reacting to the volume of detail you want. The Republican nominees have much more to explain than Harris does.
many of the republican nominees and elected officials may be better suited for a full blown interrogation under oath - or perhaps even charged with treason and dereliction of their sworn duties - not interviews.
Pro American Anti Trump here. I live in AZ and see many of the same white guys around my mid size moderate city desperately blanketing Trump Vance political signs across the community. You can literally see the desperation and fear in their faces. A black woman as president? They will never psychologically accept this. It would be hilarious if the underlying fear in their faces wasn't so alarming. I hope to God she wins. If she does, I think that unfortunately the resistance to her will be even more fierce than Obama. Racism and bigotry runs deep in our country.
I really think she shows great potential. I'd love to here how she plans to deal with the threats of the military industrial complex.
2. will she destroy our greatest freedom, the First Amendment,
3. will she illegally attack countries that are no threat to the U.S. and are never going to attack the U.S.,such as Iran,
4. will she reach out her hand to other countries' leaders in friendship, rather than animosity, countries that have many times tried to do that to the U.S. such as Russia and China
5. where does she stand on implanted digital IDs and CBDCs, that will allow the government to have control of everyone's assets,
6. what will she do when the most of the rest of the world (BRICS) no longer uses the American dolflar internationally,
7. will she try to force all citizens to take a "vaccine" they don't want,
8. will she fight for healthcare and education for all,
9. will she stop sending billions to foreign countries when it's badly needed here so people could easily have free healthcare and education,
10. will she stop Big Pharma, AIPAC, the MIC, and other lobbyists from buying our Congress, i.e., get money out of politics, using only public money, equally used by candidates, and
11. will she stop using sanctions like road rage when other countries won't bow to the bidding of the U.S.?
I think Mr. Froomkin's questions would reveal the answers to yours while also revealing far more interesting information. Yours seem to contain a lot of arguments.
I'd like to know her position on drug law reform and why she thinks that the war on drugs has been such a failure. Why are both homelessness and "deaths of despair" are rising in the most prosperous country in the world.
Gee, sending bombs to Israel is bad. But what do you think Trump would do as president? He won't even commit to defending Ukraine. I am very much pro Palestine. I don't trust Trump and his buddy netanyahu as far as I can throw them.
The question about a Republican Senate is pointless. We know what Republicans consider compromise to be - total capitulation. If she faces the usual Republican blockade she needs to play hardball in the court of public opinion. Take the case for the policies and programs we, the people, want to we, the people and ask us to get in the face of every Senate Republican. And then issue executive order after executive order, and when the MAGA SCOTUS tries to block it, expand the court by executive fiat. Pull the FDR gambit - threaten to render them neutered unless they pull their heads out of Leonard Leo's ass.
love the questions - would love to hear the answers - yet wonder what percentage of the populace would care (or have the chops, or the attention span) to actually comprehend them without immediately applying their own fears and biases?
Let's hope Harris agrees to an in-depth interview to be published in Mother Jones or The Atlantic, for example, using many if not all of your questions. It would put an end to "undecided" voters, in my opinion.
Her inability or refusal to to answer questions from the NABJ panel was very disappointing. She responds with platitudes and talking points. She had an opportunity to actually show up who she is but instead chose to repeat her DNC acceptance speech. Ugh!
Oh? Were you watching the same interview I was? Really? This entire thread is what I would expect from uninformed, right leaning sycophants.
I am now going to ask what I did when Hillary was the candidate: When does the double standard disappear? Thank you for proving it hasn't. Misogyny, the largest political party in the US.
Do me a favor, don't pull the same garbage y'all did in 2016, stop sucking your thumb about a woman candidate not being the male idea of perfection and vote.
If you read me, you know that I think Donald Trump is a dangerously unbalanced person who would damage if not destroy democracy as we know it. Obviously, I think the choice is clear. That doesn't mean that I don't want to know more about the person who might be the next president.
Thought-provoking questions, and the answers would be fascinating to hear. I would like to think that we lived in a time where the press, politicians, and citizens could listen and ponder the responses. I don't need to know before I cast my vote for Harris at this time, though, and I don't think it's reasonable to hold her to a standard that everyone else gets to avoid. But kudos for the aspirations.
Jesus Christ, that’s a lot of questions. I get your point, but have we EVER known the answers to all these questions for ANY president? Am I to be excused from thinking that b/c this candidate is a woman, we have to drill down into her brain to know all the unknowables? It’s a bit much. Pick five and be done w/ it, for now.
Yes. And let's just pay attention to what Trump represents instead of displaying the "gotcha" sexist crap, Mr. Froomkin. It's really ugly. I'm surprised you haven't opined whether Harris is "likeable" or "friendly," or asked her to bake a batch of cookies to prove herself.
"displaying the "gotcha" sexist crap" - what?
I read Press Watch because I really appreciate your take on the press. But this? Seriously?? Have any male presidential candidates ever been asked such questions? “How do you anticipate an average day in the Oval Office?” Really?? “How do you plan to bring the country together?” When half the country are fking fascist lunatics?? I can go on but really Dan, this list is absolutely infuriating. I’m sensing a great deal of how the press dealt with HRC in 2016: with a woman candidate NOTHING IS EVER GOOD ENOUGH! We have 48 days to get out the vote. Concentrate on THAT.
All valid questions to me - many of these I would ask in a job interview to get a sense of the psychology, habits, personality of a candidate - and would love for interviewers to ask me.
(Nobody does: interviewers and companies don't care.)
Do we not care?
I do want to get to know someone better, with whom I'd be working for some time. POTUS? Then those questions would be just an appetizer - and don't get me wrong - it's not about grilling - Kamala gets my vote no matter what - it's about getting to know someone, like Dan said.
I would vote for a dead squirrel before I would vote for Trump. Most Americans with a brain and a conscience would. Or are you hoping to reveal something unplayable about Harris that would push voters to choose that dangerous fascist Trump?
His list is absolutely infuriating. Nothing is ever good enough for a woman candidate. He really disappointed me with his take on this; it’s as if he’s hoping for “gotcha” questions.
During the 2016 SC primary Rachel Maddow interviewed Hillary, Bernie and Martin O’Malley in a pub. She asked the candidates questions submitted by the audience as well as her own. She was very respectful but the questions were not softballs but substantive. I learned more about all three candidates from that show than I have ever learned from a debate or all those typical candidate interviews that are clearly aiming to get a controversial, headline-grabbing answer. The questions Maddow asked were designed to help people get to know the candidates and their proposals better. That is probably why few people remember those interviews.
Yes, and I thought some questions were subtly sexist. For example, would he ask a male candidate how their absent father influenced how they grew up?
Obama wrote a whole book about how is absent father influenced how he grew up. Clinton's absent father affected him deeply. How is this remotely sexist?
Mr. Froomkin, I posted a comment earlier and deleted because I thought it was not quite getting at what bothered me about your question re the absent father. Your question isn’t sexist, but why do you ask it? She’s told us a lot about her mother, who was a great parent by all indications. I think some of your readers, including me are reacting to the volume of detail you want. The Republican nominees have much more to explain than Harris does.
many of the republican nominees and elected officials may be better suited for a full blown interrogation under oath - or perhaps even charged with treason and dereliction of their sworn duties - not interviews.
What does that mean? I’m sure we all know that. So you believe raising questions about them is useless?
gee - it's not about voting. Did Dan say anything about voting? Kamala gets my (and I think Dan's) vote no matter what.
We know what the priorities are and what's at stake.
It's about getting to know a future potential POTUS who will be operating in a minefield I wouldn't wish on my enemy.
Pro American Anti Trump here. I live in AZ and see many of the same white guys around my mid size moderate city desperately blanketing Trump Vance political signs across the community. You can literally see the desperation and fear in their faces. A black woman as president? They will never psychologically accept this. It would be hilarious if the underlying fear in their faces wasn't so alarming. I hope to God she wins. If she does, I think that unfortunately the resistance to her will be even more fierce than Obama. Racism and bigotry runs deep in our country.
I really think she shows great potential. I'd love to here how she plans to deal with the threats of the military industrial complex.
She should be asked
1. if she will keep sending bombs to Israel,
2. will she destroy our greatest freedom, the First Amendment,
3. will she illegally attack countries that are no threat to the U.S. and are never going to attack the U.S.,such as Iran,
4. will she reach out her hand to other countries' leaders in friendship, rather than animosity, countries that have many times tried to do that to the U.S. such as Russia and China
5. where does she stand on implanted digital IDs and CBDCs, that will allow the government to have control of everyone's assets,
6. what will she do when the most of the rest of the world (BRICS) no longer uses the American dolflar internationally,
7. will she try to force all citizens to take a "vaccine" they don't want,
8. will she fight for healthcare and education for all,
9. will she stop sending billions to foreign countries when it's badly needed here so people could easily have free healthcare and education,
10. will she stop Big Pharma, AIPAC, the MIC, and other lobbyists from buying our Congress, i.e., get money out of politics, using only public money, equally used by candidates, and
11. will she stop using sanctions like road rage when other countries won't bow to the bidding of the U.S.?
Robbie Roy
Portland, Oregon
[don't print phone number 503 756-5832]
Rob, I'm so sorry, I can't edit comments on Substack. But you can! Or either oif use can take it down.
I think Mr. Froomkin's questions would reveal the answers to yours while also revealing far more interesting information. Yours seem to contain a lot of arguments.
Hey Rob, We can see a phone number!
I'd like to know her position on drug law reform and why she thinks that the war on drugs has been such a failure. Why are both homelessness and "deaths of despair" are rising in the most prosperous country in the world.
Gee, sending bombs to Israel is bad. But what do you think Trump would do as president? He won't even commit to defending Ukraine. I am very much pro Palestine. I don't trust Trump and his buddy netanyahu as far as I can throw them.
The question about a Republican Senate is pointless. We know what Republicans consider compromise to be - total capitulation. If she faces the usual Republican blockade she needs to play hardball in the court of public opinion. Take the case for the policies and programs we, the people, want to we, the people and ask us to get in the face of every Senate Republican. And then issue executive order after executive order, and when the MAGA SCOTUS tries to block it, expand the court by executive fiat. Pull the FDR gambit - threaten to render them neutered unless they pull their heads out of Leonard Leo's ass.
love the questions - would love to hear the answers - yet wonder what percentage of the populace would care (or have the chops, or the attention span) to actually comprehend them without immediately applying their own fears and biases?
You have a lot of questions and want to get to know her better. You are a journalist, so why aren't you asking her some of these yourself?
ask for what she would do to make nuclear weapons fewer and with better safeguards; reduce leading to elimination.
would she appoint a secretary of the interior who really cared about conservation of animals, predators.....
Let's hope Harris agrees to an in-depth interview to be published in Mother Jones or The Atlantic, for example, using many if not all of your questions. It would put an end to "undecided" voters, in my opinion.
Her inability or refusal to to answer questions from the NABJ panel was very disappointing. She responds with platitudes and talking points. She had an opportunity to actually show up who she is but instead chose to repeat her DNC acceptance speech. Ugh!
Oh? Were you watching the same interview I was? Really? This entire thread is what I would expect from uninformed, right leaning sycophants.
I am now going to ask what I did when Hillary was the candidate: When does the double standard disappear? Thank you for proving it hasn't. Misogyny, the largest political party in the US.
Do me a favor, don't pull the same garbage y'all did in 2016, stop sucking your thumb about a woman candidate not being the male idea of perfection and vote.