Gah!!

You can always tell when a politician is talking on TV...

"Sir, we've received unconfirmed rumors that you are wearing Sesame Street underwear. Are you?"

"Well first I want to comment on underwear in general. I like underwear. I like the support it gives. Second, I wear underwear because it prevents chafing. I remember back in 1992 when I didn't wear underwear, and there were some ads on the subway... It made for an uncomfortable ride back to Brooklyn, let me tell you. But Brooklyn is a nice city. They have the best corndogs there. Next question... You?"

It's like, answer the question!! They turn a simple yes or no answer into a 5 page rebuttle. This stuff must be taught in politics 101...

Tell you what. Any candidate that answers questions correctly in 10 words or less has my vote. Any side. I KNOW it won't happen.

Haven't you sussed it YET, Ryan? We are the guilty ones here!! WE make them side-step, do the Ali shuffle, avoid the question...BECAUSE IF THEY TOLD US THE TRUTH, THEY WOULD BE OUT OF WORK!!! He!! Not shouting, just emphasising That is the nature of Politics today. To get in power, you HAVE to lie..to STAY in power, you have to connive, deceive and try to do what is neccessary, especially the unpleasant parts, without really anybody spotting it!!Because we want it all, and now!!
Do you really think a candidate who stood up, in front of the cameras and proclaimed loud and long that we are spoilt, don't pay enough taxes, should pay for ALL our medical treatment and retirement, etc etc.,and we spend far more on credit than we should on luxury items and pampering ourselves? The truth is a majority of us DO, and know it..but won't give it up!!
And so they lie, avoid the question, fudge the subject...because they have to!!
Do I like it/ Heck NO!! But I can't see an honest politician being able to get within 1000000000 miles of being in charge, because of US!
Nick

and thats why I think Clinton was one of our greatest presidents.
in a world of BS, he is the King of all BS
he should run again
maybe he can sell nuclear secrets to someone else now - Koreans are all happy, eh?

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: and thats why I think Clinton was one of our greatest presidents. in a world of BS, he is the King of all BS he should run again maybe he can sell nuclear secrets to someone else now - Koreans are all happy, eh?

Actually it was Donald Rumsfeld that did that.
Rumsfeld was a director at a Zurich engineering firm called ABB for 11 years, making $190K per year. ABB sold “light water nuclear reactors” to North Korea. Rumsfeld quit in 2001 when he was offered a better job by some feller named Bush.
North Korea joined the popular “Axis of Evil” club at about the same time.

[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 10-11-2006).]

quote Originally posted by fierofetish: BECAUSE IF THEY TOLD US THE TRUTH, THEY WOULD BE OUT OF WORK!!!

Truer words have never been spoken.

It's like this commercial here, where a commedian runs for president.

"I did inhale, because it was lit and in my hand"
"When I was a young boy, I looked at pictures of naked ladies..."
"I did not have sex with that woman..... but I wanted to."

quote Originally posted by ryan.hess: Truer words have never been spoken. It's like this commercial here, where a commedian runs for president. "I did inhale, because it was lit and in my hand" "When I was a young boy, I looked at pictures of naked ladies..." "I did not have sex with that woman..... but I wanted to."

That movies gonna be great! Plus Christopher Walken is in it...oh and btw... http://www.walken2008.com/

all politicians are taught very specific techniques for avoiding or deflecting questions that would otherwise have them giving unwelcome or unpopular answers.
they pretend to answer the question by simply acknowledging and restating the question, or they say 'i think the REAL question is...',
or they'll say 'i don't really think that question can be answered with a simple yes or no', thereby negating the validity of the question and getting them off the hook, then they just turn it around by saying 'a better question to ask would be...'
that way they get to just state their own position without having to give in to demands for a simple yes or no.
that's why i like watching 'Hardball' - Chris Matthews may have a mouth like a grouper and be sonically almost unlistenable, but he's one of the best i've seen at reconfiguring interrogation on-the-fly to overcome his guests boilerplate answers and their evasions.

quote Originally posted by TorqueWench: all politicians are taught very specific techniques for avoiding or deflecting questions that would otherwise have them giving unwelcome or unpopular answers. they pretend to answer the question

Fair enough. I am sure they are. If you and I are aware of that, one would think that a journalism school would know these techniques also. So one would think the journalism schools would teach their students these techniques, and then teach them how to defeat those techniques.

What that should highlight is the absolute pathetic ability of "journalists".

Here is a little principle of life that comes in handy in MANY life situations:

If a question is worth asking, then it is worth getting an answer to.


AN answer doesn't mean you got the question answered. If the answer doesn't answer the question, then keep asking the question. If it isn't worth persisting in asking the question until you get the question answered, then you shouldn't have bothered asking it in the first place because it wasn't that important.

quote Originally posted by frontal lobe: AN answer doesn't mean you got the question answered. If the answer doesn't answer the question, then keep asking the question. If it isn't worth persisting in asking the question until you get the question answered, then you shouldn't have bothered asking it in the first place because it wasn't that important.

In the press conferences I've seen, you get one question, and the speaker gets to choose who asks questions. So if he/she doesn't like your first question, you probably won't get called on again.

quote Originally posted by frontal lobe: AN answer doesn't mean you got the question answered. If the answer doesn't answer the question, then keep asking the question. If it isn't worth persisting in asking the question until you get the question answered, then you shouldn't have bothered asking it in the first place because it wasn't that important.

That's all fine and dandy in a one-on-one interview. However, a press conference situation is a different kettle of fish. After doing the "Ali shuffle" (as Nick put it ) the politician (or press secretary) will simply turn to the next journalist/reporter (to evade yet another question).

Absolutely true, and not much one can do about that.

OTHER THAN, if journalists really had much integrity, the next journalist that was called on, if they thought it was a legitimate question, should ditch the question they had and call the guy on it, and ask the question again.

IF they did that, after a while, politicians would start to be trained that they can't get away with that.

However, that isn't really what journalists are interested in, so it is never going to happen.

quote Originally posted by frontal lobe: OTHER THAN, if journalists really had much integrity, the next journalist that was called on, if they thought it was a legitimate question, should ditch the question they had and call the guy on it, and ask the question again.

THAT would be the day...