I'd have to agree.
ANYONE REMEMBER WHO ASKED THIS RUDE QUESTION? "You already are the oldest president in history and some of your staff say you were tired after your most recent encounter with Mr. Mondale. I recall yet that President Kennedy had to go days on end very little sleep during the Cuba missile crisis. Is there any doubt in your mind that you would be able to function in such circumstances?"
You don't know that it was HENRY TREWHITT from the Baltimore Sun because Reagan handled that slap against his age like this:
PRESIDENT REAGAN: I want you to know also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience."
Mondale later said he thinks that was the point even he knew he was toast.
If Wallace had asked her the flake question and she hit it out of the park, then nobody would be slamming the interviewer.
She could've stayed on message about how FLAKY a party is in the midst of a severe debt crisis are floating the idea of MORE SPENDING....and probably not just flaky but mentally unstable.
She could've hammered the left's inherent misogynist hypocrisy against the "wrong feminism" of her and Palin by calling her names like that.
She could've reminded people how they destroyed Santorum for "stepping near Hillary's space" during that debate, and yet it's ok for reporters now to essentially verbally slap her across the face with these terms like "flake."
But she didn't. Same as Palin. If Palin had hit Couric's "what do you read" question out of the park, Couric would've remained a zero. Palin could've challenged her on relevance of tree killer "Dinosaur Media" etc.
Critical points like that don't create character in a candidate, they reveal it. For better or worse.
I agree with you to some extent. I am not sure that it reveals so much about character, but it does show that these gals have a way to go with dealing with the media and the ability to use quick wit in tougher situations.
Good points!
My only point is that Wallace should have phrased it differently so it didnt come off as him calling her a flake.
You make some excellent points in your #160, sam_paine.
However, I can think of a quick rebuttal off the top of my head (with more to come later).
Although Reagan was The Great Communicator and it had a lot to do with his success, it’s NOT the reason we all love him... not the #1 reason, anyway. He was a Great President and Great American and then, 3rd, he was a Great Communicator.
What if we don’t have a Great Communicator right now but have several viable candidates for Great (or near-Great, or relatively-Great) President?
Should we nix them, or forget them, or fail to defend them against a vicious press simply because they lack Reagan’s #3 quality, that of Great Communication?
Sure I wish Bachmann had done what you said (and I often post similar wishes myself regarding other Republicans)... but that’s no reason to let Wallace or anyone else off the hook.
And that’s no reason to dismiss Bachmann’s quest for the presidency.
And I say that even though she is not at the top of my list, which runs as follows:
1. Palin
2. Perry
3. Bachmann
4. Cain
I'm pretty sure Reagan knew age was going to be an issue and had his response thought out in advance. Similarly I recall in 88 when GH Bush was on with Dan Rather and Rather got ugly, Bush nailed Rather on walking off the news room floor. It was great, but again IMHO, thought out in advance.
Not all good thinkers are quick wits and not all quick wits are good thinkers. But that dear in the headlights look is a killer. I think the lesson to be learned is, if at all possible be ready to fire back against any media person that attacks you in an interview (alla Bush 88) and be ready with a response to any know or perceived weakness (alla Reagen 84).
In politics, self-pity and a thin skin are deadly defects. It's not "survivable", unless you're Barack Obama and the news media think you're Zeus and defend you like Spartans.
I agree with your post. These are times to hit this stuff out of the park, not waiting for supporters or talk radio to defend you. This was a problem with W, he rarely hit this stuff out.
To repeat what I said in my #19 post...
I watched this yesterday. I was taken aback when he asked the question. (as was she)
But she did a very good job answering it.
The Reagan line was great, but it was not an impromptu moment — it was a scripted line for a known question that would come up in a debate - written by a little known consultant to Reagan named Roger Ailes. Yes, that Roger Ailes.
You and I did not hear the same interview. Michelle Bachmann’s answer to Wallace’s snarky question was controlled, measured and very substantive. I thought she hit it out of the park and made Wallace look small.
I have to dissagree, it’s not a contentuous dissagreement, just a different take...
Comparing the outstanding Reagan answer to the “age” issue, I thought I reemmebr reading somewhere the Mondale even thought Reagan really got in a good lick there...
But it is the whole context of today’s political analysis and lines of questioning some “journalists” (for lack of a better term), the gotcha nature of their trade is what irritates me more than anything, and it is not related to any particular form of favoritism towards any particular political party a candidate may be affiliated with...
They got away with the “age” question with Reagan because it was a legitimate question, based upon tangible evidence of the candidates ages...And they both answered the issue by cancelling it out and not making it an issue in the end...
That question (issue) was nothing like the Chris Wallace ambush (if you could call it that) of Bachmann this weekend...
If someone asked you “Are you a flake?”, in what was supposed to be a legitimate interview, with questions and answers, what would you have said??? How would you have reacted...
I can understand that being President you have to be prepared for such nonsense, but on the same token, the people asking those questions should respect the office and those seeking that position during a campaign...
Seems to me that no one would ever ask Obama a question like that...Which proves one thing...
Even FauxNews is not exactly in the corner of right-wing politics as some people think they are...
They report, and I certainly decide where I fall based upon facts and my own analysis...
And there are a ton of people who participate on this website who do the same thing...
Like I said before, remember the whole “Boxer or Briefs” question???
Trying to make politics something the pop culture society amoung us take notice really dumbs down the quality of representation we get in politicians these days...And we certainly need some injections of maturity and seriousness of purpose in those people...
Sorry for the long rant, but thats just the way I feel...
I bow to your belated wisdom. Michele, off with her head!