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Politicians and press conferences?

Sounds like and absolute disaster. It's not that we shouldn't hear more from politicians, learn more about where the stand on certain issue and what they are bringing to the table its just that press conferences are not the best form for this.

Journalistic standards are at an all time low. We are more consumed with smear campaigns, what skeletons are in your closets and what you did as a teenager than we are about what you are about now, how you plan to help this country.

I'm will disclose now that I am a supporter for Barack Obama, I'm not a ardent follower of his but I like many of his messages. Mccain I also think highly of, because of his past track record as a truly active and open-minded politician. But as soon as you put two men like this in front of a camera, all your going to hear is spin.

Each man, even the much less charismatic McCain have become expert spinners, question dodgers and sound byte manipulators.
Now politics has become all about the 30 second sound byte, it can either make your career or kill your career.
They are trained speakers, story weavers and panders.

What makes this worse is that we don't have a responsible medium to hold there feet to the fire to make such a press conference legitimate. We have journalist who pander on both sides, some who are just in it for the dirt and of course the few who are on the level. But there out number, and so are the chances of having another useless infomercial instead of a honest to goodness public vetting of your candidates.

Because honestly that's what you want, you don't want to hear any more stories about Barack playing basketball or slander about him being a Muslim radical. You don't want to hear anything more about Mccain's soft side or any more jokes about his age. You want to know policies, plans and how these two men are going to help this country through its hardships, how they are going to help this country move forward, and not continue to be stuck in the mud.

Press conferences are the wrong idea.
Flat out they won't work, I'd much rather see an honest too goodness debate. Each candidate given topics before the debate, then asked to actually debate each other on the subject. None of the he gets his time, I get my time and he can't talk garbage.

Put pressure on these guys, have them bring the best out of each other, have them force each other to give us some real answers. Hell even bring a right winger in to grill Obama and a Left winger to grill McCain, the only parameters straight policy. No nonsense on how many cars you have, how long have you been a Christian, are you most like Joe the plumbernone of it. Just straight policy, straight answers and a national discussion and vetting of the two most important men in American these days.

Make them earn it, make them tell us who they are and what they plan to do before we hand over the keys to the castle.
Sure you can't lay out plans completely; you can account for everything, but make them earn it.

This goes way beyond democrat and republic can, this is about whats best for our country as a whole. Make them give us straight answers.

Because that's what I want, that what I think we all wantanswers, and its not much to ask from somebody your trying to hand over the keys to the castle to.

Learn more about this author, Brandon Ellis.
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