Americans expect and oftentimes demand much from political candidates; honesty, critical judgement, and an unwavering moral compass. Unfortunately, in today's media-driven society, the public has come to believe that they have the right to demand that political candidates hold press conferences to address the issues which impact their lives.
Perhaps we have been accustomed to White House protocol, which makes press conferences regular occurrences. We have been spoiled by the Helen Thomases of the world, the newswire journalists who report on these press events. We have seen so many in our lifetime that we take them for granted and assume that, as the American public, we have the right to demand press coverage whenever and wherever we want. We believe that if a politician refuses to cater to reporters and journalists, that they are somehow acting in a deceitful manner.
Candidates for office have held news conferences since time immemorial, and for good reason: one cannot be elected to public office without the right publicity. Unfortunately, very rarely do candidates answer hardball questions or speak to controversial issues. After all, their goal is to win an election. Winning an election means winning a local, statewide, or nationwide popularity contest. Very few unlikeable people have ascended to high positions in government.
We can debate the issue of whether or not political candidates should be required to hold press conferences, mandated to answer questions posed by journalists and ordinary citizens alike, but the sad reality is that press conferences are ineffective tools for measuring a candidate's credibility. Press conferences are only as good as the questions being asked, as well as the people asking the questions. All too often, candidates face softball questions lobbed by those who support that candidate's political viewpoints. On the rare occasion that a real tough question is asked, a seasoned candidate will merely sidestep the issue. Very rarely do we, the public, get to learn anything new, fascinating, informative, or important through press conferences.
Since we live in the Information Age, perhaps the best and brightest among us will find ways to get the answers we want to the questions that go unasked or unanswered. Perhaps we can catch political candidates speaking their true convictions through the use of hidden cameras. Perhaps science will invent a foolproof polygraph examination that can be administered to politicians during public appearances. But even if science and technology can come up with a way to make political candidates answer the "tough" questions and answer them truthfully, we live in a society which would never allow such tools to be used.
We all would like to see the day when we can have instant answers to any question, but that day is far beyond the horizon.