Asking hard questions, made easy
The Republican presidential candidates are right: the questions asked at the CNBC debate were awful. But not for the reasons the candidates complain about.
By straining to ask “tough” questions, the panel made the debate too easy on the candidates. There’s a better way. Less is more.
The hardest questions to answer are short, sharp and simple. Take it from someone who spent 40 years prepping politicians for interviews, press conferences and debates.
Politicians should love the kind of questions they got from CNBC, like John Harwood’s opening question to Donald Trump:
“Mr. Trump, you’ve done very well in this campaign so far by promising to build a wall and make another country pay for it. Send 11 million people out of the country. Cut taxes $10 trillion without increasing the deficit. And make Americans better off because your greatness would replace the stupidity and incompetence of others. Let’s be honest. Is this a comic book version of a presidential campaign?”
A politician looks at a question like that the same way a home-run hitter looks at a fat, slow pitch right down the middle. “This one’s going out of here, baby.”
The question is too long, too complicated, too nasty-sounding and all too easy to parry. A good politician can bat it away and pivot right into a stump speech.
Harwood’s question didn’t slow Trump down a minute. But the panel didn’t stop. They kept coming with the same pitch, over and over.
Not only were the questions easy to bat back, they also gave the candidates a chance to slam the media, always a winner in a Republican debate.
Here are some simple questions that should be asked at the next Republican debate:
- Did you think the richest 1 percent of Americans have too much power?
- Do you believe abortions should be illegal even in cases of rape and incest?
- Do you think Social Security and Medicare should be fundamentally changed? If so, how?
Matthew Yglesias makes the same point in a great piece at Vox: “It’s harder for politicians to answer softball’ questions than tough ones.” Check it out for more good questions and more tips on the art of asking good questions.
Asking hard questions, made easy
The Republican presidential candidates are right: the questions asked at the CNBC debate were awful. But not for the reasons the candidates complain about.
By straining to ask “tough” questions, the panel made the debate too easy on the candidates. There’s a better way. Less is more.
The hardest questions to answer are short, sharp and simple. Take it from someone who spent 40 years prepping politicians for interviews, press conferences and debates.
Politicians should love the kind of questions they got from CNBC, like John Harwood’s opening question to Donald Trump:
“Mr. Trump, you’ve done very well in this campaign so far by promising to build a wall and make another country pay for it. Send 11 million people out of the country. Cut taxes $10 trillion without increasing the deficit. And make Americans better off because your greatness would replace the stupidity and incompetence of others. Let’s be honest. Is this a comic book version of a presidential campaign?”
A politician looks at a question like that the same way a home-run hitter looks at a fat, slow pitch right down the middle. “This one’s going out of here, baby.”
The question is too long, too complicated, too nasty-sounding and all too easy to parry. A good politician can bat it away and pivot right into a stump speech.
Harwood’s question didn’t slow Trump down a minute. But the panel didn’t stop. They kept coming with the same pitch, over and over.
Not only were the questions easy to bat back, they also gave the candidates a chance to slam the media, always a winner in a Republican debate.
Here are some simple questions that should be asked at the next Republican debate:
- Did you think the richest 1 percent of Americans have too much power?
- Do you believe abortions should be illegal even in cases of rape and incest?
- Do you think Social Security and Medicare should be fundamentally changed? If so, how?
Matthew Yglesias makes the same point in a great piece at Vox: “It’s harder for politicians to answer softball’ questions than tough ones.” Check it out for more good questions and more tips on the art of asking good questions.