(Category should be "Other: Politics" but there ain't one!)

Election time approaches once more. This time there seems to be a bumper crop of clueless morons too. Debate questions are all pre-scripted, as are the answers. Politicians are prepped and polished and regurgitate info like nice little round pegs trying to fit in nice big round holes. What we need is a 'snap quiz' phase to these debates, which require candidates to respond to a series of unannounced questions. Scores would be presented at the end of the debate. As to the questions, they should have something to do with 'real world' circumstances; i.e. what is a nonlinear equation; give a real world example, how much will sea level rise if the ice caps melt, etc. Remember the politician who went into a supermarket and had never seen a barcode reader? And do they understand what 'half life' means and can they pronounce 'nuclear' correctly. Certain candidates are really unqualified despite their charisma; let's weed 'em out. The "Ivory Tower Syndrome" is all too common in those who would rule over us; wouldn't you like to know just how clueless your potential political potentate really is before he/she regurgitates a plethora of platitudes to get your vote?
-- Steamboat, Aug 23 2007

re. category, try 'public'?
-- pertinax, Aug 23 2007


re. the idea itself; unfortunately, the electorate includes a solid majority who hate, fear or at least mistrust the kind of smart-arses who do well in snap quizzes. Certain politicians (no names necessary) have done very well by pretending to be even dumber than they actually are.
-- pertinax, Aug 23 2007


During a debate, Gore made Bush look like an idiot. The next day Bush went up in the poles and Gore went down, basically because there were more people that could identify with being in the position of being made to look stupid.
-- marklar, Aug 23 2007


cool. what is there up in the poles? auroras?
-- loonquawl, Aug 23 2007


sp: aurorae

btw, how is Phouchg?
-- zen_tom, Aug 23 2007


They should be made to answer random questions submitted by the audience...like "How much do you think a gallon of milk costs today?" and "What would you say to a person who has lost his or her job to a minority because of affirmative action?" And, (deliciously), "How would you explain abortion to a child about to be aborted if that child could understand his or her life was about to be extinguished?" I could think of many more every day questons I would love to have these modern day "Parrots" we call politicians answer.
-- Blisterbob, Aug 23 2007



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