Not that the Commission on Presidential Debates needs any help, but here are some examples of better questions we should all be asking of our elected officials and those who would aspire to public office. What are “better” questions?
The first thing I want to hear when I ask a candidate a better question is absolutely nothing, at least for the first five to ten seconds. I want to “hear” them thinking because “better” questions should make them go deeper than a superficial first impression. I don’t expect my respondents to act like a baseball umpire who has to immediately call balls and strikes. “Better” questions should make them think.
A number of “better” questions never get asked because the questioners can’t quite determine how they would answer for themselves. Obviously, I’ve had some time to work through them. It’s just fine if you can’t answer them all. Take your time and determine your own responses. But, I wouldn’t ask them unless I was ready to give an answer to anyone who asked me for my response. I can place the question in context, but please understand there’s no way I could answer these for you. Still, I’m very content with my responses. And yes, I’d pause, too, before I gave my answer.
My university students will recognize some of these questions I ask in class. My Facebook friends who follow my posts should know the answer to at least one of these questions. For candidates for public office, I think the best way to ask them would be to have them take a sheet of paper and number their page from one to seven. They could take as much time as they want. Penmanship matters. Grammar matters. But, their answers matter most.
- What is more important to you: truth or freedom, and why?
- You aspire to taking an oath of office. What does taking an oath mean?
- Upon what do you base your judgments of what is right and what is wrong?
- Donald Trump calls the Bible the “best book ever written.” Do you agree, and if so, what makes it the best book ever written?
- What do you believe about God and why do you believe it?
- What is the biggest mistake you ever made, and what did you do to prevent recurrence?
- As you share responsibility for sending our nation’s sons and daughters into war, what information would you require before you supported that decision?
Seven questions—to reveal what? Their positions on religion? Like a litmus test? No. These questions subtly reveal something else that matters to me about the elected officials for whom I vote.
Character.
There, I said it.
Because it matters.