There has never been a serious questioning of Obama on many subjects.
Just to use one as an example, Ayers: If his contact was brief and fleeting, limited to board rooms with no personal interaction, it would indicate a lesser familiarity, and, conversely, a greater excuse for Obama to say that he is not that type of person. However, if they are close friends with a lot of contact, Obama has more to explain.
In the months since this came up, no one asked how often did he see Ayers. No one asked whether he knew him before the fundraising event in Ayers's home. No one asked him how often did you call Ayers, and can we see phone bills.
The same could be said of all the people whose names have been raised in this context.
Likewise, when Obama says he would allow nuclear if it is safe, the press never asked, "What do you mean by 'safe?' Would Western European standards satisfy you, and, if so, does that mean you are ready to get that going ASAP?"
In his book, there are a lot of passages that express anger over race. In 8 months no one has asked him, "Have your views in these areas mellowed?"
I could go on for days on the questions never asked.
Tom Brokaw and Charles Rose tell us what they DON’T know about BHO, FINALLY.
They had this hour long conversation just FOUR days ago. How long have they had to try to get answers to questions like these? Only NOW do they think these are important questions?
http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/10/30/1/a-conversation-with-tom-brokaw
Starting at 11:40
ROSE: He is principally known through his autobiography and through very aspirational speeches.
BROKAW: Two of them! I don't know what books he's read.
ROSE: What do you make of him? Tell me what you see there? Because I was taking to a friend of mine and he said I see someone who is clearly aspirational, someone who is clearly bright, someone whose ambitious in the best sense of that, but whose clearly cautious and in the end he may very well be a man of the center.
Starting at 15:45
ROSE: We know people sometimes by the books that they read, the heroes they have. We know John McCain for example, enormously admires Teddy Roosevelt. Probably more than anyone else, in a political sense and really wanted to run a campaign in which Teddy would be his model. What do we know about the heroes of Barack Obama?
BROKAW: Well, Thurgood Marshall is a big hero of his. He’s got a picture of his in his office. . . . You know it’s an interesting question. I don’t know what books he’s read. I know he’s got a great curious mind. So does John McCain by the way, whose always got a book in his hand.
Starting at 28:40
BROKAW: We don't know a lot about Barack Obama and the universe of his thinking about foreign policy. China has not been examined at all.
ROSE: At all?
BROKAW: Which is astonishing.
ROSE: But do we know about what they think? It is likely that we’ll know more about John McCain.
ROSE: I don't really know. And do we know anything about the people who are advising him?
Starting at 38:00
ROSE: There are so many things that I don’t know. We’ve gone through this long campaign. I care about it almost as much as you do in terms of being a political junkie. But there are questions you don’t know
ROSE: I don't know what Barack Obama's worldview is.
BROKAW: No, I don't either.
ROSE: I don't know how he really sees where China is and where it wants to go and how smart he is about that, or India, or the whole global structure, (and then as sort of as an after thought) or John McCain either.
-------------------------------
BROKAW sums it up “There's a lot about him we don't know.”
TRULY REMARKABLE.
p.s. I made this transcript myself. Others I had seen were too scrambled and out of context.
-- Modified on 11/2/2008 10:17:22 PM
There has never been a serious questioning of Obama on many subjects.
Just to use one as an example, Ayers: If his contact was brief and fleeting, limited to board rooms with no personal interaction, it would indicate a lesser familiarity, and, conversely, a greater excuse for Obama to say that he is not that type of person. However, if they are close friends with a lot of contact, Obama has more to explain.
In the months since this came up, no one asked how often did he see Ayers. No one asked whether he knew him before the fundraising event in Ayers's home. No one asked him how often did you call Ayers, and can we see phone bills.
The same could be said of all the people whose names have been raised in this context.
Likewise, when Obama says he would allow nuclear if it is safe, the press never asked, "What do you mean by 'safe?' Would Western European standards satisfy you, and, if so, does that mean you are ready to get that going ASAP?"
In his book, there are a lot of passages that express anger over race. In 8 months no one has asked him, "Have your views in these areas mellowed?"
I could go on for days on the questions never asked.
they said that McCain never broughtit up in the debates.
One has to wonder why now, less than a week before the election they decide to start talking about the 'unknowns'. Are they feeling guilty or is it simple CYA?