Interesting and laudable. From McCain’sprepared remarks for today’s big vision speech:
My administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability. I will hold weekly press conferences. I will regularly brief the American people on the progress our policies have made and the setbacks we have encountered. When we make errors, I will confess them readily, and explain what we intend to do to correct them. I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions, and address criticism, much the same as the Prime Minister of Great Britain appears regularly before the House of Commons.
The transparency language isn’t so new, but the press conference commitment is so striking—and so specific—that should he be elected, and should he hedge, it’s hard to see how he wouldn’t be called out by a gaggle hungry press.
And British-style questions to the President? The C-SPAN vote is in the bag.
Clint Hendler is the managing editor of Mother Jones, and a former deputy editor of CJR.