With President Obama’s prime time news conference hours away, veteran political reporter Walter Shapiro ponders at The New Republic “what made [Pres. John F.] Kennedy’s performances the gold standard for presidential Q-and-A’s” and concludes:
John Kennedy was different for one transcendent reason—he actually answered the reporters. Sure, there were presidential evasions and a bit of politically convenient double talk. But, for the most part, Kennedy took the questions seriously and responded with bracing forthrightness… Kennedy’s shimmering press-conference legacy is that truth-telling beats twaddle and trickery nearly every time.
Obama is quite fair with his answers to the questions posed by the reporters. Of course, John Kennedy was a master in debates and Q&As, but Barack Obama handles questions very well, unlike his predecessor.
#1 Posted by David Dzidzikashvili, CJR on Mon 9 Feb 2009 at 07:01 PM