Questions for Americans, Part I

By my count, and from the unofficial transcript, I found 24 questions (two of which were asked only of Senator McCain since he answers were much shorter than Senator Obama's and best-selling author Warren had extra time). That's too much for one post, so I'm going to break it up a bit.

I preserved the original wording, and where the wording was different between Obama and McCain, I kept the wording when Obama was asked. The wording differences never changed the essential meaning of the question. So any weirdness with construction of the questions are purely from Warren's mouth. I'm not going to mock how he asked the questions, except the ones that have no meaning, because I know that recording a word-by-word transcript often gives results that look horrible on paper.

I also have the benefit of being able to think about what I say and edit what I put down here. in reading the transcript, I tried to skip over the candidates' answers, but do know basically how each responded. I'll try not to let that influence my answers.

1. How are you doing? (This was asked of both candidates, so I'm including it.)

I'm doing fine. A bit concerned about not having all my tools for the first day of school, but otherwise OK.

2. Who are the three wisest people you know in your life and who are you going to rely on heavily in your administration?

Both parts of this question have the same answer, as I'm pretty sure Warren intended it. My parents are probably the wisest people in my life. I regularly turn to them for advide. myB also makes my top three. I don't always agree with him, but can count on him to give me a reasoned and logical reading of any situation and counter my frequent bursts of emotionality. For the third spot, I'd have to put the collective wisdom of my close OCP friends. The wisdom of a group often surpasses the wisdom of any individual in that group, and I'm grateful for advice I've recieved from all of them and will continue to seek their advice.

3. What would be the greatest moral failure of your life and what would be the greatest moral failure of America?

In my own life, my greatest moral failure would be denying who I was for so many years and refusing to speak up for those who were being oppressed out of fear that I would be targeted.

America's greatest moral failure is confusing "what's good for those in power" with "what's good for everyone." Economic and social policies, both domestically and around the world, are designed to secure and protect the power of the powerful. Corporate lobbyists, through their money, have a strong voice and can convince the American government that what has worked for corporations will work everywhere. This problem transcends political parties and has been a problem since the birth of the country. What I find most frustrating is that we have, in recent decades, had many studies and proposals that take into account the differences in needs of the dispossessed, and the American government and people ignore it. Yes, I implicate the people as well as the government; throwing money at nameless charity may assuage some guilt but rarely solves any actual problems.

4. What's the most significant position you held ten years ago that you no longer hold today, that you flipped on, you changed on because you actually see it differently?

The importance, utility, and veracity of religion. Discuss.