A Whole New Standard for Questioning

After Wednesday’s Democratic debate in Philadelphia, during which ABC News personalities Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos trivialized the proceedings with questions about flag-pin wearing (who the hell cares?) and Barack Obama’s long-ago and tenuous connection to a member of the Weather Underground (a question fed to Stephanopoulos by FAUX News blowhard Sean Hannity), AMERICAblog’s John Aravosis has some questions of his own that he’d like to see Stephanopoulos pose to John “100 Years War” McCain, when the Arizona senator appears this Sunday on ABC’s This Week. If, as Aravosis says, “the Stephanopoulos standard for questioning a candidate is what issues the [opposition] will raise against that candidate in the fall,” then all of these might appropriately be addressed to McCain:

1. Adultery. McCain reportedly was seeing his second wife while still married to his first wife. And, then we have the issue of the blond lobbyist who looks like McCain’s second wife. America deserves answers.

2. Does John McCain require his mistresses to wear a flag pin?

3. McCain working for the enemy. If a U.S. soldier made propaganda tapes for the enemy (like John McCain did), then went on to run for president as a Democrat, the Republicans would eviscerate that candidate. I want George Stephanopoulos to ask John McCain if he loves America as much as soldiers who didn’t make propaganda tapes for the enemy while in captivity. Oh, and in case you think I’m kidding, here are McCain's own words:

Later, I made a second, feebler attempt at suicide. On the fourth day, I gave up. I signed a confession that “I am a black criminal and I have performed the deeds of an air pilot.”

The guards ordered me to record my confession on tape. I refused, and was beaten until I consented.

Well, I’m sure a POW has never been beaten before, so it’s totally understandable why McCain betrayed his country during his “hero” years in Vietnam. (Or are we to assume that all American POWs betray their country while in captivity, right?)

4. Old age. John McCain is old, everyone knows it. I love my parents, they’re in their late 70s, they’re great people, but they probably shouldn’t be president at this age. John McCain would be the oldest new president EVER if he gets elected (and we all saw what happened to Reagan in his second term). I hope we’ll be seeing some hard-hitting questions about McCain being simply too old.

5. That enormous thing on the side of McCain’s face. McCain had skin cancer a few years ago. He now has some enormous thing on the side of his face that no one is talking about. I want to know why we shouldn’t be worried that John McCain is going to get sick and die in office.

6. Cindy McCain’s drug addiction. What message does it send to America’s children to have a drug addict, who actually stole drugs, as first lady?

7. Would John McCain quit a church that had his wife as pastor?

8. Is John McCain going to jail for 5 years? McCain has illegally pulled out of the public campaign finance system. That’s a crime punishable by 5 years in prison. Is Stephanopoulos going to break media silence on this issue and ask John McCain whether he’s too old to go prison?

9. Will McCain make propaganda tapes while he’s in prison?

Unfortunately, Stephanopoulos is unlikely to ask McSame any of these questions. For as Salon observes today, “it won’t matter who the presidential nominee is--the press will play footsie with McCain and attack the Democrat.”