Posted on 02/22/2015 7:28:31 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Does it matter if Obama is a Christian or not? No, but it matters how Republicans answer stupid questions like that.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has been surging in recent weeks, and there is a sense he could be the guy to bridge the gap between the Republican establishment and the grassroots conservative base. But campaigns are crucibles, and if the last couple of days are a harbinger of things to come, he’s in trouble. Could it be that the governor who fought so courageously against Wisconsin unions might not be ready for prime time on the national stage?
No, I’m not talking about his lack of a college degree, which should not in any way disqualify him. Walker’s real trouble started when former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani touched off a media firestorm by saying: “I do not believe that the president loves America.” Then, as Dana Milbank noted, “Walker, just a few seats away, said . . . nothing. Asked the next morning on CNBC about Giuliani’s words, the Republican presidential aspirant was spineless: “The mayor can speak for himself. I’m not going to comment on what the president thinks or not. He can speak for himself as well. I’ll tell you, I love America, and I think there are plenty of people—Democrat, Republican, independent, everyone in between—who love this country.”
This was pretty weak sauce; he neither supported nor condemned Rudy’s remarks. If you want to know the correct way to answer this question—a way that both dings the media, and actually responds to the question appropriately, look to Sen. Marco Rubio’s response: “I don’t feel like I’m in a position to have to answer for everyone in my party who makes a claim,” he told TV station WPBF. “Democrats aren’t asked to answer every time Joe Biden says something embarrassing. So I don’t know why I should answer every time a Republican does.”
“I will suffice it to say,” Rubio continued, “I believe the president loves America. His ideas are bad.”
(Maybe Walker could have stolen Rubio’s template for answering these “gotcha” questions, which is to chastise the media before pooh poohing the wedge “gotcha” question—and then finish by pointing out Obama is a horrible president.)
Yeah, that didn’t happen. On Saturday, Dan Balz and Robert Costa of the Washington Post asked Walker if President Obama was a Christian. Now, I have no idea why this question was relevant, but that’s not the point. Good candidates know how to effectively answer or parry stupid or irrelevant inquiries. Instead, Walker made this a story with this answer: “I don’t know,” he told the Post. “I’ve actually never talked about it or I haven’t read about that ... I’ve never asked him that. You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”
In case you were wondering, the correct answer was not “I don’t know.” The correct answer would have been, “Yes the president is a Christian. His policies are bad.” (Question: Why is it so damned difficult for someone to say that Obama is a Christian who loves America—and he also happens to have been a really bad president? Why not grant him this small concession? He’s never going to be on the ballot again, so why are Republicans still fighting the last war?) A slightly less perfect answer (but still acceptable) might have been, “This is silly. Why are you asking me about someone else’s religion when we’ve got a huge national debt, Iran going nuclear, and ISIS running rampant in the Middle East?” He gave just about the worst possible answer one could imagine.
As you might expect, some conservatives on Twitter are rallying to his defense. They’d rather stick it to the media than find a way to overcome them. They believe that Walker’s answer somehow heroically demonstrated the absurdity of the media. They seem more interested in a candidate who wants to win the argument than one who wants to win the election. And they are less concerned about Walker’s inability to appropriately handle the question than they were by the fact that the question had been asked in the first place. In their minds, Walker is some sort of folk hero for providing that inept answer. But I can assure you, that’s not how the majority of Americans (who aren’t conservative activists on Twitter) will see it.
Again, I’m not suggesting this was a relevant or appropriate question to ask the governor of Wisconsin. I just know how the world works. As the saying goes, I didn’t write these rules, I just abide by them. And, what I am suggesting is that, this is the NFL. When you run for president—when you leave Wisconsin and go to Paris and New York City and Washington, DC and Iowa—you invite all sorts of questions. Some of these questions will be tough, others will be silly or irrelevant or “gotcha” questions. The good politicians can answer them effectively.
Conservatives should be worried that Walker hasn’t proven capable of navigating these land mines. Make no mistake: The media is biased. There is a double standard. And surrogates and center-right media—not candidates for president—ought to call them out. It is still possible to triumph in this hostile environment. To win, conservatives have to be twice as good. The liberal media had a monopoly in the 1980s, yet Ronald Reagan still managed to be the Great Communicator. I’m tired of this whining and playing the victim card. That’s what liberals do. If Republicans are to win the White House, conservatives will have to take this advice: Learn to adapt and overcome—not complain about media bias.
walker doesn’t seem to want to play the MSM’s game. and he doesn’t seem to tolerate stupid questions very well.
The money quote from the article.
This guy is a concern troll, pure and simple. I know what I'd do if he were a poster on FR.
/johnny
In 2007 Obama was asked about his stance on abortion. He said ‘that’s above my pay grade’. Seriously, that was his answer, and the media never asked him a single abortion question after that.
MEMO TO AUTHOR: Mr. Lewis, the reason that we don't grant this concession is because of considerable evidence to the contrary. And if you would take your left hand, reach over your head, and pull hard on your right ear, you might extract your head from your backside long enough to see that evidence.
When Liberal Rags bemoan that a conservative is doing damage to their campaign: they are not doing it out of being nice but instead they are trying to drive a wedge between the Conservatives and their candidate. They do this by trying to manipulate the candidate away from their conservative base by appealing tot he “popularity game” that high school girls play to pick on each other.
Why, yes...yes it does.
No, but it matters how Republicans answer stupid questions like that.
Not a stupid question...it goes to his state of mind...and his state of mind definitely matters to not only Republicans, but Democrats as well.
Why?
"Cause if we gots a muslim prez...then we gots treason.
Pure and simple.
But I know the answer to the question...I've always known it and you, dear reader, know it too.
Quit kidding yourself...he's a damned worthless mohametan.
Impeach his ass now!
Drama drama drama, Ignore the drama.
IOW, to play the politically correct game, he should lie.
What did the media expect Walker to do, lie to protect Obama?
The man or woman who would stand up and call Obama out as an evil monster and the farthest thing from a Christian would run away with the election.
Matt Lewis has been on the payroll of The Cheap Labor Express since he was on TownHall. Everything he writes is suspect.
The Daily Beast writes their headlines with the assumption that their readers won’t bother reading the actual article.
If obama called himself a Christian, considering his veracity, how could anyone say with any degree of certainty that he was, indeed, a Christian?
Oh no! The media tried to ambush the conservative candidate and he didn’t play according to script! How dare he not shoot himself in the foot on cue!
If I were to be asked that, I’d just respond, “Obama’s a floater.... Next question”. But then, I’m not a politician. I’m free to speak my mind and to tell all the truth that people listening can handle.
Truth be told, I would have spun the question differently than Walker also.
I would have said, "I suppose Obama considers himself a Christian because he was a member of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's mega church in Chicago for 20 years."
Get ready, Daily Bust. Walker’s about to turn Wisconsin into a Right-To-Work state. Hahahahahahahaha!
why is it okay for obama to attack gop as unpatriotic but its not okay to do the same against obama
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.