Posted on 10/08/2008 12:49:15 PM PDT by Lucky9teen
About 18 months ago, I announced that I was pretending to run for the presidency. Frankly, the day-to-day responsibilities of work, church and family have prevented me from taking a very active part in my own faux campaign.
However, I did manage to participate in last night's televised debate, moderated by former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw. This morning, I reviewed the video and published transcripts on the internet and found that most, if not all, of my contribution to this civic forum had been mysteriously deleted. So, as a public service, I here provide a transcript of the questions and my answers to help you make a well-informed decision at the polls on November 4.
Tom Brokaw: We're going to have our first question from over here in Section A from Allen Shaffer. Allen?
Shaffer: With the economy on the downturn and retired and older citizens and workers losing their incomes, what's the fastest, most positive solution to bail these people out of the economic ruin?
Scott Ott: Lock all the doors on Capitol Hill. Let the phrase “do-nothing Congress” become a rallying cry, and a positive thing, by preventing the passage of new laws, bailouts, rescues or other attempts to restrict or direct the movement of free markets.
Brokaw: Obviously the powers of the treasury secretary have been greatly expanded. The most powerful officer in the cabinet now. Hank Paulson says he won't stay on. Who do you have in mind to appoint to that very important post?
Scott Ott: That’s a ridiculous question. Next.
Brokaw: The next question comes from Oliver Clark, who is over here in section F. Oliver?
Clark: Through this economic crisis, most of the people that I know have had a difficult time. And through this bailout package, I was wondering what it is that's going to actually help those people out.
Brokaw: Are you saying to Mr. Clark, and to the other members of the American television audience that the American economy is going to get much worse before it gets better and they ought to be prepared for that?
Scott Ott: Mr. Brokaw, I speak English like many people in this country still do, so don’t bother translating and reinterpreting the questions for me.
Mr. Clark, what will help these people is to restore our trust and commitment to free market capitalism. The sooner we can get Congress and its agents to stop trying to manipulate the economy, the sooner the healing can begin. Economies run in cycles. They always have. Government intervention caused a false boom and now the markets, like water, are seeking their own level. If we allow that to happen, we can begin to grow again. But if we step in, then we will succeed only in propping up a facade which caused these troubles in the first place. Mr. Clark, as you know, life is sometimes difficult. But wrestling with, and overcoming, difficulties is what makes us men. People struggling to overcome challenges have built this great nation and they will rebuild our financial system now.
Brokaw: In all candor, do you think the economy is going to get worse before it gets better?
Scott Ott: Of course. What a silly question. Look up the definition of 'cycle' when you get a chance.
Brokaw: Thank you. We're going to continue over in Section F, as it turns out. This is a question from Teresa Finch. Teresa?
Finch: How can we trust any of you with our money when both parties got -- got us into this global economic crisis?
Scott Ott: You can’t trust us with your money. That’s why you should keep as much of it for yourself as possible. Demand lower taxes. Demand that the government stops trying to run things that aren’t required of it in the Constitution. Vote the bums out who have been picking your pockets since the last election day.
Brokaw: There are new economic realities out there that everyone in this hall and across this country understands that there are going to have to be some choices made. Health policies, energy policies, and entitlement reform, what are going to be your priorities in what order? Which of those will be your highest priority your first year in office and which will follow in sequence?
Scott Ott: 1) Cut taxes -- corporate, individual and nuisance taxes. Eliminate the death tax. 2) Eliminate government departments and programs not mandated in the Constitution. Department of Education goes first. 3) Privatize almost everything but national defense. Mr. Brokaw, my energy policy is this: Get out of the way and let the energy markets function. My health care policy is this: Get the government completely out of the health care business. My entitlement reform proposal is this: If you’re an American citizen your entitlements are outlined in the Constitution. Nothing else is guaranteed.
Brokaw: We have our first question from the Internet tonight. A child of the Depression, 78-year-old Fiorra from Chicago. Since World War II, we have never been asked to sacrifice anything to help our country, except the blood of our heroic men and women. As president, what sacrifices -- sacrifices will you ask every American to make to help restore the American dream and to get out of the economic morass that we're now in?
Scott Ott: Fiorra, I’m going to ask some Americans to sacrifice their dream of having a Sugar Daddy who bails them out any time they get into a rough patch. I’m going to ask many of you to sacrifice your member of Congress by voting him or her out of office at the mid-term election. I’m going to ask you to sacrifice the false security of government control and to exchange it for the real potential that comes from personal initiative and hard work.
Brokaw: President Bush, you'll remember, last summer, said that "Wall Street got drunk." A lot of people now look back and think the federal government got drunk and, in fact, the American consumers got drunk. How would you, as president, try to break those bad habits of too much debt and too much easy credit, specifically, across the board, for this country, not just at the federal level, but as a model for the rest of the country, as well?
Scott Ott: My administration would set an example of fiscal rigor by trimming expenses, cutting whole departments, and not buying anything for which we cannot pay cash. In addition, we would spur economic growth by slashing taxes, and reducing government regulations that exist solely to produce politically-correct social outcomes. We’ll put a stop to decades of efforts to use the tax code to overcome human nature and to create a collectivist Utopia.
Brokaw: We have another question from the Internet. We have a question from Langdon in Ballston Spa, New York, and that's about huge unfunded obligations for Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs that will soon eat up all of the revenue that's in place and then go into a deficit position.
Since the rules are pretty loose here, I'm going to add my own [thoughts] to this one. Would you give Congress a date certain to reform Social Security and Medicare within two years after you take office? Because in a bipartisan way, everyone agrees, that's a big ticking time bomb that will eat us up maybe even more than the mortgage crisis.
Scott Ott: Langdon’s question made more sense than yours, Mr. Brokaw. So, I’m going to answer his while trying not to laugh at yours.
Langdon, you’re absolutely right. We have made promises that we can’t keep based on current revenue projections. What’s worse is that, if we don’t do something, Congress will continue to expand the size and influence of these programs so that the ultimate price will grow much greater. The only solution involves pain, but here it is. 1) Cap program benefits at their current levels. Don’t even allow cost of living increases. 2) Cut taxes to spur revenue growth. 3) Create free market options so younger Americans can opt out of Social Security, Medicare and the like. This is called planned obsolescence, and the sooner we start, the better.
Brokaw: The next question comes from Section C over here, and it's from Ingrid Jackson. Ingrid?
Jackson: Sen. McCain, I want to know, we saw that Congress moved pretty fast in the face of an economic crisis. I want to know what you would do within the first two years to make sure that Congress moves fast as far as environmental issues, like climate change and green jobs?
Scott Ott: Ms. Jackson, I’ll move as fast as climate change does. I’ll sign a global warming bill that will jack up your taxes and louse up the free market just as soon my Oval Office carpet gets damp with salt water from the rising Atlantic Ocean.
Brokaw: Should we fund a Manhattan-like project that develops a nuclear bomb to deal with global energy and alternative energy or should we fund 100,000 garages across America, the kind of industry and innovation that developed Silicon Valley?
Scott Ott: Neither. We should stop trying to interfere with the American people’s dreams. Innovation doesn’t come from Washington, it springs up from among the people. It doesn’t need fertilizer to sprout. It just needs Congress to stop spraying it with poison.
Brokaw: Next question comes from the E section over here and it's from Lindsey Trella. Lindsey?
Trella: Selling health care coverage in America as a marketable commodity has become a very profitable industry. Do you believe health care should be treated as a commodity?
Brokaw: Quick discussion. Is health care in America a privilege, a right, or a responsibility?
Scott Ott: Responsibility of the individual. The United States has the greatest medical care system in the world. Free markets got us here, and free markets will continue to improve the products and services that suit an ever-expanding range of customer preferences, needs and price ranges.
Brokaw: We want to move on now. If we'd come back to the hall here, we're going to shift gears here a little bit and we're going to go to foreign policy and international matters, if we can...Phil Elliott is over here in this section, and Phil Elliott has a question. Phil?
Elliott: How will all the recent economic stress affect our nation's ability to act as a peacemaker in the world?
Scott Ott: The money that we waste trying to rescue businesses and individuals from their own decisions could be going to project American strength through military power to those who mean us harm throughout the world. The greatest force for peace in world history is the mighty and ever-ready U.S. military. They form a deterrent wall against opportunistic aggression. Overcoming the economic challenges through the means I have already mentioned will also free up revenue to increase our espionage efforts worldwide. Our intelligence community provides the invisible fence to keep our enemies at bay.
Brokaw: Let's see if we can establish tonight the Scott Ott doctrine for the use of United States combat forces in situations where there's a humanitarian crisis, but it does not affect our national security. Take the Congo, where 4.5 million people have died since 1998, or take Rwanda in the earlier dreadful days, or Somalia. What is the Scott Ott doctrine for use of force that the United States would send when we don't have national security issues at stake?
Scott Ott: Your question assumes that we have no national security interest in Africa. Why, do you suppose, these genocidal wars are happening there? Are they just tribal skirmishes or local conflicts? Do you actually believe that the United States can be isolated from such slaughter? With porous borders, the territorial and political aspirations of China, Iran, Venezuela, Russia and others, and the never-ending desire of radical Islam to dominate the globe, no cranny of civilization lacks national security implications for the United States. That said, we have to weigh our options in the moment, and do the best we can with what we have, without compromising our principles. Ultimately, we have to take the long-term view that the world is going to become more democratic, and our national calling is to be forever at the forefront of the battle for freedom.
Brokaw: Next question comes from the F section and is from Katie Hamm. Katie?
Hamm: Should the United States respect Pakistani sovereignty and not pursue al Qaeda terrorists who maintain bases there, or should we ignore their borders and pursue our enemies like we did in Cambodia during the Vietnam War?
Scott Ott: Ms. Hamm, I plan to be the President of the United States in a few months. When I am, I will receive daily security briefings and frequent bulletins at times of heightened activity. It is then, and not now, that I will make the tough decisions about the appropriate response to targets of opportunity. I’m sure you understand why any credible candidate for president would not dare to discuss such issues in a public forum.
Brokaw: The senior British military commander, who is now leading [in Afghanistan] for a second tour, and their senior diplomatic presence there, Sherard Cowper-Coles, who is well known as an expert in the area, both have said that we're failing in Afghanistan. The commander said we cannot win there. We've got to get it down to a low level insurgency, let the Afghans take it over. Cowper-Coles said what we need is an acceptable dictator. If either of you becomes president, as one of you will, how do you reorganize Afghanistan's strategy or do you? Briefly, if you can.
Scott Ott: First of all, I would consult with American military commanders and let them work out coordination with allied commanders in theater. Secondly, our strategic interest in Afghanistan is to foster the natural inclination of the people to have freedom. Public discussions about whether we’re winning, or speculation about whether we can win, will do nothing but shake the confidence of the local people in the future of their hopes and dreams. In other words, shut up and fight.
Brokaw: This question is from the Internet. It's from Alden in Hewitt, Texas. How can we apply pressure to Russia for humanitarian issues in an effective manner without starting another Cold War?
Scott Ott: I’m not sure what you mean by humanitarian issues. If you mean the Soviet-style invasion of Georgia executed by Russia earlier this year, then we stand with our allies and send a clear signal to Moscow that we won’t tolerate a revival of Stalinist imperialism.
Brokaw: This requires only a yes or a no. Ronald Reagan famously said that the Soviet Union was the evil empire. Do you think that Russia under Vladimir Putin is an evil empire?
Scott Ott: Ronald Reagan said what he said, when he said it, for a specific strategic purpose. He wasn’t just playing rhetorical games with a retired news anchor who’s still fishing for a controversial sound bite. Next question.
Brokaw: All right. Over in section A, Terry Shirey -- do I have that right, Terry?
Shirey: As a retired Navy chief, my thoughts are often with those who serve our country. I know both candidates, both of you, expressed support for Israel. If, despite your best diplomatic efforts, Iran attacks Israel, would you be willing to commit U.S. troops in support and defense of Israel? Or would you wait on approval from the U.N. Security Council?
Scott Ott: That’s two questions. #1: Yes. #2: No.
Brokaw: All right, we've come to the last question. It's from Peggy in Amherst, New Hampshire. And it has a certain Zen-like quality, I'll give you a fair warning. She says, "What don't you know and how will you learn it?"
Scott Ott: I don’t know the limits of what God can do with a nation that’s fully devoted to Him. I hope to learn by devoting myself.
Brokaw: Thank you very much, Mr. Ott.
I would LOVE to hear a politician say that, just once, to some media nut.
Scott Ott — aka, Scrappleface — is one of the funniest guys on the face of the planet. Were he a liberal, he’d have his own sitcom.
The questions on the debate were all picked by some left winger, who wanted us to learn no new news. I wanted to know why Obama was not showing a real birth certificate, and why he gravitates to the terrorist, Marxist, criminal bunch. Maybe now I will never know.
The debate was set up so that McCain could never tell us, if he did know.
This Ott guy is pretty cool.. maybe he should stop blogging and start actually running for something..
LOL, ya gotta read this!
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