Fifteen Questions John and Sarah Forgot to Ask

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1. On September 12, 2001 and in the days that followed, how long did you imagine it would be before America experienced another terrorist attack on its soil?

2. Have you heard of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? He conceived and planned the 9/11 attacks. Bin Laden is a figurehead. Khalid was captured by Pakistani security forces in Rawalpindi in 2003. The year before, the Pakis captured Ramzi Binalshibh, who was the middle-man between Kahlid and the hijackers. Have you heard of him? By 2004, two-thirds of Al-Qaeda’s leadership was in jail or dead. This raises two additional questions:

3. Why do suppose so many more Americans have heard of Lynndie England and Charles Graner than they have of Khalid or Binalshibh?

4. Does the Bush Administration deserve any credit for the fact that there’ve been no terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since 9/11?

5. During the mid- and late-‘90s the Clinton Administration and House Democrats worked hard to gut underwriting standards in this country in the name of “affordable housing” for minorities. Was this a good idea? Did it have anything to do with the housing bubble and the credit meltdown?

6. Lenders were willing to make risky loans because they didn’t have to hold them on their books. Following its accounting scandals, in which Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines received 90 million in compensation by cooking the books, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac became the chief buyers and major originators of subprime loans. Do you regret the support that Fannie and Freddie were given by Congressional Democrats, who repeatedly attacked OFHEO, the regulator responsible for the two GSEs?

7. You received $135,000 in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, second only to Christopher Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. What did Fannie and Freddie expect in exchange for this extraordinarily high contribution (33 times what McCain received per year)? Are you willing to return the money?

8. You’ve repeatedly blamed the credit crisis on “Bush deregulation.” What legislation do you have in mind? If you are referring to the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, the most significant legislation affecting the financial services industry in 60 years, there are a couple of problems. It was signed into law by President Clinton and it had nothing to do with the housing/credit crisis.

9. Have you heard of Sarbanes-Oxley, with the most stringent regulatory standards in the world for publicly traded companies, signed by President Bush in 2002?

10. You’ve made education the centerpiece of your campaign and have repeatedly denounced the Bush Administration for underfunding No Child Left Behind. Education is mostly paid for by local property taxes, but the Federal Government contributes nearly 60 billion. How many more billions would you like the U.S. government spend on education? What would you like to see it used for?

11. Are you aware that we have a progressive tax code in this country? Do you happen to know the percentage of taxes paid by the top 1%, 5%, and 20% of U.S. taxpayers? It’s about 34%, 60%, and 87%. Do you believe that raising the highest marginal tax rate by about 10% as well as the capital gains tax will have no effect on the behavior of taxpayers who are assessed at that rate? If 10% of the top 1% relocate to another country or move their money offshore, how will you make up the shortfall?

12. You’ve proposed that government distribute checks to the 40% of the people who file returns but pay no income taxes. Is this fair to those who do pay income taxes?

13. Do you believe most White Americans are racists? African Americans make up about 13% of the population but commit close to 60% of violent crimes. Is this attributable to White racism? If not, what are the causes and what do you propose to do to reduce the percentage?

14. How much longer do you expect to see preferential treatment for selected minorities in hiring, promotion, and college and law and medical school admissions? Do you have anything to say to those non-minorities who are passed over for less qualified competitors because of affirmative action?

15. Why do you object to letting America’s voters determine our policies on critical issues like abortion, illegal immigration, and affirmative action? Are you considering changing the name of your party?

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It doesn’t matter. The politically illiterate wouldn’t have paid attention anyways. It was always about trying to be a part of history.