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Comment by click170 | Hacker News Reader

Not that I'll get my way, but I think we should bring back the days when they didn't pre-screen interview questions.

The Nixon/Frost interview is still my favorite of all, I found it more telling about the President than any interview with any political candidate since then.

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Those days didn't really ever exist, though. Nixon/Frost was a pretty much unique event.

And even then, Frost/Nixon took place 2.5 years after Nixon had already resigned the Presidency.

That's when Nixon only had the Secret Service making sure he didn't get shot, he didn't have officials making sure questions weren't asked that could breach national security, etc.

It probably also functions as a powerful disincentive to ever do it again.

From the linked article:

  “…the President will be fielding questions (pre-selected, of course) from average Joes…”

Note that they say they'll be pre-selected.

"And which of course will be answered ahead of time."

Debates used to be run by the League of Women Voters. Questions had more substance, and substance is the enemy of the modern candidate.

I personally prefer them having the opportunity to think before answering and making sure they don't accidentally offend someone.

I do agree that it would be nice to see how they handle questions on their feet but too often a slip of words or someone too willing to read into things result in scandals out of nothing.

Are the MTV Town Hall questions screened? I remember Bill Clinton being asked "boxers or briefs?" (Bill answered, "Usually briefs.")

That seems like a typical softball question.

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