Category Archives: Dan Froomkin

My brother's other gig is as a collaborator at the Nieman Watchdog. Today they bring you 10 Tough Questions for Thursday's Debate:

Who Else Gets to Start Pre-Emptive Wars?

For Bush: “We justify the War in Iraq as a preemptive war. Would we support other countries (like Indonesia, Russia or Israel) that feel the need for preemptive strikes to protect their homeland?” (Posted on NiemanWatchdog.org by Harry A. Thomas of Seattle)

Safer Without Who Else?

For Bush: “You have stated the world is safer without Saddam Hussein and that there is no difference between weapons of mass destruction and weapons of mass destruction programs. Would the world be safer without Kim Jong Il, Fidel Castro, and the other brutal dictators in the world who have intentions of possessing WMD and moving forward with WMD-related programs? If so, will you adopt a policy of regime change through military intervention for these countries? If not, what additional criteria must be met for your administration to intervene militarily, as you did with Iraq?” (Posted on NiemanWatchdog.org anonymously.)

The $87 Billion Question

For Kerry: “Please explain, once and for all, 'I voted for [the $87 billion], before I voted against it.' ” (Posted on NiemanWatchdog.org by Terri Kordella of Vienna, Va.)

Why Saddam Over Osama?

For Bush: “Saddam Hussein was a tyrant, there’s no doubt about that. However, Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda killed 3,000 people on our own soil. There are almost fifteen times as many troops in Iraq as in Afghanistan. Please explain to us why you felt it necessary to concentrate resources and funding on removing Saddam Hussein, who had not made any moves against the U.S., when Osama bin Laden had actually attacked. In other words, please explain why eliminating a potential threat took precedence over eliminating a proven one.” (Posted on NiemanWatchdog.org by Terri Kordella of Vienna, Va.)

Military Draft?

For both candidates: “Given that this war on terrorism has gone on for several years, and will continue into the future, do either of you expect to bring back the draft?” (Posted on NiemanWatchdog.org by Mike Juntunen)

Limit to Iraqi Self-Determination?

For both candidates: What would you do if an elected Iraqi government requests that all U.S. troops leave Iraq? (Posted on NiemanWatchdog.org by Jonah Thomas)

Learning From Mistakes?

For both candidates: “If you knew in March 2002, before troops landed in Iraq, everything you know now, in what ways would you have conducted the war differently?” (Posted on NiemanWatchdog.org by Allen Knutson, New York City)

Bring It On?

For Bush: “Mr. President, in July of 2003 you said if anyone wanted to attack our troops in Iraq, they should bring it on. In March of this year you appeared at a reporters' dinner and showed a video in which you jokingly stumbled around your office looking for weapons of mass destruction. Can you explain this behavior to the families who have lost loved ones in Iraq?” (Posted on dailykos.com by “Republicansforkerry”)

Flip-Flopping?

For Bush: “Mr. President, by your count, John Kerry has flip-flopped at least 6 times on Iraq. By my count, you gave us 9 different reasons to go to Iraq and you have given us 5 different answers on what will happen next. So, which answer is it now?” (Posted on dailykos.com by “usmeagle69”)

So Much to Fear?

For Bush: “Mr. President after September 11th you could have repeated FDR's famous statement. 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.' You choose not to calm the fear we were feeling as a society. As the leader of the nation don't you think we would have been better served by you making such a statement?” (Posted on dailykos.com by user “Davinci”)

Yet more evidence that Dan will never get picked to moderate a Presidential debate!

PS. I bet at most two of these get asked — the draft question and something about Iraq strategy.

My brother points to Dana Milbank's column in which he reveals Bush's plan to kill the White House press corps:

Do You Hear What I Hear?: Now for an update on the White House's ongoing effort to kill the press corps. The White House travel office signed a contract last week with an airline called Primaris to fly the press corps to Bush events. The two-month-old company has only one airplane. True, media representatives gave their blessing to the deal. But that was before they learned that the company's president twice had his pilot's license revoked related to his flying of an “unairworthy” aircraft, that the chief executive flopped in his last attempt to start an airline and that the 15-year-old plane itself was damaged in a hailstorm a decade ago and spent most of the past two years mothballed in France.

CJR's Campaign desk has a regular series of interviews with reporters and others covering the 2004 campaign. The latest interview is with my brother.