Americans deserve an honest look at politicians

Our side is corrupt, but the other side is more corrupt.

While watching television coverage of presidential campaigns, it occurred to me that interviewers must do a better job of giving American voters an honest look at candidates. After asking their question, interviewers should listen to the response. If the politician does not answer the question the interviewer should say, “I guess you are not going to answer my question.” And then the interviewer should walk away and cut off the microphone. That will be the signal to the interviewee that their response will be edited out of the subsequent broadcast because it did not address the question.

In the media environment I am proposing, the broadcast would start with the interviewer’s question and move to, “I guess you will not answer my question.” Politicians who don’t want that to happen can call the broadcaster back and answer the question. The same sequence of events would take place, if the politician still does not answer the question.

What could be fairer than that?

Update

Once again, Thomas Friedman has expressed an idea that matches the one I offered in this blog. (His other NYT editorial is described at https://sixvirtues.com/blog/2020/02/14/democrats-platform/):

Here is the Friedman quote from today’s NYT:

Lots of Trump’s lies, and his retweets of conspiracy fabrications, are obviously absurd. Why have so many people believed them? I’m not sure it’s fully understood.

That is why it’s vital that every reputable news organization — especially television, Facebook and Twitter — adopt what I call the Trump Rule. If any official utters an obvious falsehood or fact-free allegation, the interview should be immediately terminated, just as many networks did with Trump’s lie-infested, postelection, news conference last week. If critics scream “censorship,” just shout back “truth.”

This must become the new normal. Politicians need to be terrified every time they go on TV that the plug will be pulled on them if they lie.