If you read my post detailing the quality of questions asked of Republicans last week, this post detailing the questions asked to Democrats is little different in terms of format. I won't list by number the questions I thought were fair since the ones I object to are so few in number... 4 to be exact.

Judging strictly by the pie chart above, the questions were markedly different. Night and day different.

Forget any initial commentary on the debate itself for now, let's move on to the questions I had 'problems' with.



Fair Questions: 51


Bogus Questions: 2
[By their corresponding numbers]

34. Bogus only because it displays colossal ignorance on the part of ‘Auggie’ who seems to have no understanding of the differences between 'Profit' and 'Profit Margin', and well as no grasp of the 'Laws of Supply & Demand'.

55. This last question hearkens back to one of Matthews' ridiculous questions to the Republicans. If it was bogus there it's bogus here. Biden, by the way, deftly answered, 'Absolutely, yes, there's a winner. Taking myself out, I'm looking at a bunch of winners right here.'


Irrelevent Questions: 2
[By their corresponding numbers]

30. This one came from an online viewer, and offers nothing more than an opportunity for the candidate to preen and strut for the camera. A pointless question.

52. A pointless question accept, perhaps, to give the candidate an opportunity to engage in a game of one-upmanship with Al Gore, and John Edwards. Over all, a thoroughly stupid question.



I was very impressed with Brian Williams... a complete professional.

What really get's me about this debate, is that the questions were honest, prefaced, and not the least bit 'softball'. These Democratic candidates would have received the same fair treatment from FOX News, yet several of these 'Candidates' feared they'd be mishandled by 'Republican shills' at FOX, and yet the treatment they received at MSNBC was anything but a cake-walk.

This is the kind of debate the Republicans deserved... but didn't get.


The Questions:

_________________________
(s) = Email or Audience question asked by David Stanton
(w) = Brian Williams


1. Senator Clinton, your party's leader in the United States Senate, Harry Reid, recently said the war in Iraq is lost. A letter to today's USA Today calls his comments "treasonous" and says if General Patton were alive today, Patton would "wipe his boots" with Senator Reid.

Do you agree with the position of your leader in the Senate?

2. Senator Biden, same question to you, which is: Do you agree with Senator Reid that the war is lost?

3. Senator Obama, you have called this war in Iraq, quote, "dumb," close quote. How do you square that position with those who have sacrificed so much? And why have you voted for appropriations for it in the past?

4. Senator Edwards, you made a high-profile apology for your vote in favor of the Iraq war resolution. You have said, quote, "We need a leader who will be open and honest, who will tell the truth when they made a mistake."

Was that not a direct shot at your opponent, Senator Clinton?

5. Congressman Kucinich, do you think one can be against the war and yet still fund it?

6. Governor Richardson, if you were representing New Mexico in Congress, despite your opposition to the war, do you think you would vote to fund the troops?

7. Senator Dodd, as I understand it, you've cosponsored something called Feingold-Reid, which would, in effect, cut off the funding spigot by about a year from now... and draw the troops out. Is that possible, the notion of no more troops in Iraq?

8. Senator Gravel, for those who may not be familiar with your past, two-term U.S. Senator from Alaska. You played a role in the fight to cut off money for the Vietnam War. What would be your advice, Senator, for the elected officials on this stage who are at a conflict, opposed to the conflict, but also feel the need to keep on funding the conflict?

9. (s) Senator, Marsha from here in Orangeburg in South Carolina says, "As a spouse of a 19-year active duty professional soldier, who has served in Iraq and worldwide in numerous deployments, what would you consider to be a "mission complete" status in Iraq?

Next phase: (w) "We enter now the second phase of tonight's conversation. The in-house title for these questions was "Elephants in the Room," according to our political staff -- what may be uncomfortable questions about issues or beliefs attached, for whatever reason, to all of you -- perception issues, for lack of a better word."

10. Senator Obama… you've promised in your campaign a new kind of politics, but just this week the Chicago Sun-Times reported on questionable ties you have with a donor who was charged last year for demanding kickbacks on Illinois business deals. Aren't you practicing the very same kind of politics that many of the others on this stage have engaged in?

11. Senator Edwards, you've spoken with great passion and energy and eloquence about the issue of poverty in the United States, your "two Americas" theme.

And yet I want to read you a quote from the political journalist Roger Simon: "Many people miss the point about the haircuts. The point is not the cost. John Edwards is a very rich man and could afford even a $4,000 haircut. But why did he pay for his haircuts out of campaign funds?" Senator?

12. Senator, I have a follow-up for you. On modern day America, you've been of counsel to hedge funds. Do hedge funds make America any better in any way?

13. Senator Clinton, you represent the state of New York. How is America a better place because of all these burgeoning hedge funds?

14. Governor Richardson, you were one of the last people on this stage to call for the resignation of the attorney general, Attorney General Gonzales. When asked by a journalist why you were taking long to make up your mind about this, you replied, quote, "It's because he's Hispanic. I'm honest." Is that the right way to make personnel decisions?

15. Senator Dodd, while you represent the Nutmeg State in the U.S. Senate, you may be the most Washington of all the people from Washington on this stage here tonight: son of a U.S. senator, in the Senate for two decades yourself, a committee chair, and you've been rather unabashed about accepting money from lobbyists. How then do you make the case with people that you will reform or change Washington ways?

16. Congressman Kucinich, you were anti-war before the anti-war position started surging in the polls. The question is, why don't you think you have more traction politically in the United States?

17. Senator Biden, words have, in the past, gotten you in trouble, words that were borrowed and words that some found hateful. An editorial in the Los Angeles Times said, "In addition to his uncontrolled verbosity, Biden is a gaff machine." Can you reassure voters in this country that you would have the discipline you would need on the world stage, Senator?

18. Senator Gravel, at a forum earlier this year -- I want to get this right -- you said it doesn't matter whether you are elected president or not, so then, why are you here tonight? Shouldn't debates be for candidates who are in the race to win the race?

19. Senator Clinton, recent national polls indicate the majority of the general public has an unfavorable view of you, right now, at this point in time. Why do you think Republicans are looking forward to running against you with so much zeal?

Next Phase: Public Policy

20. Senator Edwards, on the topic of abortion. Our most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll indicated a majority of Americans approved of last week's Supreme Court decision to make so-called partial birth or late-term abortions illegal. Most of the people on this stage put out statements and criticized the ruling. A lot of American families find this just a hideous topic for a discussion. Is this a case, do you think, of the Supreme Court and the public with opinions in one place, and yet a lot of elected officials in another?

21. Senator Biden, as president would you have a specific litmus test question on Roe v. Wade that you would ask of your nominees for the high court?

22. Senator Dodd, you were the only senator on this stage to vote to confirm Chief Justice Roberts. Do you regret your vote?

23. We'd like to ask the same question of all of you, down the line, in order, and it calls for you to say a name or to pass. And, Governor Richardson, we're going to start with you. The question is your model Supreme Court justice?

24. Senator Clinton, a question for you: Did the government -- did any role that federal government plays fail those students at Virginia Tech?

25. Because our producers are learning about the consumption of time, we have our first "show of hands" question tonight. (Laughter) How many of you, in your adult lifetime, have had a gun in the house? One -- Senator Gravel, Senator Biden, Senator Dodd, Governor Richardson, Congressman Kucinich.

26. Senator Biden, the kind of flip side of the question I just asked Senator Clinton: What could the federal government have done to save those kids at Virginia Tech?

27. Let's talk about health care, an issue that currently ranks a solid second in virtually every opinion poll in the United States. Senator Edwards, you have said you would raise taxes to pay for a health care plan. The question is: Which ones?

28. Governor Richardson, you are perhaps the most strident on the position against raising taxes to pay for this. But how could it possibly be the domestic Marshall Plan some people say it must be without that kind of revenue?

29. (s)This is from Daniel in Eastover, South Carolina. He says, "I would like a comment concerning the ban on South Carolina from the NAACP; and why they, the candidates, are in South Carolina if they support the NAACP"

"The NAACP has asked tourists, groups and sporting events not to come to South Carolina until the confederate flag has been removed from the statehouse grounds. Do you agree with that?"

30. (s)The next question is a short-answer question; one sentence. And I am going to ask each of you, beginning with Senator Gravel.

This is from Paula in Conway, South Carolina: "What is the most significant political or professional mistake you have made in the past four years? And what, if anything, did you learn from this mistake which makes you a better candidate?"

31. (s) Senator Clinton, if you were currently the president, would you defy the majority of American citizens and offer a form of amnesty for illegal aliens?

32. (s)Senator Biden, "In comparison to countries like Japan, China and India, we have the least number of young people going for advanced degrees in science and engineering. How are you going to reverse this brain drain?" From Darren in Evanston, Illinois.

33. (s)Senator Dodd, this is from Joe, and he asked, "I have to pass a drug test to earn a paycheck. Shouldn't the welfare recipient have to pass one to receive a check, as well?"

34. (s) Senator Edwards, this is for you from Auggie in Darlington, South Carolina. "Concerning the astronomical windfall of major oil companies again in the first quarter. Why is gas still on the rise?"

35. (s)Representative Kucinich, this is from Ashley in Elgin, South Carolina. "I am what I consider a middle class American. It is almost to the point where I am consider dropping my medical insurance because premiums are just too high. What are you planning to do to help Americans have affordable health care premiums?"

36. (s)And this from Susan in West Colombia, South Carolina, again, for all of us, one sentence, and the question is this: "While sitting in the Oval Office on the first day of your administration, name the first thing that you want accomplished by the end of that first day."

Next Phase: Signing off on NBC Affiliates and Cable, but continuing online

37. We're going to switch categories now to what we are calling non-Iraq foreign policy. Senator Obama, what are America's three most important allies around the world?

38. Senator [Obama], thanks. I'll give you a follow-up. I didn't hear you mention Israel, and I ask because there is a quote attributed to your name. You said recently, "No one is suffering more than the Palestinian people." Do you stand by that remark?

39. Senator Biden, from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, what three nations, other than Iraq, represent, to you, the biggest threat to the United States?

40. Senator Edwards, Russia has been in the news of late. Just today, they suspended an arms deal over a squabble. Simply, do you regard them as a friend or a foe?

41. Governor Richardson, with your forays into diplomacy, four nominations for Nobel Peace Prizes, when you consider that President Bush said he once looked into the soul Putin, how would you do things differently with Russia?

42. Senator Clinton, a friend of yours from back home, said this week: Quote, "the Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us."

Another quote: "America will be safer with a Republican president."

How do you think, Senator, that it happened that that notion of Republicans as protectors in a post 9/11 world has taken on so?

43. Senator Dodd, same question [but distinct enough to warrant its inclusion in this list]. How has this label been attached to the Democratic Party, that the Republicans will protect America best?

44. Second "show of hands" question: Do you believe there is such a thing as a global war on terror?

45. Congressman Kucinich. Why is your hand not up?

46. Senator Obama, if, God forbid a thousand times, while we were gathered here tonight, we learned that two American cities have been hit simultaneously by terrorists and we further learned, beyond the shadow of a doubt it had been the work of Al Qaida, how would you change the U.S. military stance overseas as a result?

47. Is anyone on this stage willing to enter into Congressman Kucinich's effort to impeach Vice President Cheney? Is this a proper use of public congressional time and energy?

48. Senator Dodd, the state of Connecticut has legalized civil unions for gay people. Tell me, is there a difference between gay marriage and civil unions?

49. Senator Biden, a quote from Tom Friedman in The New York Times: "Unfortunately, today's presidential hopefuls are largely full of hot air on the climate energy issue. Not one of them is proposing anything hard." What would you propose for the average American that would be hard?

50. Governor Richardson, Fidel Castro is still alive. How do you feel about normalizing relations with Castro's Cuba?

51. Senator Gravel, your two terms in the Senate representing Alaska have sat on top of, of course, a huge reserve of oil. With the French system as the model, is the United States, in your view, woefully behind in its use of nuclear energy?

52. What in your personal life, Senator Obama, have you done personally to make for a better environment? Personal life?

53. Senator Edwards, who do you consider to be your moral leader?

54. Senator Clinton, overall, is Wal-Mart a good thing or a bad thing for the United States of America?

55. Senator Biden, a question for you. A friend of mine who's in the leadership of the Democratic Party says that if the party goes down a third straight time, what will happen is what he defined as modern-day extinction of the Democratic Party. Putting yourself aside, perhaps, is there a winner on this stage tonight, and does your party have what it takes to reverse this trend and win the White House?