May 08, 2009

Question Time and the Rule of George W. Bush

Today Andrew Sullivan links to sparring between Gordon Brown and David Cameron as a way of explaining why he asks tough questions and expects tough debates. The British system certainly is different from the American one where the David Broders, George Wills, and Sally Quinns of the world appear to think such questioning is unseemly. Sullivan's link reminds me of something that had crossed my mind before. If we had the British system on these shores, do you think we would have been spared George W. Bush? The idea of him taking questions in this format, well, it's hard to imagine.

And no, this doesn't mean I favor the proposal some throw out from time to time calling for the US president to answer similar questions in front of Congress. That seems to me to be completely inappropriate given our presidential system, and a largely pointless endeavor. If you want question time, push for a new constitution and a switch to a parliamentary system.

Posted by armand at May 8, 2009 11:40 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Politics


Comments
Post a comment









Remember personal info?