tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21083673.post9216025431380555255..comments2023-10-28T03:07:12.758-07:00Comments on Mirror On America: The President Speaks at a GOP Retreat -and totally schools themBrian http://www.blogger.com/profile/07872444863142531165noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21083673.post-16419813014403981912010-01-31T11:36:21.617-08:002010-01-31T11:36:21.617-08:00Kudos to Obama for going into that snakepit and go...Kudos to Obama for going into that snakepit and going toe to toe with the Republicans! I watched the replay at MSNBC and was highly surprised and pleased at how informative and educational it was along with being great political theater. <br /><br />I agreed with Rachel Maddow's point that politics should be conducted this way more often -- more engaged give and take discussions and debates about substantive issues and policies and less one-sided blathering of focus group-honed partisan talking points and press release boilerplates.<br /><br />I actually did a little research and found out that such events are regular occurrences in other countries and is formally known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_Time" rel="nofollow">Question Time</a> where the opposition parties have a regular appointment to publicly debate and challenge the incumbent (and the incumbent a chance to answer and engage his or her critics) in public, on live TV and radio. I'd love to see Question Time instituted as a regular part of US politics. For the educational value but also to show honest, spirited exchange of ideas between the opposing parties instead of endless one-sided echo chamber discussions.redantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15608670655422465211noreply@blogger.com