When President Obama held his second prime time news conference his goal was to project and sense of hope that things economic were starting to look better. "What I'm confident about," he said, "is that we're moving in the right direction."
I'll leave it to political pundits and pollsters to discuss how well he did in creating the positive reactions he sought. I'll focus my attention on how he handled the inevitable hypothetical question that reporters love to ask. It came from ABC White House Correspondent Jack Tapper.
After sighting the fact that Democrat budget planners in Congress aren't even considering two of the President's priorities, Tapper asked: "Will you sign a budget that does not contain a middle class tax cut, does not contain cap and trade?"
This was President Obama's non-answer: "Well. I've emphasized repeatedly what I expect out of this budget. I expect that there will be serious efforts at health care reform and that we are driving down costs for families and businesses and ultimately for the federal and state governments that are going to be broke if we continue on the current path.
"I've said that we have to have a serious energy policy that frees ourselves from dependence on foreign oil and makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy. We've got to invest in education K through 12 and beyond to upgrade the skills of the American worker so we can compete in the international economy. And I've said that we've got to start driving our deficit numbers down.
"Now, we never expected when we printed out our budget that they would simply Xerox it and vote on it. We assume that it has to go through the legislative process"
Right! But, what about Jake Tapper's question? Clearly it wasn't one Mr. Obama wanted to answer. If he said "yes," he'd sign a bill without the middle class tax cut and cap and trade provisions, both proposals become non-starters. If he said "no," it was the rhetorical equivalent of throwing down the gauntlet.
So what's a president to do? Just what he did.
In presidential news conferences, reporters typically ask a question and a follow up, so Tapper asked his "would you sign" question again. And, again, the president expressed his "confidence that we're going to be able to get a budget done that's reflective of what needs to happen to make sure that America grows."
Right, it was a hypothetical question and he wasn't going to answer. You shouldn't either.
In situations where facts are yet to be determined, reporters will ask sometimes tantalizing hypothetical questions. That's their job, just as it's your job not to speculate.
When a reporter asks that kind of a question you can say, "I'm not going to answer a hypothetical, but I can say..." and bridge to and agenda item, something you want to talk about. Or, you can use the President's approach and talk around it.
Reporters love them, but hypothetical questions, like hand grenades, should be handled with great care, or avoided altogether.
I'll leave it to political pundits and pollsters to discuss how well he did in creating the positive reactions he sought. I'll focus my attention on how he handled the inevitable hypothetical question that reporters love to ask. It came from ABC White House Correspondent Jack Tapper.
After sighting the fact that Democrat budget planners in Congress aren't even considering two of the President's priorities, Tapper asked: "Will you sign a budget that does not contain a middle class tax cut, does not contain cap and trade?"
This was President Obama's non-answer: "Well. I've emphasized repeatedly what I expect out of this budget. I expect that there will be serious efforts at health care reform and that we are driving down costs for families and businesses and ultimately for the federal and state governments that are going to be broke if we continue on the current path.
"I've said that we have to have a serious energy policy that frees ourselves from dependence on foreign oil and makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy. We've got to invest in education K through 12 and beyond to upgrade the skills of the American worker so we can compete in the international economy. And I've said that we've got to start driving our deficit numbers down.
"Now, we never expected when we printed out our budget that they would simply Xerox it and vote on it. We assume that it has to go through the legislative process"
Right! But, what about Jake Tapper's question? Clearly it wasn't one Mr. Obama wanted to answer. If he said "yes," he'd sign a bill without the middle class tax cut and cap and trade provisions, both proposals become non-starters. If he said "no," it was the rhetorical equivalent of throwing down the gauntlet.
So what's a president to do? Just what he did.
In presidential news conferences, reporters typically ask a question and a follow up, so Tapper asked his "would you sign" question again. And, again, the president expressed his "confidence that we're going to be able to get a budget done that's reflective of what needs to happen to make sure that America grows."
Right, it was a hypothetical question and he wasn't going to answer. You shouldn't either.
In situations where facts are yet to be determined, reporters will ask sometimes tantalizing hypothetical questions. That's their job, just as it's your job not to speculate.
When a reporter asks that kind of a question you can say, "I'm not going to answer a hypothetical, but I can say..." and bridge to and agenda item, something you want to talk about. Or, you can use the President's approach and talk around it.
Reporters love them, but hypothetical questions, like hand grenades, should be handled with great care, or avoided altogether.
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