Fox News correspondents obviously have the chance to drive the quality of the debate tonight.
Will they ask softballs?
Q - What’s the greatest threat to the US?
A - ISIS, Planned Parenthood, and Hillary.
Will they ask gotchas?
Q - Trump, How can you fix the US debt crisis, when your companies have a long history of failing and filing bankruptcy?
A - You think you’re quite clever, but screw you. No one cares about my companies.
The zinger setup?
Q - Does Benghazi disqualify Clinton from the Presidency?
A - It’s worse than a dis-qualifier. If she were to become president, it’s a high crime and grounds for impeachment! Yes, impeachment before a primary election. Why wait?
Regardless, I don’t have much hope that the questions will lead answers that will inform viewers.
It’s actually simple. Every candidate has the position that America is broken and they will fix it.
When I hire someone for a repair job, I only need to know a few things.
What are you repairing or replacing?
How long will it take?
How much will it cost?
Forgive the simplistic analogy, but say I need to keep rabbits out my garden. I expect more than, well “first we secure the border”. What the hell does that mean?
Are you building a fence? What kind? How much? How many people need to monitor for holes afterwards. Can we manage rabbits already in the yard or are you chasing them out? How is that done and by how many workers? How much more does that cost? How long does it take?
Budget: How many years to balance it? What agencies are getting cut? If a candidate has a plan to shut down say Energy, Education, and uhhhh Commerce. What happens to the 50,000 employees laid off nationally? How much does that cost to replace national weather tracking or regulation of nuclear energy getting fired?
While we’re dealing with costs - how do we pay for any solutions using cash only? The GOP wants no debt ceiling increase, so credit cards are off limits. Where does the cash come from?
I’m not hiring someone that just says that can’t answer those basic questions. I’m also not falling for a too good to be true "it won’t cost you a dime". Reform Social Security but no impact to benefits? Please. What’s the new retirement age and how much are benefits getting cut?
I long for the good old days when a candidate could be defined by explaining a policy - like a 9, 9, 9 plan. Fox, I’m not setting the bar very high. I just don’t want to feel dumber after watching this debate.
What are the soundbite policy solutions the Fox should question tonight? What areas could we get at least an overview of the practical implications from the candidates’ plans and actually learn something about proposals?