Law Students

We watch the CBS Evening News on weeknights that we are home. (A habit I picked up from my folks when I was little). I still haven't decided if I'm a fan of Katie Couric as my evening news anchor, but we are (well, I am) on a first name basis after all these evenings together.

They're running a series of segments (called Primary Questions, I think, with a subtitle that is completely unnecessary and annoying) in which they've asked each of the gazillion presidential candidates a bunch of the same questions. They show one question per broadcast, followed by the videotaped answer of every candidate, one after the other. It's a nice format, actually, allowing you to instantly compare the responses of all the candidates on a variety of topics.

The other night they asked when was the last time the candidates lost their temper and why. Some had playful answers, some more serious, most seemed genuine. Barack, however, said he almost never gets mad and when pressed, he reported recently getting mad at President Bush over some political issue or another. Now, if I was more versed in politics perhaps I'd be mad at Bush, too, or even be able to repeat whatever the issue was - I have zero recollection of it. And I love the guy's passion in general, so perhaps it was an honest response. But all I could think was, "really, Barack? That's all you've got?" Katie asked for a more pedestrian example, I believe, but I don't think he gave one; he'd already lost me.

Don't get me wrong, most of you know I'm a fan, but this got me wondering. If he really almost never gets upset, is this healthy, or is he lacking necessary coping mechanisms for dealing with the incredible stresses of being our President? I suppose I'm mostly just suspicious; I think he also said his children were perfect, so he has no reason to get mad at them. Handsome and intelligent guy, lovely and intelligent wife, perfect children, never a cross word ... it all seems a little hard to believe. If true, good for him. But I have to admit my b.s.-o-meter kicked in.

Full post as published by Just Playin on December 18, 2007 (boomark / email).