Friday, January 6, 2012

A good question

Today, a young man asked Newt Gingrich a question about what changes he could make in eight years as president that would affect his generation. Unfortunately, Newt and the crowd made light of it. Perhaps it was not phrased very tactfully, but it was a good question nonetheless.

My children are of this young man's generation. I, too, am concerned about what their future will be like, if Washington continues on the same path. I believe Romney would have used the question to great benefit. He likes to talk about his grandchildren, and how one of the reasons he is running is because he is concerned for their future. Many people believe that Romney will be just another status-quo, moderate, do-nothing Republican. They say he won't ruffle too many feathers.

I sure hope they are wrong, and I believe they are. We Publish Postneed only look at the past to know that Romney is anything but a do-nothing man. We also know that he has well-considered plans to deal with our problems, and that as governor, he kept his campaign promises.

Romney would have taken the young man seriously, because it is serious. Romney is in the race to actually make a difference.

Listen to WBZ NewsRadio’s audio of the exchange:

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6 comments:

Machtyn said...

My comment posted in the article's thread:

It is not a ridiculous question. It is the question being answered by Mitt Romney nearly every day. Mitt Romney is in this for his children’s children. He talks about shrinking government, shrinking debt, and making sure we have a sustainable economy. He wants this to be America’s Century.

Just how serious is Newt Gingrich? This is just sad that he has no answer.

Anonymous said...

Machtyn, your answer was so much better than mine. You are exactly right.

-Martha

Anonymous said...

Martha, thank you for calling this telling exchange to our attention.

The incident today at Newt Gingrich's town hall is an eye-opener and serves to confirm the worst of what many young people believe about politicians (especially Republicans)--wealthy, old, overstuffed white guys who don’t have a clue.

I am stunned by the insensitivity and callousness of Newt and the NH Tea Party audience in response to the young man’s question. Newt initially lectured the young questioner, advising him to revise his inartful phrasing (which, to my ears, was nothing of the kind, just youthful earnestness and directness). What he was asking was very clear and played right into Newt’s vaunted visionary ideas for the future.

The audience’s nervous laughter, whether triggered by Newt’s antics or the youth’s persistence or both, ridiculed the young man and his question. I don’t believe that was the audience’s intent (Newt’s intent is murkier), but ridicule was the unmistakable effect.

Since when can’t a young person muster the courage to speak out in public and grapple to find the right words to ask a presidential candidate an important question—-a question that bears directly on the future of this country—-without being mocked?

The young man’s question was intelligent, respectful, sincere, even touching. Shame on Newt for an epic generational fail!

The youth had the last laugh, however. He reduced Newt to silence.

Rochelle said...

Hey, great comment. I just added your blog to my blog list. I hope everyone reads this. Thank you for reminding us exactly why the Presidency is so important this time.

Noelle said...

That was an excellent question, perhaps poorly phrased, but nevertheless, the content was extremely important. I am a conservative because I want this country to provide for my children (now ages 4 and 2) the blessings of opportunity and freedom that it has provided for me and my parents before me. I hope Gingrich took the time to actually answer the question, because the part of his response that I heard in the audio was dismissive and arrogant.

A day or so ago Romney had an exchange with an Occupy protester. The question he asked was respectful and intelligent, and Romney answered in a way that was also respectful and intelligent (and correct). Young people are the future of the country. We should take the time to productively educate and inform them so they are not left to the flawed information of the liberal dominated college education.

Anonymous said...

Romney would have completley understood where this young man was coming from with his question and would have addressed his concerns in a respectful manner, because this too, is one of Romney's biggest concerns for the young people in this country.

The Romney campaign really needs to reach out to the college kids to educate them on how this country's growing deficits are going to negatively impact their future. College students really seem to have no clue that they will be the ones picking up the tab for the deficit spending.

I would love to see Romney spend more time on college campuses in order to get his message out.