How I would have answered the UFO question

To be fair, it’s always easy to come up with the perfect response to a question after the fact.  But even with that conceded, I think the other Democratic candidates (as opposed to Dennis Kucinich himself), missed a bet in responding to Tim Russert’s inane UFO question to Kucinich.  They should have given an answer something like this:

“I’ll tell you what I think, Tim.  Anyone who snickers at another person who’s had an experience in life that person can’t explain is far too sure of him or herself, and takes a far too narrow view of the wonder of this life.  There’s still a lot of mystery left in this world.

“But to be honest, what really strikes me here, Tim, is this question: why in the name of God did you decide to ask that question?  In fact, why do you keep asking all of those gotcha questions, which are more about you than about the candidates, you’re so fond of?  I’m sorry, but this isn’t supposed to be about you, or about how clever you can be.  This is supposed to be about helping the people of the United States decide who will lead this country in an incredibly important time.

“People are hurting in this country.  We have a disastrous war going on that was started on the basis of a lie . . . a lie that people like you, Tim, had a lot to do with spreading.  We’re hemorrhaging both blood and money in Iraq . . . lives and money we can’t afford to lose.  Ordinary Americans are hurting.  They can’t pay their bills let alone put their kids through college.  This nation is now more unequal in the distribution of wealth and income than it has been at any time since the Great Depression.  We just went through a long period of strong economic growth and yet average Americans didn’t benefit from it one iota.  All the money went to the richest of the rich.

“There are things fundamentally wrong in this country, Tim.  Things that need to be debated and changed.  And what do you do?  You ask Dennis about UFO’s.

“Shame on you, Tim.  Shame on you”

Any candidate who gave that answer would have seen his or her numbers bounce at least 10 points in the next poll.  But, of course, they would never dare do something like that — offend the major media in that way.  Yet, the reality — and it’s a reality that should be clear to anyone who has paid the slightest bit of attention over the past 10 years — is that the Democratic nominee isn’t going to get a fair shake from the media anyway.

Did Clinton get a fair shake in office, as the Russert’s of the world trumpeted one made up “scandal” after another?  Did “he claimed he invented the Internet” Al Gore get a fair shake?  How about swift boated John Kerry?  Ah, but the media just didn’t like Gore and Kerry, right?  That’s their story, you know: they weren’t prejudiced against the Democrats just because they were Democrats; they just disliked these particular Democratic nominees on a personal basis, as though their personal likes and dislikes should make a drop of spit in the ocean’s difference as to who’s elected president.

Well, guess what, Hillary, Barack and John (or other), when it comes time for the general election this time they magically just won’t like you as a person either.

So if you’re going to get screwed by the media anyway, why not throw a few punches back in the process — and maybe even win a few votes while you’re at it?

6 Responses to “How I would have answered the UFO question”

  1. fdarbe Says:

    I would have answered, President Reagan saw a UFO and spoke of uniting the world in the face of an Alien invasion. Why don’t you ask me a real question, Tim, rather than insult Republican’s is such a way.

  2. PookyShoehorn Says:

    Amen! Tim Russert is a big fat idiot!

  3. VettaKing Says:

    I think it’s funny that believing in Aliens is considered crazy but believing in the giant invisible Jew in the sky is practically mandatory to be an American. There are billions of stars in the galaxy and billions of galaxies in the universe. If we are the only planet with un-intelligent life than there is an awful lot of wasted space out there. This country is full of the stupidest most cowardly people on the planet. I hate you.

  4. Chuck Says:

    Since I don’t watch television I don’t know who Russert is, but if he is fool enough to ask that sort of question, why would anybody want to be on the program to start with?

  5. Larkrise Says:

    The Media loves to play nasty. They are especially fond of swift-boating Democrats. Tim Russert was purposefully trying to make Dennis Kucinich look loopy. Dennis is an easy target, since he is ultra-progressive and doesnt have a snowball’s chance in Hell to win the nomination. So, Russert tries to look clever at Kucinich’s expense. It was a cheap shot. Dennis, however, does have a close relationship with Shirley MacClaine. Her books are entertaining. Some of her views are beyond the pale. I used to visit her website. It was fun. Then, she got on this kick about how “everything is just as it should be.” She promoted being “for” rather than against issues. There IS merit to being positive. I won’t knock that. But, never speaking out against a wrong is to allow the wrong to continue, in my mind. Her philosophy, when taken to the extreme she proposed, would result in allowing such atrocities as the Holocaust to continue. It just won’t wash. She is a also a big promoter of UFO’s and past lives. Okay. I do NOT pretend to understand all the mysteries of the Universe. I have an open mind. There may be UFO’s. We may have had past lives. I simply don’t have the answers. She, however, insists she does. Her best friend runs her website, and is a decidedly histrionic woman, who has made money promoting her own books on UFO’s. This is where I draw the line. It smacks of a con job to me, a money-maker. I am not comfortable with it. Russert probably knows some of this. He decided to use it to make Dennis Kucinich look silly. He linked Dennis to MacClaine on the program, and did it on purpose. I would have asked Mr. Russert if he had all the answers to the mysteries of the Universe. If he said “No”, I would reply: “neither do I.” I really liked your answer, Steve. I agree 100% that the Dems need to quit responding to these jerks with kid gloves on. They are going to slam the Democrats, anyway. It’s time to give tit for tat, and embarrass the Media creeps.

  6. dumpbushnow Says:

    The question itself had no relationship to the “debate” topics at all and as such Russert should have been immediately admonished for asking it, however, the belief that UFOs exist is belief in a far more probable hypothesis than the fantastic mythology that is the basis of today’s common religions.

    Yet, the believers in Christianity, especial the fundie flavor, have the chutzpah to assert that belief in the possibilities of UFOs from alien civilizations is somehow a mental aberration when their own beliefs are so blatently ludicrous and utterly fantastic (as in fantasy) that someone who professes them should be immediately placed in a straight jacket and sent to a psychiatric hospital to protect society from them!

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