People who don't answer questions...

[DrFaroohk]

I notice when I watch the news or a debate and there's political or legal stuff going on, no one knows how to properly answer a question.

Imaginary Talking Head = Mr. President, how do you feel about the current global socieoconomic position of the UN?

Mr. President = I feel that it's a complete waste of time and money.

...would be an acceptable response.

Or...

Mr. President = I feel that it is the best thing since sliced bread.

Would also be acceptable.

Instead, we always get "Well that's a good question. Now let me tell you a story about when I was a young boy, and Skeeter Gavin and I were playing ice hockey on Stonefield Lake. That was a fine summer, and we learned...."

Just answer the fucking questions! Even smaller scale it gets annoying. Just answer the fucking question and leave the stories for elsewhere. If you ARE going to tell a story, make sure it's directly related. Sometimes I get the feeling the answerer wasn't even paying attention to the question and just has a bunch of stock answers lined up that he gives out in that order regardless of the question.

[jackfaire]

They should get cut off and not allowed to answer if they veer off topic. Or play the off like at the Oscars.

[KabeRinnaul]

Sometimes I get the feeling the answerer wasn't even paying attention to the question and just has a bunch of stock answers lined up that he gives out in that order regardless of the question.

Well, yeah. I kinda figured that was obvious. Especially with politicians.

A straight answer might alienate some of the voters, you know.

[LexiaFira]

its called politics and how the game is played, and how they avoid pissing off a possible large group of people to avoid losing a massive amount of votes. you should know this by now.

basically what Kabe said....

[bara]

This is why

Brian Griffin: "undecided voters are the biggest idiots on the planet".

It doesnt matter if they answer and they know it. So, as someone else said, they avoid the question so as not to alientate anyone.

[DrFaroohk]

Brian Griffin: "undecided voters are the biggest idiots on the planet".

I love family guy but never quite got that...you'd think that the undecided voters are the ones who haven't formed a dumbass opinion yet. The really dumb ones you have to watch out for are the people who think their party can do no wrong. If you're a republican, everything the democrats do is bad. Even if its the same thing you're doing too.

[bara]

Most people form an opinion rather quickly when looking at candidates, and unless something really bad comes out about them, they are not likely to change thier minds.

I look at the track record when I decide on a candidate. I dont have to wait till the debates to be able to look that information up. If people are allowing the mindless drivel that happens at debates to decide how to cast thier votes, then Im doubting whether they should even be allowed to vote at that point.

Im not saying some good discussions dont happen, Im just saying that at the debates they are normally either trashing the opponent, making them look like bigger idiots then they are already, or simply going over things that have already been made public. Its not like when Lincoln was debating. Back then it made sense to see them go head to head. Information wasnt readily available by little more than switching on the TV, picking up the paper, or clicking on a few search bars.

[Boozy]

They're trying to get back to their talking points, since these are the only things they can say that have already been vetted by focus groups and are likely to be well-received by voters.

Watching some candidates try to work their way back to a talking point is painful. Sarah Palin had a notoriously difficult time with it during the debates in 2008.

[Gravekeeper]

They're trying to get back to their talking points, since these are the only things they can say that have already been vetted by focus groups and are likely to be well-received by voters.

Pretty much. American politics are actually kind of unique in the western world. Thanks to the two party system, politicians always straddle a line. Because they always have 1/3rd of the country and half the media against them just waiting for them to say something that fit's the other team's narrative of them that can be used as ammo for negative attacks. They have to please 1/3rd and avoid alienating another 1/3rd, while the final 1/3rd will never vote for them. Ever.

So basically you avoid questions because you don't want to give the other side anything they can use to fill in their portrayal of you to their base and the middle 1/3rd. There's no investigative period in American politics. You're immediately judged based on what team you're on, then your opponents and opposing media sources wait for you to say ANYTHING they can use to fill in the image of their judgement.

The system itself essentially forces the manufacture of pure bullshit. -.-