An email arrived last week from one of the four members of the Rotary Club of East Memphis who posed a question to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike McWherter, taking my reporting to task. The story we ran pointed out that "several Rotarians tried to draw McWherter into discussions of the Obama administration's initiatives." The emailer said he was the person who asked McWherter whether he intended to invite President Obama to Tennessee to campaign for him -- the question got more than a few snickers -- and said it was the only question about Obama. True, but another of the four questions posed during the meeting involved the Affordable Care Act and its impact on the state, though even the questioner acknowledged it would not be until the next governor's second term that there would be much impact.
So that was two of four questions during the meeting, and, afterward, I waited with McWherter while people talked to him. Three conversations stretched beyond cursory "hello-goodbye" and the substance of all three was connected to either the "Obama administration's initiatives" referred to in the story or the drift of federal-government policies since President Obama took office. In all, that was five of seven questions asked of a candidate for Tennessee governor more concerned with the federal government than state issues.
One reason we decided to include this in the story is because, more and more, you see the same thing happen with similar gatherings. In other words, a candidate for state or local office is tested on their views of President Obama and his administration.
Here is an excerpt from the email reply I sent:
So that was two of four questions during the meeting, and, afterward, I waited with McWherter while people talked to him. Three conversations stretched beyond cursory "hello-goodbye" and the substance of all three was connected to either the "Obama administration's initiatives" referred to in the story or the drift of federal-government policies since President Obama took office. In all, that was five of seven questions asked of a candidate for Tennessee governor more concerned with the federal government than state issues.
One reason we decided to include this in the story is because, more and more, you see the same thing happen with similar gatherings. In other words, a candidate for state or local office is tested on their views of President Obama and his administration.
Here is an excerpt from the email reply I sent:
For many people, these 2010 elections are going to have more to do with gauging how far away from President Obama a candidate appears, and not so much their plans for job growth or education or leadership or other things candidates want to believe are the main motivations for voters. That is very consistent with historic patterns in U.S. midterm presidential elections.What do you think? Should candidates be judged on their fidelity to or opposition to President Obama and his administration? How can we get political discussions more focused on judging candidates by issues that actually affect the offices they are running for?
Thanks much for inquiring. This helped clarify some things for me as a reporter that may lead to a story down the road. I guess I am curious what motivated you to ask a Tennessee candidate for governor about President Obama rather than, say, pre-k education or state park funding or the criteria he would use in selecting his leadership team (this latter, to my mind, being the most important thing a governor does but which voters NEVER ask about).
Leave a comment