Charlie and George: Some Help with Questions

I guess Charlie and George had trouble thinking of questions for Barack and Obama at the debate last Tuesday. I put my brain to work for about 5 minutes and came up with the following. Feel free to borrow any you wish.

Questions I’d like to see asked of the candidates (instead of ones about lapel pins, etc.)

- There has been a lot of criticism of President Carter’s visit to the Mideast. What is you position on ex-presidents embarking on their own peace missions?
- We all know that infrastructure degradation is a problem in the United States. We also know that the debt is ballooning, how can we afford to build infrastructure, pay for health care, and pay down the debt without raising taxes?
-- Eminent domain has been used by some cities to increase land availability for development. Do you approve of the decision in the New London case, and what is your position on eminent domain to increase land availability for developers?
-What should be the role of the federal government, if any, in addressing the problems of cult religious groups such as the fundamentalist polygamy groups in Texas and Utah?
-All the candidates have made a lot of promises; just how realistic are those promises and do you have a “plan B.”
-You’ve been on the campaign trail for months now. What would you change to make the process more fair or at least less physically demanding, if anything?
The media makes a lot of money from campaign ads. Shouldn’t they be required to offer free time to candidates on an equal level to level the playing field?
-Senator Clinton: Your husband has earned a rightful place as an ex-president to travel the world and comment on issues. What steps would you take to insure that when he speaks to foreign governments, his comments are known to NOT reflect the position of your government. For example: on free trade where you have said you disagree with your husband.
-What explains the huge inmate population in this country? What can be done to reduce the recidivism rates? And what strategies would you adopt to integrate former inmates into society as productive citizens.
-Under what circumstances might you use nuclear weapons?
-How would you structure your state department and defense department, i.e. with those supporting diplomacy as a solution or a military option?
-What should be the role of the U.S. military is protecting oil supplies, e.g. in Nigeria.
-Can the US reduce the debt without raising taxes?
-Can the Internet be used by government to become more efficient and to increase communications between government and the people?
-It appears that auditing the Pentagon is beyond anyone's capabilities, yet every business is expected to have an audit. What can you do as president to assure us that money is being spent honestly and wisely?