Mitt Romney: afraid of snowmen

I haven't always been a big fan of Howard Kurtz on CNN, but I have to give him credit for this one. This past weekend, Kurtz was discussing how Republicans do not want to have a YouTube debate similar to the one that Democrats had last week. Above is the video of Kurtz's dig at Mitt Romney, who has a now-famous reason for declining to participate in the YouTube debate:

KURTZ: Mitt Romney said that, he was expressing his reservations about joining the next YouTube debate, "I don’t think candidates should have to answer questions from a snowman." Well let me just say this to the former governor: how are you going to deal with Osama bin Laden if you’re afraid of that snowman?

Nice one, Howard.

Really, couldn't Romney's people come up with a better official explanation for ducking out of the debate than not wanting to "answer questions from a snowman"? Ouch. I can guarantee you he'll be teased and taunted for the rest of his campaign about the gaffe.

I'd like to dig a little deeper and offer my thoughts as to why most Republicans don't want to answer non-scripted questions from everyday Americans like the ones from last week's YouTube debate. I think the reason's quite simple, actually. It's because they don't want to answer the tough questions. Think about it - if you were a Republican who put your arm around President Bush when times were good, do you want to have to answer to that now? Of course not. I can just about guarantee that at least a few of the questions would go something like these:

• Where do you stand on stem cell research?
• How do you feel about campaign finance reform?
• Why did you support President Bush's War in Iraq?
• I'm a woman, why will not not support my right to choose?
• I'm a middle-class American - why should I bear more burden than those making over $1 million per year? Why do they deserve a tax cut?
• What about the ballooning deficit? How can you guarantee me that Social Security will still be there when I'm ready to retire?
• Hey, remember Osama bin Laden?

Yea, I guess if I were a Republican, I wouldn't want to answer these questions that Americans have been dying to ask Republicans, face-to-face, for just about all of the Bush administration. The Republican Party is not a popular one right now, so if I'm a Repube running for president, I want to stay on the sidelines, offer plenty of wind-blown rhetoric on Fox News, and also to answer as few tough questions as possible.

The GOP opposition to being asked real questions reminds me of President Bush's 2004 campaign, when it was well documented that he would only appear before Republican audiences. People who attended the event had to sign "loyalty pledges," saying that they were a registered Republican and would not demonstrate or cause any disruptions. I don't remember what else the pledge contained, but I believe it said something about how you wouldn't ask inappropriate questions, or something like that. In other words, "You won't ask the president any awkward questions that might not look good on TV."

What a load of crap. I will criticize any candidate, of any party, who employs similar tactics this year. This isn't Soviet Russia - this is the United States of America. And, we are supposedly electing someone who will look out for us and the issues we believe in. Before a candidate is elected president, he or she should want to answer the tough questions. I'd think that would be a noble quality in a candidate that all of the contenders would want to demonstrate. But, at least as far as the Republicans are concerned, they're too afraid that a question might not play well on TV. What a joke.