Questioning Couric’s Questions

Professor and author Stanley Fish is suspicious of CBS’ Primary Questions feature. In an op-ed in today’s New York Times, Fish calls the Katie Couric questions “softballs.” “But don’t blame Couric,” Fish writes. The questions “were devised, CBS News says, in response to prospective voters who are saying things like, ‘Our president has to be a person of integrity,’ ‘morals, strong morals’ and ‘character is everything.’

Still, Fish writes, “CBS News may be right to rely on an ‘informal poll’ indicating that ‘come November, policy issues may not rule the day.’ The voters may well prefer the candidate who breathes virtue and rectitude to the candidate who demonstrates the kind of knowledge often associated with ‘policy wonks.’”

>More: A CBS insider says if you’re looking for policy questions, watch tomorrow and Wednesday. The Primary Question tomorrow will be on global warming. Wednesday’s is about which country is the greatest threat to the U.S.

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