Gordon Howie's interview with GOP Senate coyly-avoiding-saying-the-exact-words-that-she-is-a candidate Annette Bosworth is exactly what any attentive observer of her "exploratory" campaign would expect: a sloppy stew of predictable and transparent pander points demonstrating that she is not a serious candidate up to the job of campaigning, let alone crafting legislation in South Dakota's interest in the United States Senate.
Consider Howie's second question to Bosworth (starting at 1:28), the very predictable biggest-issue question, and watch Bosworth get so lost in her campaign karaoke that she forgets to really answer:
Gordon Howie: What is the most pressing issue you see that the next U.S. Senator from South Dakota will have to deal with?
Annette Bosworth: It's quite obvious that I have a talent in health care. I am in the generation where I've never touched a paper chart. I have been on the leading edge of innovation and change throughout my whole career. And I think there are some rules about being a change agent. You expect some bloody noses. You expect that change will be difficult, and that if you are doing that without a foundation built upon a rock that is taught very clearly in our Bible about what your values need to be upon, then don't plan on being a change agent for long [interview, Liberty Today, posted 2013.07.11].
Good grief, Annette. You've been talking Senate issues with a month, you've been allegedly listening to and learning from South Dakotans all over the state, and you are still wallowing in talking about yourself? Aaaarrrggghhh!
If the most pressing issue facing our next Senator is health care reform, you say to Gordon: "ObamaCare is going to bankrupt individuals and businesses. We need to take back the Senate, repeal it, and replace it with sensible legislation that protects our liberty."
If the most pressing issue is lack of Christian values, you say to Gordon, "We need to turn America back to God. We need Senators who can articulate their faith in Jesus and translate the Gospels into good policy to deal with the challenges of health care, abortion, welfare, and the general social chaos atheist liberals have foisted upon us. And we need prayer in schools. Amen." (See? I can do this at a moment's notice, and I'm not even running.)
Even Gordon smells your bull and has to redirect with a "pin you down" yes/no question. You sound confident in your response then, but you still wallow in a bunch of vague abstractions ("Health care is at a peak... the stress is palpable..." what does any of that mean?), not the policy details that you as a doctor ought to be able to rattle off in your sleep.
[Update 13:20 CDT]: And notice, dear readers, that Howie filmed this interview during her July 4-5 swing through West River. His next post relevant to South Dakota politics came on July 9, in which he said nothing about Bosworth and urged Rep. Stace Nelson to run for Senate. Evidently Bosworth did not impress Howie and more than she impressed Larry Rhoden.
No, dear reader, you didn't leave the fridge open. The baloney you smell is Annette Bosworth's pretend candidacy, in which she will mimic the talk-radio blab points that someone has fed her.
I really have to wonder how many of the folks that follow Howie are looking to a change agent who has been on the leading edge of the changes we have had, to be their next Senator.
Repeal and replace…
Perhaps she means returning to the Christian values which embrace "our" Bible's command (Mathew 25) to care for the sick, the hungry and those in prison taking the burden off of government. Then churches and "non-profit" hospitals will again deserve the property tax exemption they currently demand!
Bravo!
A couple things.
1.Lose the lab coat and stethoscope. You're a doctor, we get it. You went to school to umpteen years. Your 'I love me wall' is full of degrees and awards, please don't rub in our face. Besides medicine and politics don't mix well.
2.Know the issues, all of them, local, state, national and international. Inside and out, upside down and backward and forwards.
3.Have a set of short, one sentence. answers ready. Clear concise and to the point.
4.Have a set of follow up answer ready. Be prepared with facts and figures.
5.Most interviewers want the interview to go smoothly (unless they are playing gotcha) If you ask them they will provide you with the questions ahead of time.
6.Know your audience. If you are talking to farmers, don't be discussing military funding, unless it has a direct impact on them
Politics can be a rough game. You need to develop a thick skin. You will criticized, harshly by all sides.
Good luck, something tells me you are going to need it.
Didn't the term "change agent" lose all meaning by the early 2000s? The important thing you think needs to be done should not be what once sexy, now pathetic label you want to paste on yourself. And if we're talking about the healing work Jesus did, most of the people he healed were poor and couldn't pay, so he did it free of charge. Now there's a Bible-based concept the Tea Partiers will never understand.