Tonight, Special Report debuted their new feature, Center Seat, where they bring candidates to the studio to be questioned by their panel. Their first candidate was Michele Bachmann, and I was impressed with how she did. She answered the questions directly, without hesitation, without ums or stutters or backtracking. And she demonstrated that she has a sharp mind and knows how to make decisions.
The most interesting question was one by Charles Krauthammer on whether or not she would reinstate “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“I would reinstate it,” she answered, without hesitating, “because the military is not a social experiment.” She then brought up how the advice Obama got from the military was that changing this policy could disrupt decorum in the military.
Charles followed up. “But what if it were shown in the ensuing 18 months between now and then that there was no disruption of decorum.”
I was fascinated with her reply. “Well, of course, we’d have to take that into consideration. But if you’re asking me today, what I would do, I would reinstate it. But, you know, that’s another day.”
While I am a strong social conservative, as she is, I understand that this is a complex issue, and I was pleased to see that Congresswoman Bachmann was thoughtful and careful in this answer, and I could visualize her in that presidential chair, soliciting input from her advisors, and being circumspect and cautious in her decisions. I did not see this quality in Herman Cain, in his interview on last Sunday’s Fox News Sunday. Instead, I saw a rashness and naiveté that troubled me. Bachmann, I must say, remains my favorite by far.
