At Campaign Events, Sanders Sticks to the Script
NEWTON, Iowa— Bernie Sanders fires up huge crowds with a populist stump speech, but the Vermont senator is much less likely to engage in the question-and-answer sessions with voters that have come to define presidential politics in such early states as Iowa and New Hampshire.
Most of his “town meetings” allow for no questions, and when he does take them, his answers to queries outside the central themes of his campaign are often brief or vague as he segues back to points about income inequality and the plight of the middle class. In 19 events billed as town meetings in August and September, Mr. Sanders took questions at five of them. He gave a speech but didn’t take questions, as is the custom for candidates, at the Des Moines Register “soap box” at the Iowa State Fair.
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Some presidential candidates—like Sen. John McCain in 2008—have made town-hall meetings a central part of their campaigns. Others rarely participate in them, such as Republican businessman Donald Trump. When he does take questions, he rarely offers replies in any detail to the questions asked.
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Spokesman Michael Briggs said Mr. Sanders isn’t able at times to linger during question periods because his schedule is packed tight, though he does regularly take questions from the media. “I suppose he could give a shorter speech and take more questions, and that might be something we look at,” he said. At a recent town meeting here, Mr. Sanders spent about an hour on his opening remarks, and about 12 minutes taking audience questions.
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A week earlier, in Manchester, N.H., he was asked about the territorial dispute in the South China Sea between China and its neighbors. Mr. Sanders said the U.S. should work with other countries to let China know its expansionism is unacceptable—and then pivoted to his opposition to the Iraq war and support for the Iran nuclear deal. Another woman asked about how to make treatment affordable for drug and alcohol addiction. He replied by affirming that there is a serious problem and then talked about problems with the nation’s health-care system, such as insurance company profits.
Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, who attended a Manchester town meeting, said he noticed those scant replies. “It was interesting that he didn’t have those answers and didn’t seem as comfortable,” he said. “This may trip him up in a debate when you just don’t know what kind of pitch the moderator is going to send your way.”
At the Newton town hall, several people said they wished he had spent more time on Q&A, and some said they found his responses vague. “He kind of stumbled around in the area of education,” said Janna Skinner, 34. But others came away impressed. “I thought he did extremely well,” said Linda Bryant, who teaches pipe organ in Newton. As for audience participation, she said, “I just wish there had been more of it.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/at-campaign-events-sanders-sticks-to-the-script-1444173217
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