The high point of the presidential town meeting on race in Akron came when the president tried to bully scholar Abigail Thernstrom on the subject of affirmative action. "Abigail," he asked, "do you favor the United States Army abolishing affirmative-action programs that produced Colin Powell? Yes or no? Yes or no?" Faced with giving a straight answer to a crooked question, Thernstrom gave an intelligent response, noting that "these preferences disguise the problem" and showing herself to be a good deal more rational on the subject than the president. Not to mention less rude.
For the record, THE SCRAPBOOK would welcome a letter from anyone in the White House familiar with the president's speaking career who can present a single instance of the president's giving a simple "yes or no" answer to any question asked anywhere in any venue in the entire course of his presidency.