Your questions unasked...
- 18 Oct 06, 09:40 AM
I was overwhelmed by the number and quality of suggestions for (which you can watch here). Among my favourites were:
"Mr Blair, what would you say to yourself if you could send one message back in time to a month before the invasion?" (from )
"If Gen Dannatt was now running the NHS instead of our armed forces, what do you think his honest assesssment of the current state of its health would be?" (from )
What's intriguing is that no-one wanted me to ask about who or what had forced him to say he'd be leaving office much earlier than he'd promised. Even though - as I explained yesterday - he's managed to avoid answering this question, and it went unasked yesterday.
Why then did I ask what I did? (My question was - "The Head of the British Army says Britain's presence in Iraq exacerbates the difficulties that we face around the world. You didn't sack him - is that because you agree?). My choice always stems from trying to guess what the news story of the day will be (remember that TV only has the equivalent of a front page and not all those interesting worthy inside pages) and trying to formulate a question that he has to answer. Finally, the question must be short enough to work as a clip on radio and TV.
So, how did I do? Well I asked about Iraq and that was the lead story for our Six and Ten TV news bulletins. He didn't answer but his failure to do so was obvious for all to see. But the exchange did not prove interesting enough to make it on to air.
The most productive question came from 's who followed another commenter's advice...
"I don't have a specific idea but can you please ask something totally off the wall. I've watched a number of these press conferences and find that each reporter asks questions that the PM and his staff can clearly predict and prepare answers for." (from )
Andy (Bell) asked whether someone could be a full member of society if they wore a veil. For the first time all morning Tony Blair took a second or two to think of the answer.
By the way, your question ideas were not wasted. It's PMQs today and I've no doubt that keen-eyed researchers for David Cameron, Ming Campbell and a host of backbenchers will have been reading - and maybe even stealing - your ideas.
