Socrates and many other ancient philosophers moaned and twisted in their sepulchers watching Bret Baier‘s interview with a recalcitrant and shamefully unapologetic Kamala Harris. In hopes of reviving the once honorable practice of debate, Socrates returns from the grave to critique Baier’s interview:
Socrates: “Bret, my boy, I see you went to a school renowned for its’ journalism curriculum – including rhetoric. Didn’t you take that class?”
Baier: “Why does that matter? I’m a journalist not a debater!”
Socrates: “Well, to fulfill your responsibility to the public, journalists should be the best debaters. Rhetoric is critical for a career in real journalism for several reasons: 1. rhetoric helps you think at a more analytical level than most media mouthpieces. Within rhetoric is syllogistic thinking i.e. If A is true, and B is true, then C must be true. Also within rhetoric is inductive and deductive reasoning enabling you to draw logical conclusions from stated facts (or fiction) from those with whom you carry on a conversation. The public is really tired of you in the media practicing Thompkins and Jenkins Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion. All that gets you is what happened during your interview with Kamala Harris – she wins by dominating air time and forcing you to go on to the next question when she responds with obfuscation and dissembling. At best an interview like that is a tie.
2. You and yours have been brainwashed into thinking you have to dumb down your dialogue vocabulary to a nine-year old’s level. A larger vocabulary enables you to use correct words words for specific concepts, forcing your subject into addressing more specific questions. Brought to the right level it can destroy your subject’s pretensions, falsehoods and dissembling. I used my method – the Socratic Method, if I may brag a bit, so successfully my assembly condemned me to death for exposing their rampant corruption and hypocrisy. But it got most of them kicked out of our government. Imagine what it would do to Harris-Walz and the Democrats!”
Baier: “Can you give me an example? To be honest I wasn’t satisfied with my performance during that debate either. I felt like I was trying to nail Jello to a wall getting her to answer my questions with specific answers. I wish I had concluded the question of whether she owes parents of victims of illegal aliens an apology with “So, Madame Vice President, you do not think you owe them an apology” as a statement, period then go immediately to the next question.
Socrates: “Ah, now you are on the path to the Truth – asking for further enlightenment! If only more of you would do so!” Here are two examples I was screaming from my grave for you to use:
Q #1: “Madame Vice President, your campaign platform’s main plank is “turn the page on the past. Your Party has been in charge of the American government for the last twelve of the last sixteen years. When you proclaim to the American public it’s “time to turn the page!” aren’t you in fact telling us you want to “turn the page” on a book that you co-authored for four years?
If A: the past was bad
And B: your Party/administration was the one in charge for most of the past,
Then C: your administration should be the page turned.
Q #2: “Madame Vice President, you have repeatedly told the American public that President Joe Biden “runs circles around his staffers” and he has the capability to make “the most critical, strategic decisions.” If Joe Biden is able to do that why isn’t he still the candidate?”
If A: President Joe Biden is running circles around his staffers,
And B: Biden is making critical strategic decisions
Then C: Biden should be the current candidate.
It remains to be seen whether the American electorate is the Democrats’ perception of Useful Idiots living in a pseudo-reality or the GOP’s perception of them as omni-competent citizens able to see through the false propaganda. With the polls showing such a narrow race in a contest in which the difference between constitutional concepts versus Socialist ideology is so obvious, it doesn’t bode well for the future of America in the future. Barring anticipated massive corruption in the balloting process we may find out in few days.
In the future, you and your media peers need to graduate from verbal judo – the “Gentle Way” – to karate, going for the kill journalistically. As it is now, you are like doves attacking hyenas.
In journalistic politics, journalists who don’t uphold their ethics by being coopted politically are traitors to their own profession. And in this field, nice guys really do finish last.
I really felt Bret’s pain dealing with a bully. Men have been brainwashed with”mansplaining” as being wrong. Hey! If a woman is wrong she’s wrong!