Those Endless Town Halls? Here’s Why They Matter.
Forcing candidates to answer policy questions is partly how parties set their agendas — and define themselves.
Keep ‘em talking.
Photographer: Mark Makela/Getty Images
I'm not sure if anyone watched all five hours of the CNN town hall marathon Monday night, but I’ve noticed a complaint about these kinds of events gaining some momentum: Shouldn’t more of the questions focus on things that a president actually has the power to accomplish, rather than hitting every topic around?
I understand the logic of this complaint. After all, the current crop of Democratic candidates will at best have a very narrow majority in the Senate should they win. Most of their big legislative plans are probably unrealistic. And the president doesn’t control the congressional agenda in any event. Even worse, a lot of questions at town halls and debates concern topics that aren’t even the responsibility of the federal government. Many criminal justice matters, for example, are really up to the states.