When Obama and candidates are afraid to answer questions and talk to reporters and bloggers

President Barack Obama doesn’t trust himself, and more and more Americans don’t trust him.

The president is coming under fire for 

refusing to take reporters’ questions about ObamaCare, the Christmas bomber, climate change, spending, taxes or our world war against terrorists.

Obama is continuing his closed-mouth strategy that he followed during his two-year presidential campaign. During the campaign, he only rarely talked to star, scripted and politically correct reporters on TV. He never let reporters approach him on the campaign trail. And he held few press conferences.

Like a lot of politicians are, Obama was afraid that if he answered questions posed by reporters who covered him on the campaign trail, he would stick his foot in his mouth. He knew this because he had a tendency to “mispeak” when he spoke without his beloved teleprompters in front of him.

Obama is supposed to be smart. He may be book smart, but he’s not quick on his feet. He’s nowhere as talented as President George W. Bush was. Bush was much better than Obama is when it comes to answering questions exactly as he wanted to. Bush apparently is a quicker study than Obama, and he is very good at saying exactly what he wants to. John McCain won fame for his candid chats with reporters on his “Straight Talk Express” bus until his campaign managers took over and sheltered him from reporters during his general election campaign. Then he lost his edge over Obama.

So now we have a president who doesn’t trust himself or his political skills. He preaches, but he’s not willing to have a conversation with the American people. He won’t let reporters or bloggers ask the questions that Americans want answered.

Sheltered candidats should not be elected. They should be exposed by bloggers and the media as the weak candidates that they are. If a candidate frequently brushes off reporters and bloggers and refuses to sit down for interviews, he or she should be exposed as an incompetent and manipulative person who doesn’t trust himself or herself or voters.

More important, sheltered candidates’ and office holders’ political opponents–assuming they’re more self-confident and open to questions and interviews–should attack the sheltered candidates for being arrogant and incompetent. No one trusts politicians, especially those who don’t trust themselves.

In the information age, everyone expects political candidates to be informed, competent and eager to participate in the conversation. Top down preaching to the masses won’t work.

Participating in bottom up conversations and talking to the media and bloggers will.

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