President McCain's Questions
Republican presidential nominee John McCain says he's going to bring Prime Minister's Questions stateside, which is a tremendous idea:"I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions, and address criticism, much the same as the prime minister of Great Britain appears regularly before the House of Commons," McCain said in excerpts of a speech he is to deliver later in Columbus, Ohio.
Although U.S. presidents deliver annual "State of the Union" speeches to Congress at the start of each year, those formal addresses do not include a question-and-answer session.
McCain said exchanges such as those in the British House of Commons are a way of holding leaders accountable.
"When we make errors, I will confess them readily, and explain what we intend to do to correct them," McCain said. He also reiterated a pledge to hold weekly news conferences, a change from President George W. Bush's practice of holding them roughly once a month. Of course, there's a slight question as to whether or not the American talent for hyperbole will turn this into a farce... but even if it's not the President, how cool would it be for the Speaker of the House to trade barbs with the minority -- even without the potential backdrop of a parliamentary system (votes of no confidence, and the like)?
I love the parliamentary system of governance, and while I wouldn't replace what we have for it exclusively, I would certainly replace the lower house of any legislature with European-style slating for the purposes of election (and introduce a version of Prime Minister's Questions).
|
 |
Waldo Jaquith 
3 Comments:
C'mon gentlemen. Use your heads. The founders kicked parliament for a reason.
C'mon gentlemen. Use your heads. The founders kicked parliament for a reason.
Post a Comment
Home