If you haven’t done so at last once, you really should check the C-Span schedule (no, that’s not a joke) and tune in to the Prime Minister’s Questions. I suspect that most people know what this is, but just in case: Once a week, while Parliament is in session, the British Prime Minister takes questions from MPs. The session is quite lively, and even if one isn’t familiar with the issues involved, it can be very entertaining. Even MPs from the Prime Minister’s own party can be rather merciless in asking questions that require the PM to dig deep for answers.
It is well past time that we initiate a similar custom in the U.S. Because the rules of both the House and Senate disallow the sort of boisterous behavior seen in the House of Commons, it might not be as entertaining, but a set of rules for President’s Questions could be looser. Even with the existing rules, however, any President would have to be fairly sharp to avoid looking like an idiot, and the drama would help to get the public more interested in the proceedings.
I am absolutely convinced that if George W. Bush had to deal with President’s Questions during his first term, he would never, ever have had a second. How would Barack Obama have fared? Well, he sort of did that once. You may recall that shortly after he became President in 2009, he spoke directly with Republican congressmen and answered their questions, and he pretty much shut them down.
Perhaps one of the candidates can pick up on this issue and start promoting it as a way to increase presidential accountability and to get the public more interested in what goes on in Washington. (Are you listening, Bernie?) Yes, the mechanics would have to be worked out — do we hold the session in the House or Senate? Who gets to ask the questions? — but that’s nothing that can't be solved. And yes, I realize that it could provide a forum for members of Congress to browbeat the president, but keep n mind that the questioners would be under almost as much scrutiny as the President.
At the very least it would provide fodder for this site...