Why can't almost anyone in politics ever answer the questions that are asked of them?

Question

Politicians on TV and on all channels play such an annoying game of NOT answering any question asked. If you ask Mrs. Clinton if she was for the war in Iraq, she will not answer yes or no - but rather say something like " The better question is how do we leave Iraq, rather than dwell on the past"?. These answers annoy me so much that Republicans and Democrats just make me sick listening to them. You can witness this every night on any political show and on ANY channel.

Answer 1

They do this for two reasons. One is they have to lie and cheat to get into office and stay there.

The other is they all have an agenda they want to put out to the public. This agenda is given to them by their assistants that work the polls to see what the public wants to hear.

So when they are asked a direct question, they answer something totally different so they get their views out.

Pizzes me off too.

Answer 2

Blame this phenomena not on the politicians, but on the media.

Practically since the advent of tv, unprincipled reporters are always trying to get that one unfortunate sound bite they can put at the top of the six o'clock news.

Politicians know that what they say in general is far less important that making that one, crucial mistake that the media will hop all over. The momentJohn McCain launched into his now-famous, cheerleader-like election rant about how they were going to take his campaign defeat and turn it into victory, his chances of winning were pretty much over. The press just ridiculed him.

The most sickening example of dodging questions was at the Bush Sr. vs. Bill Clinton debates. Each candidate spoke at a sixth grade level in order to come across like the common man, and artfully dodged every question by citing tired old platitudes about how they were for peace, prosperity, and equal rights. It was sickening. Neither one would say one substantive thing, because they knew the press would hop all over it, and their election chances would be ruined.

This is why I like watching The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. When a guest dodges the question, O'Reilly pins him against the wall and refuses to let it slide.

Answer 3

Good question.
Just like John Kerry's "I was for the war before I was against it"
Politicians rarely give you a straight answer because they don't know which way the wind is blowing today. They are afraid that if they give you an honest answer they lose votes from those that do not agree with them and they can not be held to having said that. Maybe the answers they should give is

"I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me"

Would be better than the crap they do spit out

Answer 4

I think you may have observed one of the key factors in what is wrong with America today. Corrupt career politicians lie, they lie as a matter of habit, prevaricate, dodge, weave, spin but will not tell the truth because they cannot.

Until we remove careerists from Congress America will not get better. Our founding fathers invisioned a country governed by a citizen legislature, people who came and served for a pittance of money for a couple of years and then went back.

Until we have term limits we are going to have to vote the multi-term politician out of office regardless of the party, we are going to have to vote for citizens who are yet corrupted by the cess pool of washington and big money.

Two quotes I believe say it all

Ben Franklin said of congress, "They are of the People, and return again to mix with the People, having no more durable preeminence than the different Grains of Sand in an Hourglass. Such an Assembly cannot easily become dangerous to Liberty. They are the Servants of the People, sent together to do the People's Business, and promote the public Welfare; their Powers must be sufficient, or their Duties cannot be performed. They have no profitable Appointments, but a mere Payment of daily Wages, such as are scarcely equivalent to their Expences; so that, having no Chance for great Places, and enormous Salaries or Pensions, as in some Countries, there is no triguing or bribing for Elections"

“If a legislator is "safe" from competition, or if he represents groups with the same economic and political beliefs, he does not have to change his ideas or respond to the needs of the broader population. He can rest content with a mediocre, absentee performance knowing he will be returned to office. And as he is returned year after year the seniority system gives him immense control over people from other parts of the country whose views he need not heed at all.” -Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Decisions for a Decade

Answer 5

Politicians keep beating around the BUSH just to be elected. They don't really want to tell you the truth. They want to do what they want to do. The politicians figure that the people will take whatever they are going to dish out without knowing we have brains enough to figure out what is really going on. I wish the politicians would stop doing this and really tell their issues and speak the truth about what they are going to do so that we have more of a choice to decide for ourselves if this person will really be better for us.

Answer 6

Politics is a game of hypocracy. No good politician will ever answer a "yes or no". They play with words and twist them in a way so that they mean both and get away if one happens to be false.

Answer 7

"Politicians" are only concerned about what happens to them during the next election. Therefore, they cannot answer questions about the overall good of the future generations because the truth of the real answers may be unpopular for the next election.

"Statesmen", like our forefathers, did what was best for the future generations despite any current sacrifices that they had to make.

Answer 8

Vote for people who represent the people, not their ideologies, who are U.S. Americans first, not their political party first. Vote for people who know the difference between disagreement, dissent, and protest vs. sedition (name-calling, treating our representatives as guilty until proven innocent, spreading rumors, undermining our country in public).

I'm a democrat (not a liberal, not a socialist). When you see a politicians argue with the public, then vote what the public wants, treat them like gold.

Answer 9

It is because they're politicians. It is a certain type of person that becomes a politician. Most are very deceitful. Most are self serving. Some are downright evil. The Clintons are good examples (both) of this. It doesnt matter which party they claim to be in.

Answer 10

Because if they did they know we would all realize that they either have no idea about the issues or are completely unfit to even be running. And some are too stupid to respond intelligently in any other way.