Must-see one-on-ones with White House hopefuls

by Frank James

Those who haven't watched them yet really ought to take some time to view the one-on-one interviews the Des Moines Register conducted with the presidential candidates.

The Register asked each of 16 candidates 10 thoughtful questions in 10 minutes, questions like "How do you go about educating yourself on an important topic that you don't know much about?" and "Other than running for president, what's the biggest risk you've ever taken and what have you learned from it?" They're the kind of questions job interviewers love to ask.

The candidates didn't know beforehand what they were going to be hit with, and they didn't have the benefit of hearing another candidate's answer first, as they do during the debates.

So it was a chance to see the candidates in a setting we really haven't had an opportunity to watch them in before.

The interviews have made some news and blogging fodder. For instance, there've been stories about Rudy Giuliani's answer to the question: What comtemporary person other than himself would make a good president? Sen. John McCain, he answered.

Also grabbing some attention was Sen. Hillary Clinton's answer to the question: What country would she live in if not the U.S. She wouldn't play along, saying she was too "obsessed with America" to even hazard a guess. Why couldn't she just go along and give the safe response of England the way several candidates did? Geesh.

Again, I highly recommend watching the interviews. Thanks to the Register staff for all the hard work that went into the finished product. It was well worth the effort.