chucktoddnbc

Probably need to make them be transparent that they are doing it themselves... Because the idea of a staffer doing an AMA for a politician would probably be tempting to some of these pols. ... The best way to get politicians to treat an AMA seriously is for one of them to get elected believing that doing AMAs and other truly interactive and honest social mediums helped them get elected. Ultimately, most politicians are transactional about their own careers

I've never conducted a pre-arranged interview. I've never accepted terms for an interview beyond location and amount of time. I think the biggest hurdle to getting more confrontational interviews is the fact that so many politicians can avoid outlets that my challenge them in favor of more friendly treatment. I hope to have MTP's reputation to continue to be a place where interviewees are treated fair but are forced to answer tough questions. I think the advantage the Sunday shows have is that we have time to allow an interviewee to answer tough questions in a long-form venue. It's a win for everyone, the public, the interviewer and the interviewee. Context and clarity are what the public wants more and more

Well, one thing I don't want to do is show my hand regarding questions for the president. The topics are fairly obvious; ISIS, Ukraine/Putin, Ebola, immigration, upcoming election; Curious, actually, what questions you wanted answered or, better yet, what questions did Reddit folks think he ducked that he should NOT have

I guess I should never say never; I could mess up shaving one morning where I have to shave it for the day... but honestly, every time I look in the mirror and at that beard, I see my late father. Shaving it off would feel like getting rid of a piece of him that I carry every day. Sorry for playing sentimentalist, but it happens to be true

He broke an important ceiling -- he'll always be America's first black president. That is not an insignificant legacy. That's a major barrier that was broken. Hard stop... As for the rest of his presidency... I've pondered this a lot (even am finishing up a book attempting to start this conversation). Legislatively, health care is also a major legacy; it's here to stay... now, is it a positive legacy or a negative one? We may not know for years. On foreign policy, this is where his legacy is the fuzziest. Is he a victim of circumstance? Did he make mistakes responding to the Arab Spring? I think that's going to be a long post-Obama presidency debate among many folks for years. Finally, his most important NEAR-term legacy is how his campaigns of 2008 and 2012 forever changed how campaigns are conducted, both financially and on the ground level front, re: targeting. I'm not sure the advent of multi-billion campaigns is healthy for the long term, but no doubt POTUS' campaigns completely transformed how all campaigns are now run, period