Tough* crowd

The President spoke in my hometown today. At the City Club, which hails itself as "the oldest continuous free speech forum in the country, renowned for its tradition of debate and discussion."

Of course once George W. Bush is in the mix, things like tradition, not to mention free speech and debate, tend to get trod upon.

From The Plain Dealer's blog:

Long-time member Walt Nicholes said the City Club is breaking from tradition by not allowing members to line up at the microphone to ask questions. He said City Club officials at first said members who wanted to ask a question would be picked from a lottery, but now they say Bush will call on people from the floor.

Such a format won't allow for true variety of questions, Nicholes complained.

Apparently, Bush still can't face the citizens he claims to govern. I suppose that's somewhat understandable, seeing as he's coming back to Ohio, a state which supported him by just barely enough for him to wring out a "win," but doesn't stand by him now.

Of course, the City Club didn't exactly stand on principle, either. I suppose their webmaster is busy adding an asterisk to this sentence: "All speakers must answer unfiltered, unrehearsed questions directly from the audience."

Alert the country's second-oldest continuous free speech forum. Looks like they're No. 1 now.

Update: Well, he certainly showed why he's basically incapable of thinking for himself in public. Ass.

Further updatiness: Apparently, the President did take any and all questions. Huzzah! Also, it appears that the lengthy Q&A was what prompted him to wonder aloud if anyone worked anymore.