Peer review is as tough or tougher than spouse review

And spouse review can be pretty tough from one who loves you, or maybe hates you. All this assumes some of us may not be perfect.

Peer review is so healthy because it cuts through the usual restraints about hurting one’s feelings while it promotes good ideas and exposes bad ideas. It can be the basis of decisions if exploited in the right way by savvy leaders. The techniques of application are many. One being “role playing” in front of peers, and the second being “what do you do now lieutenant” drills, which requires one to respond to a given situation in front of peers, and then taking their peers' critiques.

Now one senses that many of these types of questions are off-limits to the reporting media being able to ask these healthy questions to those fellow Americans who aspire to run our America. If many past debates seemed staged as to formats and questions, they probably were. Now one hears and reads that certain questions are now off-limits, as if a one time scripted answer is all we Americans deserve and will get. Now even the hints of complicity of going along to get along are appearing, as if access in the future depends on complicity now. That should be a media story in itself as it exposes a candidate to being more important than our Country and our families and our kids. This trend is new. Not too long ago, no proper thinking candidate would imagine even trying this method of intimidation. The audacity of some of our politicians has gone from bold and honest to intimidating, with an “in your face” style that is so un-American.

And all most Americans want to do is be able to ask the questions we choose, and be able to hear the responses, real time or even scripted if need be. This is different, not because Americans changed, but the candidates and their parties and hired minions have changed as recently as today, like 2008.