The (Paul) Bryar Interview
I drove out to the 5th last Tuesday in the rain. I called the Bryar campaign to let them know that I was running a few minutes late -- which mattered, because it was the day that the candidates were being interviewed by the Chicago Tribune's endorsement board. So we couldn't really put it off. Surprisingly, I was only a few minutes late.
The Bryar campaign office was humming. Actually, it was quite crowded, with both volunteers and staff. As I set up the camera and lights, I got a reminder that this was Chicago. The El tracks were fairly close, and you could hear them inside the building. About halfway through the interview, the candidate got caught up in a tonque-twister. Can we do that over?, he'd ask. I ended up leaving it in because it provides Bryar's complete answer. Even polished candidates get caught by tongue-twisters. Bryar wanted it to be perfect -- but it wasn't a perfect day, outside or time-wise.
I ask the same questions of every candidate. The questions I ask are derived from prior cycle's interviews, as well as my request for input. They split about half and half, half from prior election years and half the questions from the other area bloggers who posed questions for the candidates.
Candidates are provided the questions in advance. I tell every campaign that this isn't "Hardball" and I don't pretend to be Tim Russert. Rather, the point is to give voters the opportunity to compare the candidates side-by-side, to see how they answer the same questions, and to give them the opportunity to get their message out.
Other interviews in this series are:
Mike Quigley
Tom Geoghegan
The Bryar campaign office was humming. Actually, it was quite crowded, with both volunteers and staff. As I set up the camera and lights, I got a reminder that this was Chicago. The El tracks were fairly close, and you could hear them inside the building. About halfway through the interview, the candidate got caught up in a tonque-twister. Can we do that over?, he'd ask. I ended up leaving it in because it provides Bryar's complete answer. Even polished candidates get caught by tongue-twisters. Bryar wanted it to be perfect -- but it wasn't a perfect day, outside or time-wise.
I ask the same questions of every candidate. The questions I ask are derived from prior cycle's interviews, as well as my request for input. They split about half and half, half from prior election years and half the questions from the other area bloggers who posed questions for the candidates.
Candidates are provided the questions in advance. I tell every campaign that this isn't "Hardball" and I don't pretend to be Tim Russert. Rather, the point is to give voters the opportunity to compare the candidates side-by-side, to see how they answer the same questions, and to give them the opportunity to get their message out.
Other interviews in this series are:
Mike Quigley
Tom Geoghegan
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