Obama's Questions

Jake Tapper reports on a questionnaire being given to those considered for Obama administration positions.

The seven-page, 63 question intrusive and extensive list of queries, first obtained by the New York Times and confirmed as legitimate by the Obama Transition Team, offers a revealing glimpse into both the Obama team's determination not to repeat the mistakes of its predecessors (Any nanny issues? Any discriminatory club memberships?) as well as the new era on which Obama will lead ("Please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g. Facebook, My Space, etc.").

Ever sent an email which might prove embarrassing to you, your family or dear old Barack? They want to know. In fact, they even go so far as to ask if you've ever kept a diary which might prove embarrassing- I should have thought that everybody would be embarrassed if a private and personal diary were made public.

Then, more interestingly, comes this-

Applicants are asked if they or any immediate family members own a gun, if they have ever been charged with sexual harassment or malpractice, if they have ever had any alimony or child support issues, "any writs of garnishment," or any bankruptcy problems.

In fact they not only want to know about your gun ownership but also who uses it and how it is used.

Strange, don't you think? Now, why would that be of interest to the transition team?

I'd suggest having a good look at the list of extensive, probing questions about candidates and their contacts and families- it even asks for details of people they may have cohabitated with in the past ten years.

Think on this- Obama wants to know a great deal about the people who will work for him. So why was he so secretive about his own past when applying for the job of President to the American people? Perhaps in future there should be a questionnaire like this given to all Presidential candidates- which they would have to fill out themselves so that no unlucky staffers could later get the blame for making mistakes.

It's pretty standard for employers to ask questions of employees- so why don't America's employers ask their potential employees at the start of each campaign to do the same?