Bush still pre-screening questions at speaking events.

[deminks]

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/28/bush-pre-screening-quesitons/

Throughout George W. Bush’s presidency, his handlers always made a special effort to ensure his appearances with regular Americans were scripted in such a way that shined the best possible light on Bush and his polices. Whether he was meeting troops in Iraq, leading “Ask President Bush” re-election campaign events, or trying to sell his (failed) Social Security reform plan, Bush always had a friend in the audience ready to ask a softball question or heap praise on the president. It appears that old habits die hard, as those attending Bush’s upcoming speech in Michigan will be forced to submit their questions ahead of time:

Former President George W. Bush will make a stop in Michiana on Thursday. He is scheduled to speak to the Economic Club in Benton Harbor this evening. Mister Bush will answer questions that have been submitted.

[annabanana]

1. There will be strict pre-screening everywhere he goes from now

until the day they can't wheel him out anymore...

[Marksbrother]

2. No worse than BS responses from other politicians is it?

Regardless of party, few politicians, in or out of office, give substantive responses to most questions asked of them.

[rvablue]

3. Clinton never took pre-screened questions. Neither does Obama.

Bush never took an unscreened question at any public events he did.

Why? Because he is an idiot.

Same with Raygun. He didn't even take unscreened questions from the press corps. Sam Donaldson once tried to do it and he was banned from the White House for the remainder of Raygun's term.

So, it isn't regardless of party. Recent Republican Presidents have been dim-witted anti-intellectuals who could not speak to the issues of the day without a script.

On the other hand, recent Democratic Presidents have been policy wonks who could explain complicated issues well and who weren't afraid of being confronted by Republicans or independants, or whomever, at public events.