Sleight of hand
Politicians take questions from the audience.
It looks bold. It isn't.
There is nothing better for a magician than to do some trick that looks really hard, but is in fact easy. The audience is impressed. The magician gets credit for being skilled. Win-win.
I have seen about a hundred live performances of presidential candidates. Let me let readers in on a trick of the trade. The easiest thing for a politician is to take questions from the general public. The questioner stands and has a microphone. It looks like peril. The audience has the impression that the politician is fearlessly taking on all comers, open to the slings and arrows of hard questions and potential insults. In fact, every question from the audience is the easiest of slow-pitch softballs.
Audience questions appear spontaneous and varied but that is an illusion. Certain issues are current and those are the questions asked--every time, in every Town Hall, for every candidate. They fall into one of about a dozen topics at any one time. In 2016 they were about Medicare-for-All, about NAFTA, about immigration, about abortion, about tax rates, and about jobs. In 2020 they were about Trump, about Medicare expansion, about immigration, about abortion, about tax rates, and about jobs. The answers will appear responsive and specific. In reality the politician puts on an inquisitive, respectful face, awaiting a key word or phrase.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah Pre-existing Conditions blah blah, blah, blah.
Or
Blah, blah, blah, blah, high taxes, blah, blah, blah blah.
Then the politician gives the well-practiced, well-considered position on the key word, in apparent spontaneous response to the question. Easy.
Hostile questions are easy, too. Those fall into well-known problem areas for a candidate. This might be the George Washington Bridge traffic jam for Chris Christie. The politician may give an implausible or evasive non-answer but there is no one to say so. The politician looks and sounds confident and righteous. Smile, thank the questioner for letting the candidate clear that up. Next question, please.
There is controversy over the upcoming CNN "Town Hall" with Trump. Trump demanded the format be audience questions, not questions from a knowledgeable news host who could fact-check in real time or ask followup questions. CNN is giving an unfiltered platform to Trump. CNN wants desperately to reposition itself to look even-handed and fair to Republicans, and that means letting Trump say what he will on their channel.
It is a dilemma for news networks, one for which Fox just paid $700 million. If one fact-checks a guest, the network looks hostile, but if one lets the guest talk without contradiction the audience presumes consent with what the guest said.
Trump is a media-savvy, manipulative negotiator. Trump had something to offer CNN and he extracted full price. Trump has a following and credibility as a Republican, and he is bringing that to CNN. In exchange, Trump gets to say what he will on CNN's brand.
CNN got rolled, but they were rolled by an expert.