Bernard Shaw (moderator):
Governor, if Kitty Dukakis [his wife] were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?
Dukakis:
No, I don't, and I think you know that I've opposed the death penalty during all of my life
Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing, used a Dukakis flub as inspiration for his show (and not for the first time) when staffer Toby asks President Bartlet a similar question in debate prep:
Criticizing Israel's response to Hamas's rocket attacks in no way means denying the legitimacy of the feelings that are spurring it. To expect Israelis to live under constant attack with equanimity is as unreasonable as expecting the father of a murdered daughter not to wish her assailant dead. In the United States, we have a legal system to step in and restrain the vengeful father, despite his understandable and natural passion. Israelis desperately needs someone to step in and restrain them before their actions harm their nation's prospects for peace even further.
TOBY
Mr. President, this next question is on capital punishment, which you oppose:
If your youngest daughter Zoey was raped and murdered, would you not want to see
the man responsible put to death?
BARTLET
First of all, it's important to understand the President doesn't make that
decision, though he appoints the Supreme Court Justices who do
so. What... any... um... All right, I'm not going to say that. I'll just go right to... No, I don't. I think you know that I'm opposed.... [sighs] Let's not do that. I haven't seen any evidence that it's a deterrent, and there are more effective... In my state...
TOBY
What's the matter with you? I just mentioned your daughter being murdered, and you're giving us an answer that's not only soporific, it's barely human! Yes, you'd want to see him put to death. You'd want it to be cruel and unusual, which is why it's probably a good idea that fathers of murder victims don't have legal rights in these situations.
An expanded post on the situation will follow tomorrow.
(thanks to WestWingTranscripts.com)
1 comment:
At first, I loved this post. Then I realized that there are tons of decisions that could be analogized correctly to the capital punishment question. Certainly all of American foreign policy from 9/11/2001 through 11/2/2004, no?
But you don't want someone stepping in on any emotionally charged issue. I'm not the biggest fan of sovereignty, but, where does this go? Room for democracy at all?
I'm curious to see if this lesson is expandable beyond a small state that is incredibly closely aligned with a superpower that can step in. Looking forward to seeing!!
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