Game Change -- Kathryn Campbell

1. Why is political vetting so important?

I think political vetting is important because it not only makes sure that the person is safe and trustworthy, but also fit for the job. As we saw in Game Change the lack of sufficient vetting for Sarah Palin led to many surprises. When someone is in route to becoming a very powerful and influential person in the country, whether it be president, vice president, or any other political figure, it is necessary for there to be almost no secrets when it comes to their staff. In the case of Palin, she threw a huge curveball at the McCain campaign staff, when she proved that she did not know anything about politics. If the staff were to have known this before, they may not have chosen her as the vice president elect. Political vetting is so important because it provides the staff with more information, and if there are some weak points in a person’s history or opinions, they can prepare to handle them, instead of having them become a breaking news story that could ultimately prove problematic.

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3. Does a POTUS or VPOTUS need to be highly knowledgeable about all issues associated with their offices or should they rely on their staffs to provide information to answer questions?

There are so many different offices and committees in the executive branch that knowing everything about each one is not necessary. I do believe, though, that a president and vice president must know the important information about each office, as well as current events and breakthroughs surrounding them. This is because the president and VP must be ready to answer questions all of the time, as well as know what is going on in the whitehouse. Sometimes the president will have to make a decision without having time to first be informed by the staff. Additionally, people will ask questions outside of planned interviews where there is no preparation, so the president and VP must be ready to answer such questions. Although I have been proven wrong by this year’s election, I believe that a president must be very bright and knowledgeable. This is not saying that they should know every little detail, but they are in charge of these offices, and are one of the most powerful people in the world, and they should know what they’re doing. Being knowledgeable and wanting to obtain more information on important subjects within the offices also shows that a president or vice president really cares about their job. If they only want the information when they need it to answer a question during an interview, then they are not passionate enough to be in such a high position.