To ask candidates to explain what they would do in the abstract is thus only to give them the opportunity to explain what they would do if they were omnipotent, an absolute ruler able to do anything he or she wished. Such questions only give Americans the opportunity to live for a moment in the dream of a world populated by people just like them. What question then should real journalists ask? There is really only one, and they should ask it over and over and insist upon an answer, interrupting candidates when they dodge it and pointing out to them when they are wrong.