OPINION:
In “Questions I would ask the GOP presidential candidates” (web, Aug. 21), Cal Thomas strikes a proper balance in identifying the economic, social and foreign affairs issues of importance to ordinary Americans this election cycle.
But in our age of political partisanship gone berserk, when officials of the party in power are routinely excused from the consequences of their failures in policy formulation and execution, the topic of public accountability has special urgency.
It deserves a question to the candidates, who should be asked to distinguish their approach to governance from the accountability-free indifference demonstrated by the Biden-Harris administration.
Here’s a question that would ask the candidates on this salient topic:
In light of “the perfectly executed withdrawal from Afghanistan,” persistent inflation peaking at 40-year highs that shows no signs of becoming “transitory,” an open southern border that is anything but secure, the targeting of parents aggrieved by local school boards as “terrorists” and regulatory excesses that resulted in an unbroken chain of losses at the Supreme Court on power generation, eviction moratoriums, mask mandates and student loan forgiveness, would you support the creation of an “Office of Public Accountability” in each government department, agency and bureau?
This department would ensure the public that officials, managers and employees faithfully and fairly comply with the laws of the United States and effectively carry out the priorities and policies of the administration.
Without public accountability in government, not much else matters.
STEVEN SARFATTI
Cabin John, Maryland
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