Of course. Republicans always get these kinds of questions even though they have nothing to do with running this country and Scott Walker is pretty clear that he doesn’t like being asked about it even though he admits he doesn’t really know whether Obama is a Christian:
WAPO – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a prospective Republican presidential contender, said Saturday he does not know whether President Obama is a Christian.
“I don’t know,” Walker said in an interview at the JW Marriott hotel in Washington, where he was attending the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.
Told that Obama has frequently spoken publicly about his Christian faith, Walker maintained that he was not aware of the president’s religion.
“I’ve actually never talked about it or I haven’t read about that,” Walker said, his voice calm and firm. “I’ve never asked him that,” he added. “You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”
Walker said such questions from reporters are reflective of a broader problem in the nation’s political-media culture, which he described as fixated on issues that are not relevant to most Americans.
“To me, this is a classic example of why people hate Washington and, increasingly, they dislike the press,” he said. “The things they care about don’t even remotely come close to what you’re asking about.”
Walker said he does not believe that most Americans care about such matters.“People in the media will [judge], not everyday people,” he said. “I would defy you to come to Wisconsin. You could ask 100 people, and not one of them would say that this is a significant issue.”
I wonder if Hillary Clinton will be asked if she thinks Obama is a Christian? Nah, that question is only asked of Republicans to frame them in a ‘fringe’ or even racist way.
That said, when Republicans who are running for president are afraid to say what’s really on their mind, they get into this ‘dodgy’ territory where they leave themselves open for attack. And Scott Walker has to get better at taking on these kinds of questions.
What makes it worse for Walker is that his press person immediately came out and tried to ‘clarify’ what he said:
After the interview was completed, Walker spokeswoman Jocelyn Webster telephoned The Washington Post to say the governor was trying to make a point of principle by not answering such kinds of questions, not trying to cast doubt on Obama’s faith.
“Of course the governor thinks the president is a Christian,” she said. “He thinks these kinds of gotcha questions distract from what he’s doing as governor of Wisconsin to make the state better and make life better for people in his state.”
It was clearly a gotcha question, and I think, unfortunately, it kinda got him a little.
And I’m sure he’ll be asked about it again in the future.