No one will ever ask these to Obama or McCain. Entirely too substantive.

The political scene has once again cynicalized [it's a word] me. Whatever enthusiasm I felt for Obama has vaporized in light of his FISA vote and his ludicrous about face on that most meaningless of psuedo patriotic tokens, the wearing of the flag pin. Yet he remains, imho, a superior choice to the out-of-touch warmongering geriatric that is John McCain. Anyways, these are some appropriate questions for a Presidential candidate. That, of course, we'll never actually hear addressed.

Criminal justice unfairly ignored on trail - Radley Balko - Politico.com:

"...Given that enforcing federal law is one of the few presidential powers explicitly prescribed the Constitution, here are some criminal justice policy questions for John McCain and Barack Obama:

...

• Though the Constitution defines just three federal crimes (piracy, treason and counterfeiting), the federal government’s role in law enforcement has increased massively in the past 30 years. The federal criminal code today contains more than 4,000 separate offenses. Do you think this federalization of crime is in general a good or bad thing?

• We don’t have the resources to enforce all of these laws, so presidents effectively make public policy when they choose which federal laws they’ll enforce. What sort of crimes will take priority in your administration: Public corruption? Drug laws? Civil rights? Antitrust? Immigration? Terrorism? Obscenity?

...

• The Bush administration argues that some areas of U.S. law have global jurisdiction. For example, the Justice Department has arrested several online gambling executives, despite the fact that these executives are citizens of countries where online gambling is legal. The companies are also incorporated in countries where online gambling is legal. The DOJ is using similar tactics in tax and accounting cases. Critics say this is arrogant overreach and may lead to retaliatory arrests of U.S. citizens overseas. What’s your position? Should U.S. law apply around the world?

• There have been 218 exonerations (and counting) since the development of DNA testing. Critics say these exonerations have exposed troubling flaws in the criminal justice system. Moreover, these exonerations have been only in the small subset of cases where DNA evidence is dispositive of guilt, meaning prosecutorial misconduct, police misconduct, problems with forensic and eyewitness testimony, and/or other flaws are likely present in cases for which DNA testing isn’t relevant. What do you make of these DNA exonerations? Do you think our criminal justice system gets it right an acceptable percentage of the time?

• Since 2006, Congress has appropriated $14 million to the Justice Department to disburse to states for post-conviction DNA testing. As of January of this year, DOJ hadn’t spent the first dollar. Do you support post-conviction DNA testing? Do you support federal funding for it?

• America has long, and understandably, drawn a clear line between military and domestic law enforcement. But that line has blurred over the past 30 years. Today, many domestic police departments across America use surplus military equipment from the Pentagon, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and high-powered weapons. Our police are also increasingly using military tactics, terminology and training. Does this concern you?

• Currently, prosecutors enjoy almost complete immunity from civil lawsuits, even in cases of clear misconduct, such as intentionally withholding exculpatory evidence. Would you support giving prosecutors more accountability, such as the qualified immunity afforded to police officers? What sort of oversight will your administration implement to ensure U.S. attorneys are playing by the rules? What discipline will you take against those who don’t?

...

• Do you believe the drug war is still winnable? What would success look like? How do you plan to win it, and why will your plan work where previous administrations have failed?"