Couric Conducts Decent Interview With Conservative Think Tank Official

A recurring feature on her "Couric & Co." blog is the "10 Questions" interview, usually posed to a think tank official or politician on a major political issue. In the past, I've blogged about how the interviews have generally skewed leftward, but I was pleasantly surprised with the CBS anchor's mostly neutral agenda of questions in her August 9 interview with Robert Moffitt of the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Generally speaking, the questions sought to elicit Moffitt's perspective on tackling health care without pressing him with loaded questions. I was annoyed at question #4, but Moffitt immediately pointed out that foreigners seeking treatment in America are fleeing inefficient, shoddy socialized medicine in their home countries.

Here are Couric's questions. For Moffitt's answers, check here.:

1) If you could change ONE thing about our health care system, what would that be?

2) Most people agree that the costs are out of control. What can be done about that?

3) What works in our system? What doesn't?

4) People come to this country from all over the world and get great healthcare. But so many Americans slip through the cracks. What can be done to close this gap?

5) We hear a lot about the number of uninsured Americans. Just how many are there?

6) What’s the lowdown on managed care? HMOs? Single payer?

7) What role should the government play in providing Americans with health care? What role should the marketplace play?

8) The babyboomers are now starting to retire, and people question whether Medicare will be able to handle them. Will it? What are the estimates on costs?

9) You worked on Massachusetts' health care reform, with Mitt Romney as governor. How does that work, and could it work on a national level?

10) What role will the health care issue play in the election? And is there a political candidate in this broad field who you think has the right idea?