(PARIS, France) The failing Afghanistan War effort deserved more examination than it received in the democratic debate this week. Had presidential candidate and veteran Rep. Tulsi Gabbard been there in Los Angeles, she would have been justified in repeating her concerns about the unwinnable, deadly war in which she served. A Washington Post exposé (Dec. 9) revealed many of the concerns that she voiced in previous debates and that she outlined on her official campaign site:

"For too long, we've had leaders who have been arbitrating foreign policy from ivory towers in Washington without any idea about the cost and the consequence, the toll that it takes on our service-members, on their families. We have to do the right thing, end these wasteful regime change wars, and bring our troops home.»

Rep. Gabbard

(Gabbard, pictured left, announced she would not go to L.A., in order to meet voters in New Hampshire and South Carolina, she said in a statement. Photo: Bloomberg)

PBS Newshour and Politico jointly-hosted the debate. One of the interviewers, Amna Nawaz bypassed the Afghanistan War veteran who was on the stage—Mayor Pete Buttigieg—to ask Vice President Joe Biden the first war-related question. The WaPo story had focused on the Bush and Obama administrations' lies about successes in the war.

Said Ms. Nawaz:

"Let’s turn now to Afghanistan. Confidential documents published last week by the Washington Post revealed that for years senior U.S. officials misled the public about the war in Afghanistan. As vice president … what did you know about the state of the war and do you believe that you were honest with the American people about it?

Mr. Biden hemmed and hawed and then answered with a recap of known history about the war. He did not address the scandalous accusation that the government, of which he was No. 2 in charge, lied about gaining advantages to keep the backing of the American people. 

Ms. Nawaz tried one more time, saying to Mr. Biden: 

« â€¦ there’s a senior national security official who said that there was constant pressure from the Obama White House to produce figures showing the troop surge was working, and I’m quoting from the report here, “Despite hard evidence to the contrary.” What do you say to that? Â» 

He evaded the question a-new.

Troubling to be Gentle on Mayor Pete

When the PBS journalist turned to Candidate Buttigieg, why didn’t she ask a direct question about the erroneous information the government gave the public, year after year, about Afghanistan? 

Instead, she questioned: "Mayor Buttigieg, you served in this war, but I want to ask about your decision-making if you were elected Commander-in-Chief. You have pledged to withdrawal all U.S. troops from Afghanistan within your first year as president. But the Taliban today control or contest more than half the country. So should you, as president, still withdrawal all those U. S. Troops if the country could once again become a Haven for terrorists. Â»

A describe your decision-making type of question does not challenge the candidate, any candidate, to go on record and explain if he would ever lie to the American people. It is a failed question for the situation. Maybe others feel as I do. 

(Pictured: Senators Amy Klobuchar, left, and Elizabeth Warren are the steadiest debate performers this season. Courtesy: thehill.com. Read my assessment of their policies in upcoming columns in this space.)

A question about lying to Americans who are making sacrifices would be more pertinent. More useful to voters. There, on the stage, was a witness to the war. A witness who could possibly rebuff the incendiary charges that have been made against the military. No one on the panel asked Mr. Buttigieg a sufficiently tough question about potentially misleading the public, if he were ever president.

Lobbing a softball question shortchanged the candidate’s chance of showing people who he is, of showing his empathy. More importantly, the softball approach shortchanged the viewers who are the voters. 

Mayor Buttigieg replied with the obligatory remarks about eventually bringing soldiers home. He did not deliver the lines particularly convincingly. 

Said Mr. Buttigieg: "We’re going to leave one way or the other. The question is to make sure we do it well and not poorly. And of course that has to respond to the conditions on the ground and the need for a political settlement… Â»

Imitation of CNN's Anderson Cooper—not good 

This smacks so much of a maneuver by Anderson Cooper in the 2016 political season. Candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley had been asked the prickly (for some) question Do black lives matter or do all lives matter? See responses below. As I braced for ‘Hawk' Rodham Clinton to face the same question, interviewer Cooper modified it for her.

The crucial issue is Why?

—And, will debate viewers and voters stand for interviewers' manipulation instead of interrogation, again, in this new presidential season?  

Watch this revealing video excerpt of the 2015 Las Vegas debate, transcribed below.

COOPER: ...Do black lives matter, or do all lives matter? Let's put that question to Senator Sanders.

SANDERS: Black lives matter. [cheering] And the reason â€¦ 

COOPER: Governor O'Malley, the question from Arthur was do black lives matter, or do all lives matter?

O'MALLEY: Anderson, the point that the Black Lives Matter movement is making is a very, very legitimate and serious point …. 

COOPER: Secretary Clinton, what would you do for African Americans in this country that President Obama couldn't?

CLINTON: Well, I think that President Obama has been a great moral leader on these issues … 

With only a five-person field at that point, the best question to help voters pick a nominee was to repeat the identical, prickly question.

Agree? Let me know. 

Are the debate panelists going to massage the message of the candidates in real time? In front of our very viewing eyes? Do the panelists and their media bosses feel their shenanigans are proper? Are TV managers calculating for us, the voters, that a middle-of-the-road candidate would do better than a left-leaning candidate?

If so, check the 2016 scoreboard for the results of this execs-know-better-than-citizens approach. 

And what do you think of side-stepping the real question about not starting unwinnable wars? 

That’s what the absence of Rep. Gabbard meant on Dec. 19. Again, from her website, she explained her anti-interventionist policies:

GABBARD: This is real in a way that's very difficult to convey in words. I was deployed to Iraq in 2005 during the height of the war where I served in a field medical unit where every single day I saw the high cost of war. Just this past week, two more of our soldiers were killed in Afghanistan.

I will offer more debate commentary--including a focus on the wealth gap and the re-appearance of candidates of color in the next debates. FYI, Gabbard is one of those candidates of color.

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Nita predicted the success of candidate Donald Trump in 2015, yes in 2015, when discussing the election with her French students. Read more from her during this debate season. Nita is the author of Civil Rights Baby: My Story of Race, Sports, and Breaking Barriers in American Journalism has been purchased not only in France, but also in Uganda, and in her native country, the U.S. Read an excerpt at nitawiggins.com and amazon.fr.