Earlier today, SE Cupp moderated a Twitter-based tea parties "debate" with several GOP candidates for president [1]. She acted the role of the shill, asking them very weak questions and not doing a public service. Interns at Godfather's Pizza were probably asked tougher questions in their job interviews than the ones that Cupp asked Herman Cain and others. Make sure and see the background on one of the groups involved at [2]. Tweet your thoughts to @secupp.

Here are the four questions I submitted that weren't selected:

for Newt: 100 citizens & 1 #DREAMAct fmr illegal alien apply for 100 college slots. Illegal alien getting slot also means what?

for Newt: #teaparty doesn't glitter, but their childish antics are close. Why aren't #GOP adults telling them to put away toys?

for @GovGaryJohnson: what'll you do as Dems try to make "guest workers" into citizens? Millions of "guests" = political power.

@140townhall: ask @GovGaryJohnson how much political power MX gov't has inside U.S. Would loose #immigration worsen it? #afire #tcot #tlot

If Cupp had asked the first, we might have had a real debate about the anti-American DREAM Act, a bill that would let the illegal aliens covered by it deprive some citizens of college. A real debate about that issue might have caused Gingrich to re-think his partial support for the bill, and might have also given the GOP the idea that stressing that side of things would be a good way to discredit many Democratic Party leaders.

The second question isn't that great and I wasn't expecting it to be answered, but it certainly would be great to hear a few adults telling the teapartiers to put away their toys.

The third question is one that needs to be asked of anyone who supports some form of major guest workers program, like Johnson. It's one of those major side-effects that would come back to bite the U.S. later, yet no political leaders who support guest worker programs are being asked it. Cupp didn't put the U.S. ahead of partisanship or personal ambition and ask about that.

The last question concerns a topic that very few people have even mentioned: a foreign government has a good deal of political power inside the U.S., and any form of comprehensive immigration reform or guest workers program would make that even worse. As with the other questions, Cupp had other priorities.

So, what did she ask instead? Stumpers like "As president, how will you avoid continually raising the debt ceiling?" "But what entitlements would you go after?" "How do you weigh the cost of fighting the war on terror against the exploding debt crisis?" and - wait for it - "What role do you think the Tea Party will play in the 2012 elections?"

The last, of course, resulted in the expected pandering. And, all the others could have been answered by a random grade school class who had perused the candidates' websites and speeches. Cupp, of course, realizes that this isn't grade school, and that she's giving a job interview to someone who just might become one of the most important employees in the world. But, obviously, she's got other priorities.

For others who can't ask tough questions, see Facebook, Twitter, and CNN.

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[1] Those relentlessly grilled on "What role do you think the Tea Party will play in the 2012 elections?" and the rest were: Gary Johnson, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, and Thaddeus McCotter.

[2] Radio host Rusty Humphries was involved in some way, although he didn't ask any questions. The debate is at 140townhall.com, which "is a production of 140Elect, LLC and Digital Acumen". The group Teaparty.net was also involved, and make sure and see this and then especially this for more on that group.