In response to Patrick Lambert’s “Disrespectful of Sponsors” regarding controversial questions some of the contestants randomly picked at last week’s Miss Lake County Pageant (should Ronald McDonald retire, and should Obama deserve to be reelected), I agree completely that controversial questions of this nature should not be part of the pool of questions. The unlucky contestant who picks a controversial question out of the bowl risks alienating a large segment of the audience no matter how they respond.

McDonald's should not have been singled out on the obesity question. It could have made the same point by using “fast foods” in place of a specific company. Whoever wrote that question was not thinking clearly, or worked for Burger King. In the case of our local pageant, the question was all the more inappropriate since one of the major sponsors is our local McDonald's.

Many will remember the treatment of Miss California in the Miss USA Pageant in 2009. She articulated her position very well, yet that may have cost her the crown, in addition to vile attacks from some who did not agree with her, including from one of the judges.

People are supposed to judge the contestant on how well they articulate their position and not on whether one agrees or disagrees with the answer.

But by including these type of questions, it invites personal prejudices to cloud objectivity, and it’s unfair to the contestant stuck with that question. Not everyone can put personal prejudices aside to remain objective.

The questions themselves are not chosen by the local pageant. The organizers were just as surprised as everyone else when the questions were asked.

The questions come to the local pageant from the state pageant and are sealed to prevent questions from being leaked. Thus, it is misplaced criticism to blame the local pageant for the choice of questions.

The local volunteers who poured their hearts and souls into making our local pageant a success do not deserve to be unfairly blamed for these silly questions.

Because it is these types of questions that the contestants may face at the higher levels, it is not wise to attempt to shield them from these controversial questions. What good is sending one our girls to the next level if they are not able to respond to this type of question?

It would be a travesty for the local pageant to attempt to shield the contestants from these questions locally knowing full well they will be sending the winner on to an environment where they will be faced with answering them.

Unless it gets changed from the top, the only option is to do away with the local pageant, which is not a viable option.

In my opinion, the contestants who drew the controversial questions handled them very well, taking a lemon and turning it into lemonade.

Even though I did not personally agree with their answers, I felt that they articulated their answer, maintained their poise and kept smiling, a difficult thing to do when having to answer a divisive question in front of a large crowd.

I believe the experience will make them stronger candidates in the future, and it gave the ultimate winner a taste of what she may face at the state level.

Aside from dragging on a bit long, and a few small snafus that are common at any volunteer run event, my impression of this year’s pageant was nothing less than amazing. Every girl did great, and the little princesses were a hoot.

The hard work and dedication by the volunteers that put it on was evident throughout, and Lake County should be proud of its pageant. They all deserve our highest praise and thanks.

Phil Smoley lives in Lakeport, Calif.

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Written by: Phil Smoley

Published: 19 August 2011