Jeff Jacoby asked the Democratic candidates for president to answer five fair but nonroutine queries, hoping that their answers might reveal something interesting about what makes them tick. Everyone except John Kerry replied.

Here are the questions:

1. Please summarize the most important lesson(s) of Sept. 11, 2001.
2. Have federal courts gone too far in requiring the removal of religious symbols or language from schools and other public places?
3. What is the best way to achieve the colorblind society that Dr. King dreamed of?
4. Is there any serious problem in American society that you do not believe calls for some kind of government response?
5. In 1981, President Reagan hung Calvin Coolidge’s portrait in theWhite House Cabinet Room. If you are elected, which president’s portraitwill you hang, and why?

How did your candidate respond? How would you respond. There’s some interesting reading here.