Just when he thought the embarrassment of whether or not he snorted coke decades ago was bad enough, Texas Gov. George W. Bush is caught up in another sort of strange controversy.

By now most people have heard about the Dubya’s failed pop quiz administered on Wednesday by Boston reporter Andy Hiller. The Republican front-runner didn’t know the names of the leaders of India, Pakistan and Chechnya. According to The Associated Press, Bush could only spit out half of Taiwan’s president’s name.

There’s been the usual uproar and the debate over whether Bush was a victim of “gotcha journalism” or if the questions were fair game for a man who wants to be leader of the free world.

Although they’ve been more than happy to get on Bush’s case about matters such as skipping out on debates because his wife was receiving an award, the other Republican candidates seem more than willing to disclose their ignorance as well.

In a Des Moines appearance over the weekend, candidate Gary Bauer said he wouldn’t be able to answer those questions either, and just because he doesn’t know the names of those leaders doesn’t mean he couldn’t handle foreign policy.

On the other side of the political spectrum, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley refused to answer a similar pop quiz also given by Hiller, saying that “I’m not going to play this game.”

My question is to both Bradley and Bush: What game are you playing then? Is it the “I want to be a president game, and I probably should know the names of people who I’m going to be dealing with on a regular basis?”

I’m not a fan of “gotcha journalism” either, but I think the way these candidates are handling these sorts of questions tells a lot more about them than whether they did drugs in an era when it was perfectly acceptable.

According to AP reports, Bush not only didn’t know the answers to his surprise pop quiz, he also behaved in a very agitated manner when questioned, almost as if his multimillion-dollar cash cow of a campaign budget should protect him from dealing with such issues.

It’s not like Hiller was reading off Trivial Pursuit cards to Bush. He asked some very pertinent questions; the White House deals with all of those dignitaries regularly, and with the recent controversy about nuclear weapons in Pakistan, wouldn’t it be important that Bush know its president’s name?

I want to make clear that I’m not holier than thou. I couldn’t have answered any of those questions either; I feel like a Nobel Prize winner if I do OK on an introductory journalism class’s current events test. But there’s a big difference because I’m not seeking the awesome responsibility of the presidency.

Hiller has every right to ask the candidates those questions. Wouldn’t the American people rather know that presidential candidates don’t know about these practical matters than about their love lives?

I don’t see Bush’s failed pop quiz as something to laugh about, a little piece of water-cooler trivia. I see it as a massive problem leading to a big question, not just about Bush but about all of the candidates: Why in the world do they want the job?

Is it the power, the prestige, the really cool chair in the Oval Office? Because if they don’t know the names of foreign dignitaries, that’s not wacky and crazy, that’s highly disturbing.

With small and Third World countries building their nuclear arsenals at a rapid rate, candidates need to be able to build credibility with other countries. How’s Bush going to make foreign policy if he doesn’t know the names to attach to it?

In fairness to the Dubya, the press is partially picking on him because he’s the front-runner, and they all hate him anyway.

They don’t like the fact that he’s Daddy’s little boy, born and raised with a silver spoon in his mouth. They don’t like the fact that, both in poll points and campaign funds, he’s way ahead of the pack, in front of more media-friendly and savvy characters such as Arizona Sen. John McCain.

They don’t like it that these truths have spurred other Republican candidates to exit the race.

Few have made the other candidates’ admissions of ignorance front-page news, and Bush, although he probably won’t suffer any major (or even minor) set-backs because of the pop quiz, is targeted by the media.

However, that’s their responsibility.

It’s the press’ job to challenge the candidates, and if the challenge that’s making them tear their hair out is a measly little pop quiz, then they need to start evaluating what inspires them to run for the office in the first place.

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Kate Kompas is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from LeClaire. She is head news editor of the Daily.