“Diamonds or Pearls” questioner says CNN deceived her

In her first in-person interview, the UNLV student who asked the now infamous “diamonds vs. pearls” question at last week’s Democratic presidential debate said that she felt “deceived” by CNN.

Maria Parra-Sandoval said CNN representatives told her what questions to ask and in what order. She said she was told she would get to ask two questions of the presidential candidates — including a substantive question about the proposed nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain. But the network ended the debate seconds after telling her to ask Hillary Clinton the first question – the lighthearted question for which she is now being ridiculed.

She said she feels deceived. “I was supposed to go twice,” she said in an interview this week. She said she would have rather asked a serious question about Yucca mountain, but CNN told her which question to ask, and when.

The controversy over the question began mere moments after the debate ended Thursday night, when, according to Parra, fellow UNLV students criticized her as they left the Cox Pavilion auditorium.

Parra said she wanted an opportunity to explain what happened, because she is concerned with serious issues.

As a member of the Political Science Honors Society, which got her the admission ticket, Parra keeps current on all political issues. (Click here for a large PDF filethat includes her bio from City of Las Vegas Leadership Academy 2005 Yearbook, and go here for an April, 2006 profile of herin the Las Vegas Sun).

She said that in the days leading up to the debate, she submitted several questions via email for CNN’s consideration. She said Bridget Sharp, a CNN editorial producer, turned down some serious questions. “I submitted others on Iraq, and another on healthcare … which were rejected,” she said.

According to her emails with CNN, here are the questions she proposed:

1) “Despite significant efforts at reforming health care for children, millions are
still uninsured. Moreover, the federal government spends a lot more dollars on the elderly than in children. Compared to other industrialized nations, we lag behind in providing adequate care for our children. Additionally, our children are the poorest segment of our population.

“Under your tenure as President, please name details as to what plan you have for extending children’s health reform. Will your plan favor decreasing spending (What will you cut?) or will your plan favor more taxes to subsidize health care.

2) “Bringing our troops home from Iraq is what many Americans want. I know I do. However, we cannot take them out so abruptly while the region is experiencing a civil war. What plan do you believe is the best option to start bringing our troops home while providing stability to the area? How long do you believe it will take to implement your plan?

3) “Yucca Mountain, NV is the proposed site for the country’s nuclear repository. Despite scientific evidence that it is a vulnerable site, the federal
government continues to push for the plan to move forward. The evidence relied on is unsound and the risks involved in transporting high-level radioactive waste across the country are high. What will you do to ensure that the best site is chosen for the storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel?”

On Wednesday morning before the debate, CNN representatives insisted that she propose a “lighthearted” question by noon. “They gave me a deadline of noon to submit optional questions, because the other ones were rejected.”

That’s when Parra submitted the diamonds or pearls question. “It was a last minute thing, I just sent it in,” she said. “I did that right at the end … seconds before submitting it.”

This time her question was not rejected. “They actually called me right away. Not a minute passed by,” she said. “They must have loved the pearls or diamonds question, because the people on the phone seemed excited about it. It was sort of like they really meant to do it — to make that be the last question.”

The producers later assured her she would be allowed to ask two questions. She said a CNN representative told her: “We have your two questions approved. You are question No. 15 and question No. 18.”

Parra also said, “I was supposed to go twice. Question No. 15 was the diamonds or pearls question, and No. 18 was the Yucca mountain question.”

In an interview with Talking Points Memo, CNN representatives have acknowledged that they told her which question to ask, and in what order, although they said Parra wrote the questions herself.

Parra said other UNLV students in the audience said CNN did not tell them to memorize their questions, which suggests to her that CNN never planned to use their questions.

“In some sort of way I felt deceived” she said, “Because right after the pearls or diamonds question — which I didn’t know was the end of the debate — that’s when it was ended, completely.”

Here is the video, courtesy of Youtube and Talking Points Memo: