SEATTLE (CNN) - When the first President Bush addressed an annual meeting of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers some years back, he answered questions posed directly by members in the audience. So did all the other high-ranking government officials and corporate executives who have spoken to the group over the 41 years of its existence. But Microsoft chairman Bill Gates refused to do so here this week.

His public relations people told the society that Gates would not answer questions from the floor, but would only respond to one questioner sitting next to him who could ask his own questions as well as those sent up on cards by those in attendance. In addition, the group was told that for security reasons the audience had to be seated when Gates arrived in the ballroom of the Red Lion Hotel and could not leave until he had departed. It smacked of a royal visit.

Needless to say, the restrictions created a great deal of resentment among many of the 300 business journalists at the convention. They make their living asking questions, and one of the attractions of these annual conventions is the opportunity to directly question assorted bigwigs from government, business and academe. In fact, New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, who was the keynote speaker at the annual banquet a few hours after Gates spoke, was bombarded with questions from the floor and seemed to genuinely relish the give-and-take. He's a politician, of course, and is running for Governor. But when, in introducing him, I said the audience could throw away any cards left over from the Gates event and ask questions directly, that comment was greeted by a loud burst of applause.

Personally, I consider Gates the embodiment of the classic American success story. And I greatly admire the good works and the huge amounts of money he and his wife Melinda are devoting to the fields of health and education. At the same time, though, he runs the risk of surrounding himself with "handlers" who try to insulate their leader. Sadly for such a successful company, Microsoft has a reputation for corporate arrogance, and since a corporate culture emanates from the top, Gates must bear the responsibility for it.

He could learn a lesson from his friend Warren Buffett, who is at least as smart and nearly as rich, but who has never surrounded himself with the panoply of power and has never lost the common touch. When I mentioned the Gates situation in Seattle to Buffett, he seemed genuinely surprised. "That's not like Bill," he said.

The society picked a good journalist to ask the questions, Jay Greene, Seattle bureau chief of BusinessWeek magazine. But as someone who must cover the nitty-gritty of Microsoft's activities, he did not focus on such matters as Gates' sometimes controversial views on the need to import high-tech workers and the company's recent withdrawal of support for a state gay rights bill. Those were questions that the society's members, drawn from all parts of the country and interested in much more than the latest technology developments might have asked from the floor.

So Gates made his appearance, spoke with intelligence and even a modicum of charm, and was whisked away. He might very well have a talk with those of his underlings who engendered the resentment in his audience.

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Click here to find out what Gates said.