Loadman
You are absolutely correct in what you are saying about washout aiding in the wing root to stall first. I see this as a interesting question in terms of an interview response.
If the question is along the lines of "does the nose pitch up or down in the stall of a swept wing aircraft" the response of "down" can be justified by explaining such design features as washout. Mr Airbus and Boeing have designed the wings for this reason.
In taking the washout out of the equation I am still stuffed in terms of the correct way to explain what is actually going on.