Those who encouraged reluctant Republicans to actually show up at the CNN/YouTube debate in Florida Wednesday are now encouraging YouTube to avoid partnering with CNN. Conservative bloggers and online strategists with the Save the Debates Coalition issued a statement criticizing the process of choosing questions.
http://techrepublican.com/blog/save-the-debate-coalition-statement-on-cnns-flawed-editorial-process
Bloggers have been critical especially of one on gays in the military from retired Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr who turned out to have advised the Hillary Clinton campaign on gay and lesbian issues.
“I’m terribly sorry those who helped push for the debate now think it’s tainted,” said CNN senior vice president David Bohrman, who produced the debates, in an interview in today's Technology Daily.
Bohrman said he was on the lookout for Democratic plants and did a Google search on Kerr before the question qas chosen. He said the search at that time revealed Kerr was indeed a retired general and active on gay and lesbian issues. Next he said CNN did a Federal Elections Commission search and found Kerr had not given any money to any of the candidates.
Bohrman said the research stopped there, but the important part is it was still the best gays in the military question among several they received. Had the connection been discovered, he said the CNN was "smart enough to know there would be blow back."
He said the process of vetting questions shouldn't be changed and the questions selected were the most appropriate for the Republican candidates. Bohrman said Democrats and Republicans would like to have them select zingers for the other side, but the real need with the debate was for questions that allowed the candidates to differentiate themselves on the issues that matter to Republican voters.
"The questions were very good. The questions were very interesting," Bohrman said. "People are just building up this incredibly bizarre strawman because of one mistake that wasn't a major mistake, but one we didn't discover."
Remember this summer when the Entertainment Consumers Association offered to throw a free t-shirt [link to story] to anyone willing to submit a question about videogames for the CNN/YouTube debate? Well, it turns out that didn't work. The candidates weren't asked a single question about games. (See Heather Greenfield's previous post about the overall lack of tech questions).
The folks over at GamePolitics aren't happy that videogames were shut out of the debate. But it seems that Mitt Romney, whose stance against violent media has angered a lot of gamers, still found a way to make them angry with his answer to a torture-related question in Wednesday night's forum.
So says GamePolitics: "For Romney, the take-away is that virtual violence is a horror, but real-life torture is okay. Governor, your hypocrisy is showing." Sounds like fighting words to me. -- Michael Martinez
Despite dozens of questions about wiretapping, net neutrality, math and science education, H-1B visas and the innovation economy, none of those were picked to go to the candidates tonight.
Several candidates including Duncan Hunter and Ron Paul advocated getting rid of the IRS and all offered plans to cut spending. Rudy Giuliani suggested across the board 10-15 percent cuts for each federal agency. John McCain promised to veto every pork barrel spending project that came across his desk. Mitt Romney said in addition to vetoing pork, the president will have to reform entitlements and set a cap on non-military spending.
The closest the debate came to a tech question was one about reinvigorating the space program much like the United States did when planning to go to the moon, Mike Huckabee joked about putting Hillary Clinton on a mission to Mars and Tom Tancredo said the nation can't afford to go to Mars.
John Hawkins, who is live-blogging the CNN/You Tube debate for Right Wing News, says CNN is allowing the crowd to be too loud. "All this booing and cheering really shouldn't be going on," Hawkins said. http://www.rightwingnews.com
The candidates each have the opportunity to show a 30-second ad during the debate. So far there aren't funny ones like the Democrats had. Instead they're much more cutting . Tom Tancredo bashed Hillary Clinton on immigration and John McCain attacked Clinton too. Fred Thompson used his to attack as many fellow candidates as he could in the time allotted -- Romney on abortion and Mike Huckabee on taxes.
The CNN/You Tube debate got off to a heated start with candidates sparring over a question on immigration. "New York City was not a sanctuary city," said Rudy Giuliani. Mitt Romney said it "absolutely was" which led to accusations from Giuliani that illegal aliens worked at Romney's governor's mansion.
Romney asked Giuliani whether a homeowner should second guess contractors and ask to see the paperwork of anyone with an accent. Giuliani didn't respond. But Fred Thompson jumped in later saying, "I think we've all had people we've hired that in retrospect was a bad decision."
John McCain also answered the immigration question, defending his support for President Bush's immigration proposal and going past his alotted time He advocated enforcing the nation's borders, but also said people need to remember immigrants are "Gods' children as well."
Eight presidential contenders have taken the stage in St. Petersburg, Fla., and soon will be taking up to 40 video questions submitted on YouTube. CNN whittled down the list from nearly 5,000 entries and stressed no question was off the table.
But CNN did say the questions were different than the ones submitted for the Democratic CNN/You Tube debate in July. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said the questions for the GOP debate were more likely to focus on immigration, taxes and economic issues.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist introduced the candidates, welcoming them to the stage.
Back in the summer, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney ridiculed and resisted the CNN/YouTube debate format because CNN let a snowman ask Democrats a question. Romney and the rest of the GOP field will try answering video questions themselves tonight, but now Fred Thompson -- or at least one of his staffers -- appears to be skeptical of the format.
Adam Aigner-Treworgy, a National Journal/NBC reporter embedded with the Thompson campaign and in Florida for the debate, said Thompson Communications Director Karen Hanretty scoffed at the format when asked if video questions from voters could change the playing field of the race.
"Do you mean real questions from bobble-head dolls?," Hanretty said. "We'll see how [big] the viewing audience is."
Erin McPike, one of the National Journal/NBC reporters embedded with presidential campaigns this year, is in St. Petersburg, Fla., for tonight's CNN/YouTube debate. Here is a report from her:
Debate line-up, left to right: Tom Tancredo, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter.
The first row of the auditorium is reserved for the Romney family, followed in the second by the Giuliani family. The third row of seats is split by the Huckabee family and the McCain family. The Thompson family, however, will be back in the fifth row -- behind the Paul family in the fourth row.
CNN Washington Bureau Chief David Bohrman said that about 5,000 questions were submitted, and that they have "a different feel" than those submitted for the Democratic debate in July. He also said that despite the big production made about Florida Gov. Charlie Crist submitting a question, high-profile figures get plenty of access as it is, and his question will not be included.
A committee including Anderson Cooper finalized the question line-up Monday night. Cooper intends to ask about 40 questions, and the network will have 70 ready to go.
Although Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was a big focus of the Fox News debate among Republicans last month, Bohrman said: "I would expect that she'll come up far less than the last one. This debate is for the Republicans. They have to debate each other first before they can get to her."
That's what techPresident wants to know about tonight's Republican presidential debate, which will feature video questions submitted via YouTube.
Rather than letting YouTube users pick the question, a very World Wide Webby thing to do, CNN is still insisting that it needs to filter the questions to avoid controversy. But techPresident disagrees and is citing a spreadsheet of the YouTube community's response to all 4,927 submissions to make its case.
The spreadsheet lists the videos by views, favorites, ratings, comments, honors and links. TechPresident focused on the 40 that were viewed the most.
"And guess what we discovered?" Josh Levy wrote. "No cyborgs! No snowmen! Only two of the top 40 videos stick out as possibly too weird to show the candidates. ... In fact, that vast majority of these top videos ask important, cross-partisan questions.'
We'll know tonight how that filter compares with the one chosen by CNN -- namely, debate moderator Anderson Cooper, CNN Washington bureau chief David Bohrman and two or three other network staffers.
James Kotecki, now a video commentator at The Politico, rose to new media fame this year by offering unsolicited advice to presidential candidates from his dorm room and posting videos of the sessions to YouTube. It seems only fitting, then, for YouTube to give the keys to its home page on the day of the CNN/YouTube debate featuring the Republican candidates.
Kotecki explains in a video and offers a peek inside the political world as seen through the eyes of YouTube users:
For readers interested in the ongoing controversy about the Republican CNN/YouTube debate, click over to Beltway Blogroll, my personal blog on NationalJournal.com, for news and commentary to supplement the coverage at Tech Daily Dose.
Here are direct links to my latest entries:
-- GOP Campaign Chief Touts YouTube Debate
-- The Debate About YouTube Debates Rages On
-- Forget The Snowman Already
-- The Snowman Question
CNN is trying to resolve some schedule conflicts that some GOP frontrunners say are keeping them from committing to the Republican CNN YouTube debate now scheduled for Sept. 17 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
CNN's Washington bureau chief David Bohrman said CNN is in talks with the campaigns. A spokeswoman says they may consider changing the date. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and New York major Rudy Giuliani had said late last week they would not attend due to scheduling conflicts.
A spokesman for Romney confirmed they have been speaking to Bohrman and may attend if the date could be "pushed back." The Giuliani campaign said it is working with CNN to find a date that would work for everyone.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson and libertarian Ron Paul had said earlier they would attend the debate.
Conservative bloggers, including former Republican National Committee e-campaign director Patrick Ruffini, http://www.techpresident.com/node/4009) are urging Republican frontrunners to show up for debate in the early primary state. They've also created an online petition. http://www.savethedebate.com/
The Florida primary is Jan. 29.
Reprinted with permission from National Journal magazine.
By K. Daniel Glover
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- What happens when a wild range of nonjournalists get to grill candidates in a presidential debate? After several weeks of hype, CNN and YouTube answered that question here this week in an innovative two-hour event that featured questions posed via video clips.
The result was a mix of serious and silly questions -- and serious ones in silly packaging, such as the snowman who asked the eight Democratic candidates what they would do about global warming "to ensure that my son will live a full and happy life."
Other questioners came across as plain scary. A Michigan man brandished an assault weapon as he asked the presidential wannabes what they would do to protect "my baby." New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson gave a polite answer about the importance of instant background checks for gun buyers, but Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware lashed out at the questioner. "I don't know that he is mentally qualified to be owning that gun," Biden said. "I'm being serious.... I hope he doesn't come looking for me."
Many of the debate questions were ones that professional journalists probably wouldn't ask. To Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois: Are you black enough? To Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York: Are you feminine enough, and would you ever be taken seriously as president in talks with Arab nations that treat women as second-class citizens?
Food for thought from politics and media blog Big Head DC:
Maybe Anderson Cooper needs a “time”-out? His network currently has a press release out saying that “CNN continues the trend of record-breaking debates with Monday night’s CNN/YouTube Debate posting the highest P18-34 delivery in cable news history.”
But that statement doesn’t tell the full story. According to the Nielsen ratings, CNN’s debate ranked ninth among debates since 1999. And it’s quite unusual for a network to tout 18-34 rankings as a victory for a primary debate.
Remember Amber Lee Ettinger, the actress who became an online video sensation as "Obama Girl" a few weeks back?
Well, her latest role was as a video journalist at Monday's CNN/YouTube debate in Charleston, S.C. Presumably, she was in the "spin room" to interview the object of her affection, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. But Obama never showed (at least not while I was in the spin room), so Obama Girl had to settle for the likes of Mike Gravel.
Here are some other snapshots from the "spin room" after the debate, and you can check the new Flickr page for Technology Daily to see the rest of our photo coverage of the first user-generated presidential debate:
Actor Richard Schiff, who played Toby Ziegler on "The West Wing"
The fast-paced debate format with video questions from voters drew praise after the CNN You Tube debate from Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean.
Dean said afterwards this debate format "brought the American people back into politics, which hasn't happened since the Nixon Kennedy debate. He also praised it for transferring power to the next generation.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said the questions had more emotional impact coming from voters, but he did not like just having 30 seconds to answer serious questions.
Look for more reaction to the debate format and its impact in the Tuesday PM edition of Technology Daily.
Just in case you'd like to reenact tonight's CNN/YouTube debate in your living room with friends and family (I get to be Mike Gravel!), the news network is working on posting a full transcript of the event, which aired live from Charleston, S.C.
By 10:15 p.m., quite a bit of the transcript was online. I can't wait to review the candidates' answers to the last question: "What's to like and dislike about the candidate to your left?"
CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin: "This debate was Gladys Knight & The Pips." Hillary Clinton "looked like someone who might be president."
In New Hampshire, CNN conducted a focus group with 24 undecided Democrat and Independent voters. Before the debate, they thought Clinton would be the best performer. Afterward, they said Barack Obama ranked first, followed by Joe Biden and John Edwards.
CNN did the same experiment in Nevada. Bill Richardson, a known name in that part of the country, did the best, followed by Clinton and Obama (who tied) then Edwards.
Maria Elena Salinas of Univision said Clinton "seemed to stand out because of the directness of her answers." She also said she was disappointed that there was not more talk about the immigration issue.
Rev. Reggie Longcrier of Hickory, N.C., who asked a question early on in the evening, said the debate was "dynamic" and unlike anything he had ever seen before.
Our colleagues at Hotline On Call were surprised that there were no technical glitches as the final few minutes of the debate neared. In New Hampshire, Rudy Giuliani was interuppted by static when he answered a question on religion.
Tonight's technology made that debate look like Nixon vs. Kennedy. YouTube executives said they had a couple of contingency plans if the small monitors on the candidates' stands didn't work, but it **seems** like those plans weren't even necessary.
YouTube invited 10 of the questioners to the debate, and now that the official event is over, those citizens will be able to use their videocameras in the debate hall.
Look for the clips coming to a YouTube video channel near you soon.
So said a citizen from Michigan while availing himself of the right to bear arms on film. Joe Biden: "I tell you what, if that's his baby, he needs help. ... I don't know that he's mentally qualified to own that gun. ... I hope he doesn't come looking for me."
Hillary Clinton: "I think it is a problem that Bush was elected in 2000. ... And I actually that it was someone else that elected."
Mike Gravel: "The Clintons and the [Democratic Leadership Council] sold out the Democratic Party to Wall Street. ... It's the people who brought you what you have today. Please wake up."
Barack Obama said he has heard cynicism in "every single question" asked in the videos aired tonight.
Our colleagues at Hotline On Call are also live-blogging the CNN/YouTube debate. Here are a couple of posts…
Just Sayin'
So far On Call has counted 26 videos aired tonight. Of those videos so far, six were recorded by women and at least 17 were recorded by men. And a couple videos were either mixed or from non-gender entities. You know, like an animated snowman asking about global warming.
Don't Look At Us, We Didn't Write The Questions
A YouTube user asks both Clinton and Obama to confront their critics who say gender and race still play a roll in politics. As one reporter put it to me today at lunch, is CNN using the YouTube users to ask the questions they don't want to take responsibility for asking? Probably not, because CNN gets lots of second-wave press for asking controversial questions. But it's worth asking because this might be one of the first times both Clinton and Obama confronted the issue in the same room.
These questions came from people who have serious healthcare problems or have people close to them who do: What are you prepared to do to fight Alzheimer's? How would you address chronic disease? What would you do to make low-cost or free preventive medicine available? How will you include the disabled in your health plan?
Barack Obama: "My mother, when she was between jobs, contracted cancer," and she spent the last days of her life trying to figure out how to pay for care. "We've got to have a president who's willing to fight" the healthcare industry to make sure they don't have "veto power."
John Edwards: Obama's plan "just doesn't cover everybody." He complained the politicians have talked about health care too long without standing up to insurance companies and drug companies.
Hillary Clinton: She said it is "a national disgrace" that people like those in the videos still struggle to get the care they need. Clinton said everyone should be covered.
Chris Dodd: "Children certainly would be covered. ... If they're paying part of that thing, then they would also get covered."
Bill Richardson: "Every American deserves the right to the best possible health care."
I collect them, so I love that the mottoes like "Liberty" and "In God We Trust" made it into the debate. Too bad that only Joe Biden got to answer. His response: "I think the coin's got it just right."
What I want to know is what the candidates would do to keep the U.S. Mint from messing up more of the new $1 coins by leaving the mottoes off some of the coins. If you're going to move the mottoes to the side of the coins, where nobody will notice them, at least remember to strike the mottoes.
That's the message Dennis Kucinich sent in his video interlude at the debate.
But only Bill Richardson got to answer before a commercial break: "As president, I would push the whole country to verified paper trails" for electronic votes.
John Edwards: "I do not favor nuclear power" because it is extremely costly and there is still no safe way to dispose of nuclear waste."
Barack Obama: "We should explore nuclear power as part of the energy mix."
Hillary Clinton: Take away the tax breaks from the oil companies and "focus on innovation and technology," including nuclear energy as a potential alternative source. "It can be a win-win if we do it right."
Over at Pajamas Media, Vodkapundit’s Stephen Green is "drinking his way through another evening of argument." Green submitted several videotaped questions for the Democratic presidential debate (here, here and here) then watched the showdown (presumably with a martini in one hand, typing with the other).
Several humorous posts:
-- "Mike Gravel pounces! Mike Gravel draws first blood! Mike Gravel is some dude running for President! No really!"
-- I have to admit, Chris Dodd at least looks presidential. Unfortunately, he looks like the president of a midwestern Savings & Loan circa 1990.
-- Edwards was asked about something his wife said, that he’d make a better advocate for women that Hillary. Correct answer: “Yes, you have seen my hair.”
... what will you do about global warming?
Dennis Kucinich: "We need to move away from reliance on oil."
But I have to wonder: Why did CNN use a snowman to ask one question about global warming to only one candidate who is considered a longshot? Isn't that a slam against Kucinich -- not a serious candidate, so let's have a snowman ask him a question?
Finally, a technology-related question: Would you scrap or revise the 2002 education law?
Bill Richardson: "I would scrap it. It doesn't work. ... It doesn't emphasize teacher training" and more. He advocated a minimum wage of $40,000 a year for teachers, as well as an emphasis on science and math.
Joe Biden: "It was a mistake. ... I would scrap it" and start from the beginning. He said he only voted for it out of respect for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., one of the key advocates of the law.
From CNN's Web site:
The CNN/YouTube presidential debate is all about you. You're asking the questions and driving the discussion. But that's just the beginning. We want you to give us your take on the candidates and issues during and after the debates. This is your chance to be a political analyst and call the shots. Watch the program at 7 p.m. ET on July 23, take notes and share your views via I-Report. Better yet -- turn on your camera to record your commentary and reaction video. Click here for more.
John Edwards said he sends his there still. Hillary Clinton said daughter Chelsea attended public schools in Arkansas until her husband, Bill Clinton, was elected president. Other candidates cited a mix of attendance at public and private schools. Mike Gravel said the school system needs competition.
Hillary Clinton made a big fuss during the debate about how she's running for president because she's the best candidate for the job, not because she's a woman. It was a thoughtful, articulate answer. But moments later, as CNN was going to a commercial break, they showed a YouTube campaign video (see above) chosen by her team that featured this punch-line: "Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman." Hmm…
Meanwhile, the YouTube campaign video selected to air for John Edwards poked fun at the $400 haircut controversy -- complete with music from Broadway hit "Hair." Thanks for giving that story legs again. Sheesh!
Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama all said yes. John Edwards called out a guest who was in the audience with his wife, Elizabeth.
Mike Gravel: "Of course. ... What's the difference" between men and women?
Noting that some Muslim countries treat women as second-class citizens, a questioner asked how Hillary Clinton could expect to be taken seriously in negotiating with those nations. She said that no one need doubt she would be taken seriously and that it "would be quite appropriate" to have a woman
Barack Obama: "We have to begin a phased withdrawal, have our combat troops out by March 31 of next year."
Joe Biden: "You know we can't just pull out now. ... The truth of the matter is if we started now, it would take one year." He insisted that you have to have "a political solution" -- and that he's the only candidate who has one.
Bill Richardson: Diplomacy, U.N. peacekeeping troops ("primarily Muslim troops"), China pressuring Sudan, a no-fly zone. "The answer here is caring about Africa."
Joe Biden: Send U.S. troops. "Where we can, America must. Why Darfur? Because we can." He said 2,500 troops "can stop the genocide now."
Mike Gravel: Africans unfortunately don't want U.S. troops there.
Hillary Clinton: Sanctions on the Sudanese government and a no-fly zone. "American ground troops I don't belong in Darfur at this time."
The question comes from the mother of a soldier.
Hillary Clinton: "There are a lot of questions that we are asking, and we're not getting answers."
Dennis Kucinich: "Yes. It is politics." He said Democrats who took control of Congress have failed the American people by not cutting off funds for the war so troops have to come home.
Chris Dodd: "We should set that time certain." He added that the situation in Iraq is connected to U.S. inaction in Darfur because the military is "bogged down" in Iraq and U.S. global leadership has been undermined.
Bill Richardson: Bring all of the troops home by the end of this year, "with no residual forces. ... No politics. Get it done."
Dennis Kucinich: Yes.
Chris Dodd: "Yes, they ought to have that ability in civil unions. ... But I don't go so far as marriage."
Bill Richardson: "What I think is achievable is full civil unions with full marital rights." He also said he would not tolerate any discrimination against gays.
The question was posed to Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Obama: Ask the cabbies in Manhattan who think twice about picking him up.
Clinton: "I couldn't run as anything other than a woman. I am proud to be running as a woman. ... But obviously I'm not running because I'm a woman."
John Edwards offered his two cents, saying he wouldn't want the vote of anyone who would vote against Obama because he is black or Clinton because she is a woman. But he also said he is a better advocate for women than Clinton.
Clinton's response: "I have been on the forefront" of advocating for women. "I think it's terrific that we're up here arguing about who's going to be better for women."
YouTube is posting the user-submitted videotaped questions as they are aired during the live debate. There is also a pretty massive collection of questions that did not make the cut (featuring costumes, kids, gimmicks, weirdos etc.) The most-viewed question was from a citizen whose entry mentioned California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and cyborgs, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said.
The questioner said he fully expected the candidates to dodge the question, but not all did.
John Edwards: "I'm not for reparations."
Barack Obama: "The reparations we need ... are investments in our schools."
Dennis Kucinich: "A breach has occurred, and we must acknowledge that. ... Yes, I am for repairing the breach. Yes, I am for reparations."
Joe Biden: Warning that naming names would hurt the designated Republican, Biden named Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.
John Edwards agreed that Hagel would be a good choice.
Question to Hillary Clinton: How would you define the world liberal, and would you use the word to describe yourself.
Clinton: The word used to mean being for freedom, but "it has been turned up on its head" to mean big government. "I prefer the word progressive," Clinton said.
The attempt by Sen. Joe Biden to stuff the ballot box and get a question on Iraq asked didn't work. So said Anderson Cooper at the outset of the debate.
Introductory comments (from the live feed on campus):
-- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean on why the YouTube debate matters: "Ordinary Americans get to have their government accountable to them again."
-- CNN host Anderson Cooper: "After tonight, I think it's going to be hard to go back to the debates the way they were, without some sort of user-generated content."
I quoted Jeff Jarvis of PrezVid in my YouTube debate preview story today, and as typically is the case with traditional journalism, I wasn't able to fit all of his insights into our coverage. But that's OK because Jarvis is a blogger and addressed in detail at his own site the points he made in our interview.
Here's a sampling from PrezVid:
The YouTube debates could fundamentally change the dynamics of politics in America, giving a voice to the people, letting us be heard by the powerful and the public, enabling us to coalesce around our interests and needs, and even teaching reporters who are supposed to ask questions in our stead how they should really do it.
The debates could also demonstrate that democracy is in good hands, that we care, we are smart, we are informed. ... Finally, the debates could begin to change the relationship between candidates and voters. ... The wise candidates should go into those 2,000 questions and start answering the toughest ones.
All this could happen. Or CNN could pick the dutiful, dull, obvious, sophomoric questions and make us look like a nation of dolts.
By K. Daniel Glover
Reprinted from Monday's PM Edition of Technology Daily
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Old media stalwart CNN and new media upstart YouTube will break new politics and technology ground here Monday evening by hosting an Internet and voter-driven presidential debate. But before the first video question is put to the Democratic candidates on the stage, observers are asking their own questions about the process behind the debate.
The organizers of the debate -- and another one like it for Republican candidates on Sept. 17 in Florida -- bill it as a "history-making" event. The CNN/YouTube debates take to a new level the "town hall" concept introduced to presidential debates in 1992.
Since June 14, anyone with access to a computer and a webcam has been able to submit videotaped questions to the candidates via YouTube's Internet file-sharing service. By Sunday's deadline, 2,989 questions were submitted. CNN journalists screened the questions and decided which ones to ask when the cable network airs the debate live at 7 p.m.
Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, called the approach "a logical evolution of the marriage of new media and old media" that has been occurring in recent years. He added that it has made the Internet the "center focus" of politics just 11 years after its "coming-out moment" in the 1996 presidential race.
"This solidifies the notion that the Internet is a prime marketplace [of ideas], the commons of politics," he said.
Continue reading YouTube Debates: Just How Innovative Are They?.
By Theresa Poulson
Reprinted from Monday's PM Edition of Technology Daily
None of the Democratic presidential candidates will know until Monday evening which voters' questions they must answer in the CNN/YouTube debate. But there were dozens of technology-related questions in the mix that CNN journalists reviewed.
Internet maven Jeff Jarvis, for instance, submitted a video question about ensuring high-speed Internet access for all Americans. And one computer programmer used the tools of her trade to make a computer-generated character who asked how the candidates would protect her vocation from becoming a lost art in the United States because of outsourcing and H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers.
More videos posed questions about outsourcing jobs to other countries, immigration and a proposed guest-worker program.
On the telecommunications front, "The Resident" from New York City asked candidates for their positions on network neutrality, a concept to describe regulation aimed at ensuring equal treatment of broadband content. Other questioners wondered about the regulatory impact of net neutrality.
Sarah from Atlanta asked how the Democrats plan to strengthen U.S. leadership in science and technology, while Tim Miller from Massachusetts questioned the distribution of research and development spending. Another person asked about China's growth as an economic power.
Kyle Hogan from Boston asked if candidates will promote the use of technology and e-learning in education. Others wanted to know the candidates' views about the No Child Left Behind Act or increased funding for the 2002 education law.
Continue reading Grilling The Presidential Wannabes About Tech Policy.
Over at Hotline On Call, our colleague Shira Toeplitz is also blogging about the CNN/YouTube debate...
In preparation for tonight, campaigns have to count on doing some things a little differently. How do you express empathy to a video tape? How do you react when a voter shows you their hurricane-ravaged home on a screen? How tersely do you respond to a pointed question when the questioner isn’t even in the room?
Although the Democratic campaigns have been unsurprisingly mum on how they prep the candidates for this debate, a few of the campaigns have planned online activities (read: try to get the media’s attention) in preparation for the big event. Here’s a quick survey of what the campaigns have done and plan to do for the CNN/YouTube debates:
Technology Daily's Theresa Poulson spent a bit of time on YouTube Monday reviewing some of the nearly 3,000 questions submitted for CNN's big debate tonight... like this one, which was one of her favorites.
She also enjoyed this question about computer programming and H1-B visas and this question about inconsistent voting practices.
Check out the PM Edition for a round-up of tech-related questions posed to the Democratic presidential candidates.
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- When Democratic presidential candidates take the debate stage here tonight, odds are good that they won't be asked a question by Andrew McLaughlin, the head of Google global public policy. It would be a PR nightmare to give one of the 20 questions reserved for the air to a top official in the company that is co-sponsoring the debate.
But asked at lunch today what question he would like the candidates to answer, McLaughlin waxed eloquent about America's declining rank in global broadband. He wants to know what the candidates would do to stop the decline as tallied by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. He also wants the candidates to talk more about the forthcoming auction of airwaves in the 700-megahertz band of spectrum.
With hot issues like the Iraq war, immigration and health care on Americans' minds, the odds of those kinds of questions being asked on the air seem slim.
McLaughlin said, however, that he is heartened to see some candidates discussing such issues. He noted, for instance, that Democrat John Edwards did when he visited Google's campus earlier this year.
You can see that entire one-hour chat, along with others by candidates Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Ron Paul and Bill Richardson, at YouTube.
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- CNN will be the filter for tonight's Democratic presidential debate here, deciding which questions submitted via the YouTube video-sharing site to ask of the candidates.
But Gallup, which has been involved in more traditional town-hall presidential debates since 1992, has the scoop on what questions should be asked based on popularity in the American electorate. None of them involve technology directly. Here's what really matters to voters, according to Gallup Guru:
Americans would first and foremost ask about Iraq. In fact, to follow the voters' interests and concerns carefully, I think that about a third of the questions in Monday's debate should be about Iraq. Following that, Americans would ask the candidates about the economy. Then would come two specific issues: health care and immigration.
Finally, Americans want to know how the candidates would handle issues relating to the process of government itself -- how it can be made to function better. Congress and the presidency get very low ratings of confidence and ratings of honesty. People have little faith in the process. What would these candidates do to change this?
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Google and its YouTube subsidiary hosted a luncheon for journalists and bloggers here today in advance of tonight's Democratic presidential debate, which will feature video questions posed by users of the YouTube video-sharing site.
Steve Grove, YouTube's news and politics editor, offered a glimpse into what people will see on the stage. The candidates will stand before a backdrop of "swimming-pool-size" video screens, and each of the candidates also will have personal video monitors at their podiums. Twenty questions of the nearly 3,000 submitted in the past few weeks will be aired live.
Grove said about 800 of the questions were received Sunday, the deadline for entries, and all of them have as much chance of being asked as those submitted earlier. In fact, he estimated that a third to half of the questions were submitted over the past three to four days, in large part thanks to CNN promoting the debate in a series of specials throughout last week.
Grove added that the debate will "live on" at YouTube long after the debate airs, and users will be able to comment on the winning videos and more.
For a glimpse into the tech-related questions that could be asked tonight, and for a debate about just how innovative the debates are, read today's PM Edition of Technology Daily in about an hour -- or check back here later because I will be publishing those pieces at Tech Daily Dose so they are free for all to read.
Technology Daily Editor Danny Glover and Senior Writer Heather Greenfield will be headed to Charleston, S.C., for the Democratic presidential debate being hosted by CNN and YouTube on Monday. Once there, they plan on posting blurbs on Tech Daily Dose and filing reports for the PM Edition.
Greenfield has a preview story in Friday's issue. Nearly 1,800 people have submitted questions via YouTube for the debate so far. YouTube News and Politics Editor Steve Grove said the site is "becoming the world's largest town hall for political discussion."
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