YouTube Debate and the Democrats' Opportunity

I, like the 100 other people actually paying attention at this stage in the race, turned in to the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate not entirely sure what to expect. I was fearful that it would be a complete train wreck with poorly filtered questions, canned responses to candid questions and a mass media still unsure how to harness the Internet. After watching the debate I was surprised. It did not suck.

The Questions
The questions used egalitarian terminology and asked questions on America's mind not on the media's mind. The questions directed at Hillary highlighted this best: how can you, as a woman, negotiate with Middle Eastern countries that don't afford women basic rights? and is America really ready to see the history books read Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton (Clinton fatigue)? Anderson Cooper would have never asked those questions because they're too direct. YouTube, in its typical see-for-yourself fashion, opened up a window to the presidential race that was at once candid and informative. Only a small portion of us will actually get to meet any of the presidential candidates (a large portion if you live in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina). The YouTube debate allowed us to see questions that we've been wondering and responses spoken to the average YouTube user instead of the quintessential debate watching politico (myself included in the former and later).

The Responses
As already stated the responses seemed more relaxed and less canned. It, in my opinion, had more entertainment value than most debates. Granted there was not much contention in the evening (except for the brief moment of disagreement between Obama and Clinton over negotiation policy). However, Joe Biden took the reigns on entertainment value with his typical blunt answers. In response to a question where a questioner referred to his gun as "his baby", Biden came back by saying "If that's his baby, then he needs help." The candid atmosphere of the night allowed Biden to flourish. Not surprisingly, post-debate polls showed that Biden's favorability increased the most out of all the presidential candidates.

My One Regret
My only regret was that there was only one question about education and it was only allowed to be answered by two candidates. The question asked if you, as president, would overhaul No Child Left Behind or repeal it. Cooper turned 90 degrees and asked Bill Richardson his opinions. Richardson, to much applause (mine included), said that he would repeal NCLB. He argued that "the one-size-fits all doesn't work, it doesn't emphasize teacher training, it doesn't emphasize disabled kids. . ." He also added that we should have a $40,000/year minimum wage for teachers, and we should have a federally funded program that focuses on the arts (music, theater, painting, etc). I was eating it up, and then Joe Biden tried to answer but was over ambiguous with his response that boiled down to "I'll have to look into it more." However, no other candidate was given the opportunity to discuss education. I regret that. It's more important than having two candidates "discuss."

In conclusion, I really enjoyed the debate because it was entertaining (in a good way) and it was informative. The debate structure still leaves something to desire when respondents cannot reply to each other's comments unless called on. This prohibits actual debate, but to allow all eight candidates to speak there mind would only allow for one question to be answered. So, for what we have been seeing, it was a quality debate and I am glad that the DNC sanctioned it. Good one, Dean.

Republican Response
The Republicans are scheduled to have a like debate in September; however, it now seems likely that both Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney will withdrawal from the debate. This is not official, but it will be likely be so soon. This could prove disastrous for the Republicans if they do not bridge the technology gap now in the primary. YouTube is a force to be reckoned with, but only the Democrats (and Ron Paul) are harvesting its outreach power.

Ever since Ray C. Bliss became Chairman of the Republican National Committee in the 1960s, the Republicans have been two steps ahead of the Democrats in every campaign tactic known to man. Direct mail, candidate-training, low-dollar fundraising and image creation. Which is why Jimmy Carter needed Dick Nixon's legacy to win and Bill Clinton had to win by annexing conservative issues. However, the internet has leveled the playing field because the Republicans are not using it as extensively as the Democrats are.

Case in point: Go to Rudy Giuliani's website (www.joinrudy2008.com) and then Mitt Romney's (www.mittromney.com). They are standard websites. Have nice interfaces and are easily navigable. Then go to Hillary Clinton's website (www.hillaryclinton.com). It stands up to Mitt's and Rudy's pretty well, but has an added feature missed on Republican website. You can join or create your own group to help organize events or fundraise for Hillary. A neat feature, but Hillary has not mastered it comparable to her opponents John Edwards and Barack Obama. On Edwards website you can join "One Corps" that features 77 chapters in NC, 79 in Wisconsin and 137 in California. At Barack Obama's website which, in my opinion, is the best of all the candidates because of its social-networking ability. Obama's campaign team is made up of most of the techies that created Howard Dean's 2004 online success (minus Joe Trippi). Obama's website features "My Barack Obama.com" which allows viewers to create their own profile to find other like-minded Obama supports in the hopes of organizing.

When all is said and done it is clear that the Democrats are seeing the power of the internet are seeking to understand it. Obama raised one million dollars off the internet in the last quarter alone. The Republicans are stupid to not try to cultivate this organizing device and the best way to start would be to embrace YouTube and its debate. YouTube is owned by Google now, so its not as free-wielding as it once was, so it can be trusted to some extent. The Republicans must get on board now or they will miss the train completely.

Another case in point: If you type in "Rudy Giuliani" into YouTube the first video to come up is titled "Rudy Giuliani in drag smooching Donald Trump." You never get a second chance to make a first impression, as they say.

-Wyatt Earp