Democratic Party Takes Debate to YouTube
The Democratic Party reached out to the digital generation during its scheduled South Carolina debate between presidential candidates by broadcasting video questions submitted by users of the YouTube website. Instead of a panel of journalists or political experts, the evening featured regular people and real voters with their own set of questions. CNN sponsored the debate and sifted through over 3,000 videos before selecting about 50 for the event. Those videos were aired during a two hour question and answer format with the eight Democratic candidates.
The result was a totally unique interface between the electorate and the candidates. Rather than canned questions that allowed a candidate to hit sound bites and campaign themes, the videos ranged from thought provoking to offbeat. The common goal though was to keep the candidates’ responses more genuine and spontaneous.
Some of the candidates opened up to the new format, and answered with personality and candidness equal to that of the questioner. Unfortunately though there was little debate between candidates to clarify differences on issues, and they frequently segued to their tried and true talking points.
The videos covered a range of topics, from domestic issues to foreign policy. They included questions on gun control, gay marriage, health, the war in Iraq and race.
The videos brought a unique slant to the event by adding faces to the questions. The unscripted format allowed for some unusual subjects to be broached, like whether the candidates would serve as president for minimum wage or whether they sent their children to public or private schools. The videos also facilitated a creative presentation, such as a snowman asking about climate change.
The candidates capitalized on the YouTube platform by presenting their own videos. Some stuck with campaign issues while others sought to diffuse past stories about their campaigns with humor. Bill Richardson won high marks for his folksy video and he exhibited a comfort with the youthful YouTube venue. Being continually dogged by stories of $400 haircuts, John Edwards mixed serious video with the theme song from the musical ‘Hair’ in his video, closing by asking what really matters.
The impact of the new debate format is still being discussed, though it certainly warrants an innovative label. Some view digital media as a grassroots alternative to mainstream media, and more importantly, the future of the electorate process. Candidates now court the internet world with social networking tools like MySpace accounts, websites and blogs. Voters almost universally want a chance to ask candidates questions for a better understanding of the issues. The CNN/YouTube debate offered a new meeting ground for an exchange of ideas. A similar event is planned with the Republican candidates in September.
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