Thankfully there is some sanity in the Republican field. I would lose respect for any candidate who would participate in a CNN/YouTube debate like the fiasco the Democrats participated in. That's why I'm not surprised that Ron Paul and McCain are interested in doing it.
Four days after the Democratic debate in Charleston, S.C., more than 400 questions directed to the GOP presidential field have been uploaded on YouTube, as Republicans are scheduled to take their turn at video-populism on Sept. 17.(via)
But only Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) have agreed to participate in the debate, co-hosted by the Republican Party of Florida in St. Petersburg.
"Aside from those two candidates, we haven't heard from anyone else," said Sam Feist of CNN, which is co-sponsoring the debate with the popular video-sharing site.
Rudolph W. Giuliani and Mitt Romney, both with dozens of videos on their YouTube channels, have not signed up. Neither have the rest of the Republican candidates, including Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.), whose "Tancredo Takes" on his YouTube channel draw hundreds of views. Sources familiar with the Giuliani campaign said the former New York mayor is unlikely to participate. Kevin Madden, Romney's spokesman, said the former Massachusetts governor has seven debate invitations over a span of 11 days in September.
"We haven't committed to any of them yet," Madden said.
In an interview Wednesday with the New Hampshire Union Leader, Romney said he's not a fan of the CNN/YouTube format. Referring to the video of a snowman asking the Democratic candidates about global warming, Romney quipped, "I think the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman."
I'm sorry but a guy cradling his gun and a snowman aren't exactly the images that one associates with the dignity of a presidential debate.
I agree with Hewitt on this one that this would be more harmful than helpful to the Republican candidates since the very liberal CNN staff will be selecting the questions and you just know they are going to include all the gotcha questions they can.
Tags:
