Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

COLUMN: YouTube format brings spontaneity to debates
By Nick Sarokhanian
The Collegiate Times (Virginia Tech)
07/26/2007

(U-WIRE) BLACKSBURG, Va. — Monday night there was a different sort of debate going on. Instead of the dreary and completely unsurprising questions and their follow-ups that most presidential candidates have faced in the past, they were confronted and smacked in the face with something different. The Democratic candidates faced what is usually known to strike fear in most carefully polished, soundbite-ready politicians: the unpredictable.

The Democrats were faced off with an entirely new format to debates: live, impromptu responses to, of all things, YouTube videos posted by Americans that wanted their voice heard. As host Anderson Cooper and CNN mentioned before the debate, nobody knew how it was going to work, and more importantly, if it was going to work. The very idea of putting YouTube in the political limelight, especially when such a site usually contains banal and silly videos of absolutely anything someone with a camera wants to post was unconventional. Comparing this historic debate to the first debate to ever be televised wouldn't be that dramatic of a stretch.

The Democrats did admirably, and the debate went without glitches, and some of the questions and videos, well — were funny. It gave the candidates the chance to show their humorous side (or lack thereof) and their ability to answer questions candidly, without coaching from their aides and staffers. Think of it as a digital town hall meeting. And to make it even juicier for the viewers who tuned in, CNN had some of the questioners there live in the audience at the Citadel, and handed them a microphone to ask if the candidate actually answered their question. Once that punch was pulled and a few candidates squirmed after being thrown under the bus by CNN, the candidates as a whole began to stick to the questions and answer them more directly and succinctly, even if the answer was at odds with the YouTube questioners.

As for the actual debate, there was a bit of a surprising upswing for trailing candidates like Jospeh Biden and Bill Richardson, who won points with the audience with their clear and unequivocal answers. Biden was emphatic in reminding the Democrats that it would take at least a year to withdraw from Iraq if the orders went out this week, and he showed his considerable expertise he earned as the Senate Foreign Relations Chairman. Richardson's direct dismissal of President Bush's "No Child Left Behind Act" resonated with the audience when he candidly related that "it just doesn't work."

As expected, front-runner Hillary Clinton did well in the debates, and particularly fielded a question aimed at her and her main competition, Barack Obama about the authenticity of her gender and of his race. She reminded the audience that she "couldn't run as anything but a woman" and was calm and controlled throughout the debate. Obama fielded his part of the question with a sigh, a big smile and said that "You know, when I'm catching a cab in Manhattan — in the past, I think I've given my credentials," to the laughter and applause of the audience.

Will this new format become a staple in American politics? At the very least, we will all have a chance to see it in action again when CNN and YouTube host the Republican candidates in September. I think that having ordinary Americans have their voice heard on a national forum like the debate last night is a great thing, even if I'm not totally sold on some of the wackier ways of asking questions, like singing about high taxes while strumming the guitar or making a snowman animation ask about global warming. Sure, politics is extremely serious and important for our nation and the world as a whole, but if we can have a bit of fun while we're having our elections, it might just get more people involved and interested. Like it or not, YouTube and other interactive-style Web sites are probably going to get more and more exposure in this and future elections. I welcome any chance to get more of this country interested in who makes the major decisions for us all, and if it takes a dancing snowman to make a point, so be it.

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