Last night's YouTube debate of Democratic presidential hopefuls introduced a new format which appears to be here to stay. This new medium brought the debate back to the voters with YouTube videos submitted that were gimmicky but surprisingly substantial and lead the candidates toward real issues. Although Anderson Cooper trivialized the discussion by repeated interruptions and vacuous comments, the candidates did a good job of answering the questions directly and not dancing around the issues as much as in past debates. However, allowing for longer (uninterrupted) statements would have improved the format.
Some responses sparked more interest than others, singing tax guy, for example - didn't get much of a response. But sincere questions, like the young woman who wanted to know why there were no nationwide standards for processing votes at the polls, or the man who wanted to know if Senator Clinton expected that she'd be taken seriously by Muslim countries that have alternate views on women's rights, impressed the group. These questions inspired long, heartfelt side conversations that spanned everything from campaign tactics to reparations to whether women were unfairly dismissive of other women candidates. For a liberal enclave, the debate was surprisingly varied, and in times quite emotional.
I'd have to say Hillary came out on top of this one. She articulated a viewpoint, didn't exhort but presented the thought process behind her viewpoint. She continuously presents herself as the leader among the group.
My personal favorite question was, "does it hurt your feelings that much of the hype involving the democratic candidates is centered around whether or not Al Gore is going to run?"
