YouTube questions test GOP hopefuls
by David Guidi | The Oracle (University of South Florida)
Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: News
(U-WIRE) — There was Chris Nandor of Snohomish County, Wash., guitar in hand, giving some of the most powerful Republican politicians in the country a tongue-in-cheek musical introduction.
Jay Fox of Boulevard, Calif., popped off a series of shots with his rifle before asking candidates about their stance on gun control and the Second Amendment, then cocked the gun and jokingly told candidates they should answer freely.
And there was a digital version of Uncle Sam, voiced by Ronald Lanham of Mobile, Ala., grilling candidates on their tax policies, and a cartoonish Dick Cheney, voiced by editorial cartoonist Nick Anderson, asking about the limits of vice presidential power.
As GOP candidates enter the home stretch before primaries begin in January, video footage of politically interested citizens took center stage at Mahaffey Theatre on Wednesday night in a CNN/YouTube debate, where YouTube users' questions were as compelling as the answers they provoked.
"This truly is the people's debate," said Gov. Charlie Crist, who introduced the candidates before the debate, which was moderated by CNN's Anderson Cooper. "It's about the future of America — about integrity, about honor, about duty and about loyalty."
The debate, held just blocks from the heart of USF St. Petersburg's waterfront campus, could mark a turning point in a Republican race in which no overwhelmingly favored candidate has emerged.
Hundreds of reporters, photographers and videographers converged on the theater, which was surrounded by thousands of feet of barricades and a large contingent of officers from the city's police force.
An array of lights, teleprompters and video cameras and a huge 25-foot video screen for airing the questions transformed the inside of the theater into something resembling a sprawling television studio.
Wednesday marked the second debate of the CNN/YouTube partnership. The first, for Democratic candidates in July, drew more than 26 million viewers. The July event was marked by colorful submissions, including a digital snowman that asked about global warming and a man wondering about firearm control laws who referred to a gun he owned as "his baby."
Jay Fox of Boulevard, Calif., popped off a series of shots with his rifle before asking candidates about their stance on gun control and the Second Amendment, then cocked the gun and jokingly told candidates they should answer freely.
And there was a digital version of Uncle Sam, voiced by Ronald Lanham of Mobile, Ala., grilling candidates on their tax policies, and a cartoonish Dick Cheney, voiced by editorial cartoonist Nick Anderson, asking about the limits of vice presidential power.
As GOP candidates enter the home stretch before primaries begin in January, video footage of politically interested citizens took center stage at Mahaffey Theatre on Wednesday night in a CNN/YouTube debate, where YouTube users' questions were as compelling as the answers they provoked.
"This truly is the people's debate," said Gov. Charlie Crist, who introduced the candidates before the debate, which was moderated by CNN's Anderson Cooper. "It's about the future of America — about integrity, about honor, about duty and about loyalty."
The debate, held just blocks from the heart of USF St. Petersburg's waterfront campus, could mark a turning point in a Republican race in which no overwhelmingly favored candidate has emerged.
Hundreds of reporters, photographers and videographers converged on the theater, which was surrounded by thousands of feet of barricades and a large contingent of officers from the city's police force.
An array of lights, teleprompters and video cameras and a huge 25-foot video screen for airing the questions transformed the inside of the theater into something resembling a sprawling television studio.
Wednesday marked the second debate of the CNN/YouTube partnership. The first, for Democratic candidates in July, drew more than 26 million viewers. The July event was marked by colorful submissions, including a digital snowman that asked about global warming and a man wondering about firearm control laws who referred to a gun he owned as "his baby."
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Katy Best
posted 12/06/07 @ 2:23 PM EST
Where is any mention of Ron Paul in your article??? The only candidate who actually makes sense, who actually remains steadfast in his beliefs despite Capitol Hill's corruption. (Continued…)
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