Althouse: Are we excited about the big YouTube debate?

July 23, 2007

Are we excited about the big YouTube debate?

I kind of am. It's a cool idea.

And the people have style:

Some of the people, anyway. I hope CNN doesn't waste the opportunity and pick the people who seem most like Wolf Blitzer.

8 comments:

mystickeeper said...: I am excited! Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be teh lame, :/; 7/23/07, 3:47 PM
DKWalser said...: Be sure to check out Stephen Green's extremely relevant questions at http://www.vodkapundit.com/.; 7/23/07, 3:54 PM
Roger J. said...: Anything has to be better than the mindlessly numbing questions asked by the news personalities. I certainly share Jackie's hope. This will also be a really good test of what CNN weeds out of the queue.; 7/23/07, 3:57 PM
ìgbàlonígbàńlò said...: Why is CNN screening the questions as opposed to having people vote on what questions should be asked? Won't that be more representative of what people want to ask?; 7/23/07, 4:12 PM
Laura Reynolds said...: I have to paint the bathroom, otherwise I'd be watching. There is so much to learn.; 7/23/07, 4:59 PM
Cedarford said...: Why is CNN screening the questions as opposed to having people vote on what questions should be asked? Won't that be more representative of what people want to ask?

Probably because democracy does not select the intelligent incisive question on a single issue, but would tend to go with an angry person with a rabble-rousing question. Or the masses would vote to select the predictable "hot-button" issues they are most familiar with - but also the same ones the journalists have asked and candidates have answered in their sleep hundreds of times before. Or vote with their hearts instead of their brains for the submissions posed by attractive females with nice tits - or by a cute, hopefully suffering some exhalted sort of Victimhood, kid with urgent needs like being illegal but needing a lifesaving transplant....as "The Most Popular".

Not that I have much more confidence in the CNN brain trust of marketers and producers to come up with the best choices.

They might think that it is better to pose a great "Gotcha!!!" U-Tube question to a minor candidate they hope to be rid of for better drama than a "U-Tuber" that asks about a relatively unexplored, but important matter that forces a major candidate to be observed thinking on their feet.

(CNN did ask a few very good questions, particularly the "defense and security measures failed, A nuke aboard a ship detonated half a mile from a coastal US city. What would you do?" I just wished they followed it up with..."OK, now you know the nation behind it. Do you retaliate against their cities knowing millions of their innocent civilians die and you might violate International Law?")

Frankly, it is getting harder and harder to find an objective group that the public believes lacks an agenda. The notion of objective journalists, NGOs, academics, judges who lack any political agenda appears to be in America's past.; 7/23/07, 5:11 PM
Synova said...: Just for fun, I think that the questions by "Redstate Update" (if anyone wants to search on You Tube) have got to be the funniest.

They have a pretty good "Harry Potter Book Event" video.

(These guys aren't the ones from Tennesee that actually got a question in, are they?); 7/23/07, 10:17 PM
hdhouse said...: Some questions were asked in a manner that made me cringe a bit but for the most part my opinion is that it was a very smart idea and pretty darn good.; 7/24/07, 3:26 AM