There is a lot of talk going around the blogs right now about the Republican debate on September 17th that will be hosted by YouTube and CNN. Should they participate or shouldn’t they? Now, I will be the first to admit that the Dems. debate……

GooTube is irrelevent. They are our friends who refuse to allow Michelle’s awesome vid to be seen on their site, remember? And why would anyone want to pander to the 3rd rate(?) CNN? I would be surprised if even 20% of America knew what Gootube was.

Let’s compromise. The Democrats can do the Republican GooTube appearance and the Republicans will take the Fox News debate.

…

We can just hope we get more questions like this ……

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh7-vCR-DYA

John Dardene is the son of Republican Louisiana Secretary of State. I’m sure he’s proud.

(sarc/): I like the woman who asked if the candidates would be willing to work for minimum wage. What were the Dems answers? Couldn’t wait to fall all over themselves to tell how truly poor they really are deep down. How would it be with the GOP? Pander to people you think are so stupid they can’t understand the basic functioning of the workforce. Have they ever worked a day in their lives? Any employee ~ I MEAN ANY EMPLOYEE ~ does understand the basic fundamentals of minimum wage: hourly vs. salary Yea… I’m the President and I’ll work for minimum wage… and since I work 24/7 I want time and a half… and yea, I want sick and vacation pay… does Hillary get FMLA time? (sarc off/) I mean seriously? How does that help you better decide who you’ll vote for in 2008? And if you don’t understand that, no debate is gonna do anything to make you vote one way or another.

And as for the MSM, either way they slam the GOP. Always in a lose, lose situation. Better if you lose, you do it with dignity than in disgrace and shame with video feeds to hold it out for posterity and your grandkids to laugh at.

I look at it this way: Would Ronald Reagan have EVER done one of these debates?

SOUTHERN MAN: With his new novel, “A Man in Full,” Tom Wolfe skewers America in the ’90s, from coast to coast by WILLIAM CASH Sunday, November 29, 1998

In this article, (*read 1998*), I think Tom Wolfe states eloquently why we have ultimately come to this:

“What’s so interesting about the whole Clinton business is that it is no longer acceptable intellectually to say that the issue is sexual behavior,” he says. “It has to be, “Did he perjure himself’ and all these ridiculous things. And in fact, the issue really is sexual morality. The issue here is, is it permissible or is it not permissible to engage in this vertical affair – a horizontal affair, coincidentally, is much more acceptable than a vertical affair! – in the Oval Office? But it is not smart, it is not a chic thought to say that that is the issue. I always say to people, “Now, let’s suppose that a President is having the affair with a ewe – e-w-e – which he keeps in the Oval Office…”

I remind Wolfe that English aristocrats and, indeed royalty, have been known to have such thoughts.

“Now, would that make any difference?” Wolfe continues. “It would be still intellectually gauche to say that makes any difference. You know, what’s a little bestiality; it’s a private matter. That is the huge change in this country. That affair in the Oval Office, in the suite of rooms, is so removed from the attitude of Ronald Reagan, who would not take his jacket off in the Oval Office out of respect.

and then there’s this from Hullabaloo:

Friday, December 08, 2006
Secretaries of Deference
by digby

When Bush got all snippy with Jim Webb, George Will distorted the quote precisely to highlight Webb’s supposed lack of deference.

All the Beltway 500 code words ”Civil, Dignified, Ungracious” for trashing Democrats and preventing them from saying what needs to be said have to do with Republicans reinforcing this fundamental aristocratic value of deference.

It’s the same deal with Civil, Moderate, and Bipartisan are also code words for reinforcing deference.

That’s why it’s important to mock, belittle, insult, degrade and make Republicans laughable at all times and in all conditions. These are all tools for eliminating deference from our political discourse.

Naturally, when we do this, the Beltway 500 clutches its pearls and calls us Shrill or Rude. That’s a good sign: It means we’re displaying the lack of deference appropriate a Democracy.

Thank you… we have lost ALL RESPECT for the office of the Presidency. Good night, lights out…

If the question is stupid all they have to do is be ready to roll their eyes and give a patronizing look to the turkey that asked the stupid question.

If need be they can practice before in front of a mirror.

There’s been “some”:http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2007/07/why_wouldnt_rudy_and_mitt_want.php “discussion”:http://hotair.com/archives/2007/07/26/disaster-gop-may-bail-on-september-cnn-youtube-debate/ about the GOP Presidential candidates avoid…

The content is user driven.
Longtime Listener on July 27, 2007 at 12:31 PM

That may be but the users don’t pick the questions. CNN will only pick the most loaded and biased questions without regard to meaningful discussion and as someone pointed out, they will hide behind the “The People Have Asked” excuse.

If you don’t want a bunch of thoughtless drivel, don’t settle for it. We can control our presence and therefore our platform’s relevance.

We won’t control anything. CNN will.

Republican candidates are right to snub CNN’S proposed youtube debate.

The candidates would snub a proposed debate at an insane asylum as well, and a debate moderated by inmates at an insane asylum would be only slightly more inane than a Republican debate moderated by CNN.

As Ed Morrisey ably argued over at his CQ site, the CNN youtube format only cheapens the debate, and far better opportunities and venues will present themselves in profusion between now and the Convention.

Make your own video. Upload it. Send out the link(s). Be heard. Maybe you’ll get posted on HotAir. Maybe you’ll live blog the debates and start your own conservative 2.0 movement. Do something. Anything, except this spineless bellyaching.

Longtime Listener on July 27, 2007 at 12:31 PM

The quote most deserving of the FINALLY tag among this thread’s many comments. Great job!

Soo it becomes a comparison race. We take the two candidates and deceide which is the better one of the two.

The republican candidate doesnt have to be better than every single democrat in the county. They only have to be better than the democratic candidate they are facing in the general election.

What do the dems offer us this time as compititon ? Hillary ? Obama ? John Edwards ? Is the US really ready to make one of those 3 president ?

I think after a long hard close look the answer is no. Hillary is too disliked, Obama is too much of an unknown and edwards is going to be too easy to tear apart for his radical veiws in the democratic Primaries.

While we all have our favorite republicans we would like to see win the nomination I think it safe to say that ANY republican candidate we pik will fair well against what the dems has offered

Republicans have the image problem. Democrats have the values and policy problems.

All of this complaining about a liberal media bias and CNN filtering questions is BS. Youtube is an interactive medium. The content is user driven. If you don’t want a bunch of thoughtless drivel, don’t settle for it. We can control our presence and therefore our platform’s relevance.

Make your own video. Upload it. Send out the link(s). Be heard. Maybe you’ll get posted on HotAir. Maybe you’ll live blog the debates and start your own conservative 2.0 movement. Do something. Anything, except this spineless bellyaching.

This attitude of sitting back and complaining as the world changes makes us sound like an old folks home. Why not flood youtube with our own videos? Are you too lazy? Are you afraid it won’t get viewed? I don’t think so.

Many of the commenters on this site and others appear thoughtful, articulate and well-versed in the issues of the day. Please help me to understand what the reticence is about exposing the real Republican party.

Talk radio is a very influential medium. It went a long way in shaping my current perspective. But talk radio is perceived to be right wing. I started listening because I wanted to hear what was going on behind enemy lines. The I got hooked. Many people will tell you the same story.

Youtube has the same potential. It’s not only about that one debate. It’s about exposing people to the other side. Apparently many people do not use youtube that much. What about saved videos? New conservative directors and groups? What about comments and internal messaging?

It’s a bigger deal than we seem to think. And we run the risk of looking like a flat Earth society if we ignore it. Doing so will be perceived as fearful, elitist, and/or last century.

Maybe that works for you country clubbers. But the party I’m interested in is made up of thinkers willing to roll up their sleeves and meet people on their level.

I hear a lot of talk about living in a post 9/11 world. Well, that concept applies in many ways. Don’t sail over the edge.