Hypothetically Speaking
While there's no denying that two candidates did engage in a vigorous tussle for a few moments in last Wednesday's Republican debate in New Hampshire, the event with that momentary bang nonetheless ended with a whimper as all the candidates struggled to answer the "what do you do?" hypothetical question concerning Iran that ended the evening. The final segment of the debate produced little direct clash (except between the questioner and some of the candidates), and the answers were riddled with inconsistencies and other ambiguities. Which is hardly the candidate's fault - hypothetical questions tend to have that sort of an effect.
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: debate, debates, debate questions, hypothetical questions, GOP presidential primary, elections 2008, formats
YouTubeification
Conventional political wisdom holds that in presidential debates, the action is in the answers. What candidates say, and how they say it, tends to dominate news coverage. But tonight's CNN YouTube debate may throw a curveball into the mix. Since the novel element of the debate format is the fact that questions will come from videos created by ordinary people, the questions themselves may become newsworthy. Consider what happens if Steve Grove's team selects a question taped by a non-U.S. citizen. Will there be cries of protest from those who believe that only Americans who can vote should have a voice in the upcoming presidential election?
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: YouTube, Ben Franklin, debate questions
