The Daily Background

I just burst out laughing when I came across this sentence in an article today about how CNN will decide which YouTube videos to choose for its Democratic debate on Monday, July 23rd:

CNN has heard the complaints.

“As much as I wish we could use the voting method of YouTube, I just don’t think it’s realistic,” Bohrman said. If the number of views determined the videos asked at the debate, then candidates could study the most-viewed videos and game the system, Bohrman explained. Furthermore, the most-viewed video as of Monday afternoon, he pointed out, asks if Arnold Schwarzenegger is a cyborg.

Hey, if the people want to know what the candidate’s stances are on important issues such as the cyborg-ness of the governor of California, then why not let them ask? I hope that at the very least, CNN will throw in a couple of funny questions. By the way, the article also provides descriptions of some interesting questions that have been asked so far, but may or may not make the cut:

Some go for the simple, direct approach. A middle-aged Hispanic man stood in his office in San Francisco and relayed his question entirely in Spanish. A college sophomore in Tampa used her cellphone camera — the result is a dark and grainy but nevertheless compelling video– to ask the candidates about the crisis in Darfur.

Others were more creative. A 20-something from La Grande, Ore., who wants a hybrid car, drove his 1987 Chevy Celebrity to a parking lot and asked: “What will you do to make sure that alternative-fuel technology is affordable for everyone?”

Some were slightly over the top. Two teenagers from Springtown, Tex., performed a 30-second skit in the kitchen — with an Ann Coulter book as a prop — and asked about abstinence-only sex education. (They’re clearly against it.) Others, like the one with the talking blue duck, were in it for the fun.
[…]
In the back yard of his partner’s house, Alexander Nicholson, who was discharged from the U.S. Army because of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military, asked: “As president, how would you all go about getting this law changed to ensure that the military can recruit and keep Americans with critically needed education and skills like myself even if they happen to be gay?”

“It took me about nine or 10 takes to get that recording done,” said Nicholson, who speaks five languages, including Arabic. The 26-year-old is now pursuing a doctorate in political science at the University of South Carolina. “But, you know, I wanted to get the question right, just right.”

I know, I know, the whole thing is a gimmick, but I have to admit, I’m intrigued and I’ll be watching, at least on their online video stream.

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