Monday night, we will witness the first U.S. presidential debate in this new open-source savvy, Web 2.0-wise flat world. Unlike previous elections, where debates would be moderated by someone old like Jim Lehrer and broadcast on a major network, this year the CNN/YouTube Debates will be moderated by hip, homosexual, silver-haired cable news anchor Anderson Cooper and broadcast on both CNN and a Web site where I once saw a monkey smell his own ass and then pass out. I guess YouTube has come a long way since those days of Afro Ninja falling on his face and the exploding whale. Many have noted that Monday’s CNN/YouTube debate signifies that the mainstream media has finally embraced Google’s online video site as a legitimate medium. Rather, the Democratic debate will make clear to the middle-aged political types what fat pimply teens have known for a while: YouTube is the mainstream media. More young American voters use YouTube than watch CNN and the video site is accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world. In terms of exposure for the candidiates, there is nothing better than YouTube. All the questions asked to the candidates Monday will be chosen by CNN editors from online video submissions to YouTube. To date, over 2,300 questions have been submitted on topics such as Darfur, Iraq and whether Bill Clinton has had extra-marital affairs since leaving office. Fortunately for the politicians, CNN’s senior vice president vowed that the network “will make responsible editorial decisions about what will air during the debate.” Because if it were left to the YouTube community, there would probably be questions about the Clinton marriage, the Edwards $400 haircut and what Obama really said about how kindergarteners should have sex education. Despite the crassness that will always pervade a video site intended for low-lifes to post funny videos, it is clear that YouTube has arrived– not just as a place to watch female weightlifters shit their pants, but as a place to watch political heavyweights talk about the shit that really matters.
•LA Times: The CNN/YouTube Debate