Debates to connect candidates and voters online

Members of the public will pose questions to candidates via homemade video in a new kind of debate Monday night.
The New York Times

The story "Debates to connect candidates and voters online" published July 23, 2007 at 5:10 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[jdbwar07]

This is probably just a scam.

There's no guarantee this will be any different, or that this will allow ordinary people and not CNN to influence the issues debated. At the least, CNN will just hand-pick the videos it shows the candidates. If there are questions it doesn't like, or are too controversial, or support candidates they seem to be biased against, like Mike Gravel, they won't show them.

In previous debates networks have had (presumably) ordinary Americans make up a live audience that asks them (approved?) questions. In this case no real controversial issues were brought up nor did candidates have to explain their views differently than usual.

CNN, along with the corporate media in general, has recently taken flak for not really investigating the truth anymore or asking hard questions (such as Michael Moore's recent tirade to Wolf Blitzer on CNN about how they're partly responsible for the Iraq war). This is just a publicity stunt to give the impression they're doing something different and a means to capitalize on the success of YouTube.

[Pete.Goswell]

Debates & Voters on Line,

I fail to see why this would be considered a SCAM, it seems to me that many of those Members of Congress quickly lose site of the voters, once in office the Lobbyists with bags of money are the only ones listened to.So maybe Voters online may finally be listened to!