You Tube Debates

A most interesting part of the most recent 2008 presidential election has been the "You Tube Debates". These debates were hosted by CNN and broadcast on live television. This was the first debate series of its kind. Citizens were able to post their concerns and topical questions for the candidates on YouTube, and then select videos were chosen to be presented to the presidential candidates for answer and debate.
The Democratic Party debates were held in in Charleston, South Carolina and aired on July 23, 2007. The Republican Party debates were held in St. Petersburg, Florida and aired on November 28, 2007. Both recieving high television ratings.
A reporter for MSNBC, Chris Matthews introduced the debates on a YouTube video, and Anderson Cooper served as the moderator for the debates.There were video questions specifically for Senator Dodd, Senator Clinton, Senator Obama, Senator Biden, Senator gravel, Senator Edwards, Congressman Kucinch, Govenor Richardson, and questions directed at all the candidates as a whole. Some examples of questions were

"If you were elected president of the United States, would you allow us to be married to each other?" (Mary and Jen, Brooklyn, New York)

"Hey, I'm Mike Green from Lexington, South Carolina. And I was wanting to ask all the nominees whether they would send their kids to public school or private school".

"I have two questions. By what date after January 21, 2009, will all U.S. troops be out of Iraq? And how many family members do you have serving in uniform?"

"With Bush, Clinton, and Bush again serving as the last three presidents, how would electing you, a Clinton, constitute the type of change in Washington so many people in the heartland are yearning for, and what your campaign has been talking about? I was also wondering if any of the other candidates had a problem with the same two families being in charge of the executive branch of government for 28 consecutive years, if Hillary Clinton were to potentially be elected and then re-elected."

"Senator Obama, the laws banning interracial marriage in the United States were ruled unconstitutional in 1967. What is the difference between a ban on interracial marriage and a ban on gay marriage?"

These debates were a new step in presidential campaign, and a new golden nugget for "info-tainment". Info-tainment is a source of news and information, but spun in a crowd pleasing and entertaining way, such as the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, or The Colbert Report.
According to CNN.com a poll taken after the debates from focus groups, and reported that the majority of the people thought Senator Obama most understood their issues. The debates had an average of 2.6 million viewers, making it the second most watched debate of the campaign season.
Reactions for the debates have been mixed, the argument was placed that the more popular video questions were asked rather than the most important and pressing ones. For instance some questions were very serious, while others although dealing with serious issues were dealt in a more joking manner, such as the snowman global warming video. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0BPnnvI47Q)
These debates really have marked an important point in the New Media landscape. Jenkins could most easily apply the first characteristic "Innovative" to these debates. This can only have us look to the future of new media, and what politics in 50 years from now will look like, and if the elected officials will even be in the same room or if it will all be over screens in front of a live audience?