YouTube/CNN team up for interesting new debate format.

Yesterday brought the American people yet another presidential debate (Would this be the fourth one for the Democratic party already? It's only the middle of 2007!), but this time with a twist. Instead of having the questions asked by a network-appointed moderator or by audience attendees, YouTube asked its users to film themselves asking questions they'd like the candidates to answer. YouTube then selected a wide range of the video questions from its users, played them for the candidates, and let them answer (although, in the interest of time, Anderson Cooper did get to choose who would answer). It was an very interesting meeting of the town hall debate format and the Internet, and I'd definitely suggest checking out the videos for each question, along with the candidates' answers.

Here are a few questions and answers I thought were particularly interesting:

Are you a "liberal"?



Who would you pick as a Republican running mate?



Is it OK to cite religion as a reason to deny gay rights?



Mother of a soldier - how many more soldiers need to die?



No Child Left Behind - scrap or revise?



Do you send your kids to a public or a private school?



Will my taxes rise if a Democrat takes office?



Tough questions on health care