YouTube Users Put Candidates on the Spot

by Seth Michaels, Jul 24, 2007

Would the Democratic hopefuls be willing to work for minimum wage if they were elected president? The question came not from a pundit or a news anchor but from Cecilia and Asanti, two friends from Pennsylvania.

This unusual question elicited illuminating answers. Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) acknowledged it was easy for most of those on the stage to say “Yes,” because they were financially secure anyway. For most people, though, the minimum wage isn’t adequate. “We don’t have Mitt Romney money,” Obama said, eliciting laughter, “but we could afford to do it for a few years. Most folks can’t.” Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd admitted that working at the minimum wage, he’d worry about the cost of educating his two daughters.

Last night’s Democratic debate was full of telling, unscripted moments because all the questions came from YouTube users who got to ask tough questions about their personal concerns. Confronted by ordinary people (and, in one case, a cartoon snowman), the candidates opened up, departed from their stump speeches and interacted with each other.

The format was more entertaining than most presidential debates. Viewers got to see questions that weren’t watered down by the usual media filters. Delivered by people right to the camera, the questions were by turns touching, funny, uncomfortable and angry. They elicited these same human qualities from the candidates themselves.

As a result, viewers witnessed genuine disagreements between the candidates, not just on style, but on policy. On education, while Dodd proposed reforms to the No Child Left Behind Act, Gov. Bill Richardson (N.M.) said he’d scrap it entirely. Obama and former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) disagreed over whether universal health coverage required mandates. No two candidates gave quite the same answer on how quickly it was possible to withdraw from Iraq.

(A full transcript of the debate is available at CNN.com.)

The questions covered a wide range of issues, and candidates were able to talk about interesting, specific policy proposals.

Moderator Anderson Cooper noted CNN had been “overwhelmed with videos on health care.” Edwards took the opportunity to describe his health care plan. Responding to passionate questions about the YouTube users’ own health challenges, he told a touching story about a West Virginia man who, until age 50, couldn’t afford an operation to fix his speech-limiting cleft palate.

When are we going to stand up and do something about this? We talked too long.

Richardson stressed the need for preventative health care, while Dodd mentioned stem cell research—passed by the Democratic Congress and vetoed by Bush—as a way to make progress on issues like diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Many questions were focused on foreign policy. On the crisis in Darfur, while most candidates stressed diplomatic efforts and no-fly zones, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden said U.S. ground troops were a necessary part of the equation. Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who focused on “strength through peace” and using international treaties and agencies, made the connection between foreign policy and energy policy. He said that energy independence, based around renewable sources of energy like solar and wind power, would help change the relationships between the United States and Middle Eastern nations.

On Social Security, several candidates spoke out strongly against privatization. Dodd said he would consider raising or eliminating the cap that currently prevents Social Security taxation on income higher than $97,500. On taxation, Biden noted Bush’s tax cuts, which are aimed at the wealthiest Americans, are hurting the government’s ability to fund necessary programs, and said he would roll back the tax cuts aimed at the top 1 percent of earners.

The three leading candidates each got a chance to stress their campaign’s overall theme. Hillary Rodham Clinton presented herself as a competent, experienced leader with international credibility, a woman ready to be commander in chief. Obama’s message was about transcending politics, bypassing special interests and looking for broad, unifying proposals. And Edwards focused on large-scale policies to tackle poverty and push back against deeply entrenched insurance, drug and oil companies.

If you’re looking for another chance to ask the candidates a question that matters to you, you can take part in our contest to choose the questions that will be asked Aug. 7 at the AFL-CIO Presidential Candidates Forum.

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