The date for the the Republican presidential YouTube debate is still slated for Sept. 17, but reports are flying around that the debate could be pushed back even further. Ron Paul’s Web site said the debate is being pushed back to December, as the Washingston Post reported.
While scheduling conflicts can become a nuisance, that’s not a sufficient reason to forgo the entire proceedings. The rumors of postponement began after former Gov. Mitt Romney announced that he would skip the debate, saying that the Democratic version did not show the proper respect for a presidential candidate selection process.
And while having the debate on YouTube is an unorthodox method to reach the masses, it’s only a natural step for the Internet to become a new battleground for the presidential selection process. The Nixon-Kennedy debates were the first of its kind on television and it definitely played a role in getting Kennedy elected to the presidency.
According to the Washington Post, Romney was concerned about the caliber of user-submitted questions for the debate, such as one regarding the environment submitted by an animated snowman.
A question concerning a serious issue, although delivered in a silly way shouldn’t be a deterrant in avoiding online debates. This is a perfect chance to connect with Americans on a new level that standard speech stumps and in-person speeches can’t provide. Just as television reached out to a new generation of Americans as a new medium of communication, the Internet now serves as a way to connect with a younger, technological savvy and politically concerned audience.
