One Guy Asked a Question At Both Parties' YouTube Debates?My hat is off to Michelle Malkin and all of the conservative bloggers who have uncovered all kinds of fascinating information about last night's YouTube questioners, using that remarkable, mysterious investigative technique called "Googling."
To refresh:
1. The retired brigadier general is on Hillary Clinton's gay and lesbian steering committee.
2. The young woman who asked about jailing women who get abortions has stated on her YouTube profile page that she backs John Edwards.
3. The "Log Cabin Republican" has written on the web about "why I'm supporting Barack Obama."
4. The guy who asked Ron Paul if he would run as an independent also asked a question at the Democratic debate and has told reporters that he "likes Bill Richardson."
Is America such a small country that Mark Strauss of Davenport, Iowa gets to ask two questions of candidates?
Those are the worst; here are the gray areas.
5. The mom who asked about toys with lead paint from China is an assistant to the American Steel Workers union, which has endorsed Edwards. This doesn't necessarily mean that this woman has endorsed Edwards or even likes him, but it would have been better if CNN had identified her with that affiliation than portraying her as just another concerned undecided voter.
6. The young man who asked about corn subsidies interned for Democratic Congresswoman Jane Harman back in 2004. I'm not going to go bonkers about that; maybe he just wanted experience working on the Hill. But amongst all the others, it's just one more log on the fire.
7. The Powerline guys note that the guy who asked about Social Security reform "is working with a member of [Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick] Durbin's staff, helping him develop his proposal to submit to the Congressional Budget Office." However, the same article also noted that he "met with aides of Speaker Dennis Hastert." Maybe Durbin's just more helpful to the guy, but again, in light of everybody else, CNN not being able to find this out, much less mention it, doesn't reflect well on them.
UPDATE: 8. Jason Coleman notes the guy who asked why Republicans can't attract more African-American voters has made mocking YouTube videos about "the blind black Republican" and rather lauditory videos attending a John Edwards event.
CNN stepped in it badly. I don't know if firing the political director is the right solution; I'd rather the folks who made their mistakes this time learn from them and pledge to do better next time.
UPDATE: I notice MediaMatters complained about the questions at the Democrats' YouTube debate:
several questions asked during that debate could be described as Republican "gotchas," including one in which the questioner echoed the enduring Republican myth of Democrats as taxers and spenders:
(Some of us don't think that's a myth.) Anyway, I think there's a significant difference between an unaffiliated voter asking a question that "echoes a Republican" argument and using questions from folks who have already openly endorsed another candidate in the other party. If any of the YouTube questioners in the Democratic debate had already endorsed a Republican candidate, then Media Matters has good reason to complain. But as it is, they're saying that asking about raising taxes is ipso facto a "Republican gotcha."
http://www.nationalreview.com/
