Thursday, June 14, 2007

YouTubing to the White House

In 1992, Bill Clinton made history as the first Presidential candidate to appear on MTV, play the sax and answer questions about his underwear. Some political observers think it’s been downhill ever since.

But that will seem like ancient history next month when the Democrats have the first YouTube debate ever on CNN, with viewer videos replacing reporters to ask questions and, more than likely, offer visual montages for candidates’ responses.

What we can expect may be foreshadowed by some of the YouTube golden oldies--the “1984” portrayal of Hillary Clinton as Big Sister, the “I Feel Pretty” accompaniment to John Edwards’ hair styling and, just this week, the “I Got a Crush on Obama” music video.

Forgive an old killjoy for asking: We may get a lot of youthful self-expression, but what the hell will any of it have to do with picking someone to run the country?

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