YouTube, You Decide?

YouTube, you decide? CNN chose the clips to play, starting off with a guy with a guitar trivializing all the candidates. I have to wonder how many of the questions they chose came from Republicans, which should be the point of this exercise leading up to the primary. Before the debate I wrote down the issues I thought should be covered: National Security, Iraq, Iran, War on Terror, Taxes, the Economy, Social Security, Immigration, Health Care and Education.

There was no question on the economy and job creation and the fiscal issues were framed around the national debt, making it seem like Grover Norquist, who got airtime, was the only citizen in America worried about the tax burden. To their credit, in response the candidates advocated entitlement reform and spending cuts, and Romney, Giuliani and Huckabee pledged straight out to veto any tax increase. There was not a single question on Health Care nor Education, rather a cartoon on Vice President Cheney, a question on punishing mothers who abort (which no one is advocating), WWJD on the death penalty, should we go to Mars, and, we find out later, a gays in the military question by a Hillary plant. (Drudge calls it Boob Tube.)

On foreign policy there was a why do they hate us question from a headscarf-wearing woman, one on waterboarding, and one that suggested we should stay there interminably. Winding up, CNN included a clip from a Stars and Bars fan and tossed it to Romney, who was visibly offended at the question and stated that we are a one country, with one flag.

Candidates were apparently invited by CNN to each show a campaign ad, and Thompson was the only one to go negative, going after Romney on abortion and Huckabee on raising taxes. Mitt responded he was wrong on abortion, and he's not a recent convert, but came to this during his term as governor in (liberal) Massachusetts, when he couldn't bring himself to sign the first bill on the issue that came across his desk---he was emphatic and passionate---"I'm not going to apologize to people for becoming pro-life".

There was marked favoritism in the first questioning to Giuliani, mostly directed by Anderson Cooper, a few by the YouTubers, who by my count got 10, with Romney coming next at 4. Romney led with 6 questions tossed to him next. One of Giuliani's came from Cooper on the breaking story of his billing obscure agencies for trips, presumably to hide his extramarital affair with his future wife. Rudy's response was he had nothing to do with the handling of records, which sounds like Clintonesque parsing. As Ed Rollins noted before the debate on the security expenses for Giuliani's then wife Donna Hanover's trips to LA, Rudy's constituents were paying for security for two families. Gives a new meaning to the expression family values.

One more note. Immigration led off the questioning, sparking an odd confrontation up front and personal between Rudy and Mitt. Rudy, on defense on the issue of sanctuary cities, accused Mitt of condoning a "sanctuary mansion", alluding to a contractor who was later found to have hired illegal immigrants. Mitt was incredulous and incensed, asking Rudy if he was suggesting a homeowner should demand documents of anyone who looked or sounded different.

I would say, unfortunately, the debate was not a substantive success, though it did distinguish Giuliani and Romney as the continued front runners, as their answers were substantive despite the thin gruel of the questions. As far as Huckabee, his platform is pretty thin, his record is lousy on taxes, he is a liberal on immigration, and his latest ad says vote for me because I'm a Christian. Imagine what the Dems would do with that--the American Taliban, a theocrat.

And CNN, YouTube? Well, in the end you will all decide, but I think righty bloggers could have come up with better questions.

UPDATE: Fred Barnes' take.

UPDATE: More plants--Edwards and Obama supporters. Michelle Malkin. RedState suggests CNN should have used not just YouTube but Google, and makes a related point about Hill and Bill.

UPDATE: Video. Anderson Cooper eats crow. And CNN calls itself a news organization. Via HotAir.

UPDATE: Here's the Rudy-Mitt immigration dust-up: