GOP vs. Billiam the Snowman

Ah, it is Monday. On a grand scale of the Mondays I have encountered in my lifetime, this one isn’t so bad. I got to experience first-hand what happens when a teacher doesn’t show up after fifteen minutes of the beginning of class. It was awesome.

But I’m not going to get honors’ credit for telling you all about my day. Unfortunately.

So today, CNN released that eight major Republican candidates for president have decided to go through with their own version of the YouTube debates.

Sorry, it just dawned on me that I talk about the presidential candidates a lot. The whole process just really interests me; this is also the first election that I have ever cared about, and that I will get to vote in. It’s new and exciting. I promise to talk about other issues soon.

Anyway, back to the GOP, over 2,000 questions have already been submitted. The Democratic debate took place last July, why the delay on the Republican side? Giuliani claimed that scheduling was problematic, and we all know that Romney just felt uncomfortable talking with a snowman (links for those who missed it, watch this first,then watch this, then watch this, I promise it’s worth your time, it’s a funny story). But I think the problems lie deeper than this. Whoever thought up the idea of allowing normal, average people ask the potential leader of their country questions in a debate was certainly updating a ritual that has become engrained in the election process. What better way to reach an entire facet of politically ignorant youth than through the eight most frequented website on the Internet? Right, I think it’s obvious that the YouTube debates helped to raise political efficacy among younger generations, but how is this going to effect Republicans? Here’s my prediction; for the same reason that our friend W will only appear at events that are tightly-scripted, the Republican crowd is going to be quite uncomfortable in such flexible environment. And, even though I lean to the right wing myself, I will go as far to say that a handful of the GOP candidates were wary of appearing at a debate with such a direct contact with normal people. Republicans are much more at home with a traditional debate and the same typical questions asked by a suited professional. What is Rudy Giuliani going to say when a gay couple asks him a question about marriage rights? What is John McCain going to say to the family who lost their 18-year-old son in Iraq when they ask him about his plans with the Middle East? Or more importantly, how are the American people going to react to their responses? I feel like the Republicans are walking into a minefield by agreeing to these informal debates, but as a college student who appreciated the YouTube debates, I respect them for that. Truth be told, they really had no choice but to abide by the same rules the Democrats used. Otherwise they would’ve been torn apart by all sorts of political analysts.

Yes, I am aware that I intensely criticized the GOP and commended them within the same paragraph. I’ve been doing it my whole life.
A very comprehensive story from the Herald Tribune.
Huffington Post Blog.