The youtube format was a joke. I’m happy the gop won’t do it.

While I agree with you on principle, I think the GOP should not avoid the debate. They’ll get a black eye for it, as they already are for even thinking about it. Show the dems for what they are, cowards; rise above them, don’t stoop to them.

Appearing on youtube is stooping to their level in that the format was demeaning. The only decent debate was the one conducted by Brit Hume.

Republicans are happy to sit there and have Chris Matthews of the Carter administration, former chief of staff to (ex-House speaker) Tip O’Neill

So Hewitt thinks that the job that Chris Matthews had in 1980 is more relevant in determining his ideology than his support for the war and his man-crushes on John McCain and Rudy Giuliani and Ann Coulter?

I was a bag boy in 1985- luckily my current employer looked at the more recent entries on my resume.

In any case, it goes without saying that the parties will choose formats where they feel their candidates will get a fair shake. I can understand why Democrats would be reluctant to appear on Fox News but why would the Republicans be afraid to take questions from American voters?

Snowmen vote?

Preston, there’s a couple of reasons. I wonder how many 18 year old You Tube kids would have asked Hillary or Obama why they support the practice of tearing babies apart limb by limb, aka partial birth abortion? Or why wasn’t the question of health care for illegal immigrants given to Hillary, Obama or Edwards?

For example….

KMA- point taken. I have long championed the civil rights of snowmen and I won’t stop until the discriminatory practice of holding primary elections in the summer is brought to a halt.

Dianne- it’s my understanding that the choice of questions came down to CNN.

Hey Preston! The job Chris Matthews had in 1980 was relevant to the on e he has now because they’re both in the same field-politics.

I’m assuming you don’t work in a supermarket anymore, so you’re expertise in bagging groceries isn’t relevant to whatever it is you do now.

Dianne, my dear, such strong language! ”

“tearing apart babies apart limb by limb, aka partial birth abortion”

It’s actually not that bad. All the doctor does is bash the fetus’s skull in to cause sufficient brain damage to end the life of the fetus. In any case, it’s over in less than one second.

I could think of worse ways to die.

Preston – my point exactly. If they had asked the question about illegal immigration healthcare of one of the top candidates (which CNN chose not to do) it would have put the candidates in a very uncomfortable position given the fact the public by a wide margin does not approve of benefits for illegal aliens. And, notice, that was the ONLY

(continued from above)
question about illegal immigration.

Nazar-

My point is that Chris Matthews (at least) has 27 years of experience since he worked for President Carter. I think a weighing of his relative journalistic objectivity today should be considerably more influenced by his support for the invasion of Iraq than, say, his support for SALT II.

Judged by the former scale he is much more in line with the Republican field than the Democratic field kind of rendering meaningless the comparison with the Fox/Democrats brouhaha.

Dianne-
There are- what?- 8 or 9 candidates? Do you reasonably expect each of them to get asked each important question at each debate?

I’m sure Senators Clinton or Obama would be happy to talk about their support for a woman’s health and life over that of a fetus that is not going to survive childbirth (hopefully, you are not of the opinion that a woman carries a pregnancy for 8.5 months only to change her mind ).

Yet if neither Clinton or Obama are ever asked a hard question in the ten debates I’ll join in your outrage over the media malpractice of CNN/Fox/MSNBC//PBS/YouTube and whoever else gets to host a debate before it’s all done.

Preston:Actually, I like Anderson Cooper and I think he did a good job. I question, however, who is picking the videos and who is choosing which candidates answer the questions (unless the question is specifically asked of a candidate by the You Tube person). Why, for example, was immigration not a hot topic for this debate…one lousy question on one of the top concerns of American people … and even illegals for that matter , not asked of any top candidate? And, as for the issue of partial birth abortion, obviously you have not followed the news on the abortionist known as Tiller the baby killer right here in Kansas who performs more late term abortions in the country than anybody for reasons such as depression over not wanting to miss a rock concert”.

No- Dianne- I can’t say I had heard of Dr. Tiller. But looking at a anti-choice website (that was classy enough to provide directions to Dr. Tiller’s house) I remain skeptical about the sensational stories. As the site notes: It is legal in Kansas “to perform elective abortions to the time in the pregnancy when the fetus is viable. Viability is not a set point in time…. Kansas law allows for post-viability abortion procedures when continuing the pregnancy is detrimental to the pregnant woman’s health.”

I would love to know about this ‘rock concert’ anecdote. I don’t mean this to be disrespectful but it is literally unbelievable to me. How did it become public knowledge that the woman wanted to end her pregnancy to see a concert? If the anecdote is true- doesn’t that suggest that the woman was either insane or mentally retarded? Is your opinion of people so low for you to believe otherwise?

About immigration: I understand that this is one of your highest priorities but it is considered ‘extremely important’ by only about 30% of Americans. By most accounts Iraq, terrorism, health care , and the economy will figure larger in people’s minds as they cast their ballots next year. Just to say- that you shouldn’t be surprised if these questions loom larger in the campaign. But don’t worry- I’m sure each candidate will have ample opportunity to answer immigration questions.

About immigration: I understand that this is one of your highest priorities but it is considered ‘extremely important’ by only about 30% of Americans.

Right. And the rest only consider it very very important. Can you be any more obvious, pressy?

This is for Preston. It only concerns late term abortion and is not totally relevant to the topic but I provide it in answer to his request. This is the doctor that reviewed the medical records on behalf of the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of kansas, Phill Kline. Kline was not reelected and his competitor who won the election charged Tiller but on different issues. It was and still is a hotly debated subject in Kansas. Note, the doctor said none of the records he saw, NOT ONE, met the definition of the law in Kansas for granting a late term abortion on a viable fetus. They were ALL based on SOCIAL issues, not just the case of not being able to go to a rock concert.

http://www.operationrescue.org/?page_id=664

KMA-

How does that affect the fact that it falls to about 6 or 7 on a list of issues that Americans care about most?

Preston-

Back up your bullshit with a link so we can again see how you misrepresent polls and statistics.

Hii, im a new muslim and im 14….. i have been a mulism for alomst one year now and in that time i learned that islam is better than christianity…. the way everyone treats me at a mosque makes me feel welcome in life and the way people call me brother makes me feel as if i have a family…. besides the fact muslims have more proofs that islam is real than any other religeon …. on top of that what u did was very wrong, i never thought anyone would ever do such a childish act, i hope u change the way u think…

what iv learned from islam is that everyone deserves to be treated equally and same regardless of their race or belifes… a,no what u said “the dissbelivers should be slayed” that is not the complete saying, and if u want to use that quote please also include the rest of it, include the part where is says, only the dissbeliver who try to act against islam….. and i wont wish for unhappines in ur life, i only hope u start thinking diffrently, and i wont invite u to become a muslim but always remember the fact thay u will always be able to join and make up for ur mistakes

what u have shown in the pic has made me hate my own people, before becomeing a muslim i didnt know very much about islam but now my eyes have open towards life and i know who my god is: Allah. before i became a muslim none of my wishes came true but now i feel as if every wish i make comes true the next day….. all u have to do is on a normal day with a clean heart and a clear mind sit in a mosque and with all ur heart make a dwuah and i garentee u it will come true if u work towrads it.

now that im a muslim i feel more like a human and the best part is my life is in my hands and i feel like a divie being helping me alonge every step i take

i used to live in an orphanage till i was 12 but then i moved in with a muslim family and i leard the ways of islam and now i have a family…. it was my very first wish and it came true ….. i have a family of many millions of people now and im getting more brothers and sisters each and every year……

my only request would be to change the way u think and do something about that picture please ….. i know im younge but iv learned enough to speak for myself.

and i know im still not old but i have this to say, u deserve sarrow and hate, and … but only if u dont change ur ways so please do ssumthing about that pic lol u can get killed if u reveal ur face and really dont wish u death lol but hahahhaa please please please change that pic for ur own sake~ Ps: Max, some one renforce my comment to spread the word through out the net.