Gee, you'd think there'd never been a YouTube debate before! Oh, wait - there was a Democratic YouTube debate... with a few questions from potential Republicans... and I don't remember anyone crying foul that time!

Republicans make great cry-babies.

"And Democrats should have to face up to the 30 percent of Americans who still support that war."

Well, that won't be a problem for them. Might be nice for people not supporting the war to get a look at that in advance.

Dana,

Great comment. I think this "story" has completely overshadowed the original question. It wasn't as though the general had asked a "gotcha" question, or framed it in a way designed solely to make the candidates look bad.

Of course, the real scandal of the debate was when, during the analysis, Cooper said that the post-debate wrap-up would be about the "issues,"not the horse-race. He then proceeded to discuss only the horse race.

I couldn't agree with you more. What's the problem? It's like when whistleblowers get attacked for their motives, in order to distract people from the substance of their charges. If Giuliani supporters want to question Dem candidates, who cares? Even Michael Barone has suggested that the parties have their debates held jointly and get to question one another. That could be quite illuminating, which is why it won't happen

Why do you have do disclose your partisan affiliation to ask a question in a debate open to public questions? What does it tell you? Either it is a good question or it is not. CNN has taken the right stance -- it decided what questions would be asked based on the questions. I don't think some were that good, but trying to avoid Dems in the GOP debate and GOPers in the Dems debate is foolish.

"It's good preparation for the candidates to learn to respond to the worries of voters typically affiliated with the other party."

This from a person whose own party's candidates for President won't go to a debate on Fox News Channel because they claim its biased against them.

If they don't have the balls to answer questions from such "radicals" as Brit Hume and Chris Wallance, do you really think that they will the guts to answer questions from a real partisan like Limbaugh or Coulter. They would shit their pants or in the case of Hillary pantsuit. LOL

If CNN sponsors another Democratic YouTube debate, maybe they will give free air time to people who openly support Republicans.

The issue is that CNN should disclose the affiliations of those they quote, feature as guest questioners, and the like. It's kinda like when TV stations run "news" reports that are actually corporate productions, or having shills in the audience of a TV show. Even the NYT admits what happened is wrong; listen to your leaders.

However, on the wider point, DG and the others are once again mired in partisanship.

Here's a proposal for a much better format:

youtube.com/watch?v=xA8Kgn_48t0

Of course, that format would be resisted by TAPPED and others.

In the case of the MSM it would make them look very bad when the questions that would be asked are compared to the ones that CNN et al ask.

And, it would be resisted by partisan hacks because most of them probably realize just how weak their candidates' positions are. Perhaps TAPPED could rise above such partisan considerations.

"If they don't have the balls to answer questions from such "radicals" as Brit Hume and Chris Wallance, do you really think that they will the guts to answer questions from a real partisan like Limbaugh or Coulter."

I'm sure they'd love to answer Rush or (M)ann's questions. Unfortunately, the response time would run out before they had unpacked all of the lies implied in the question.

It's not the biggest issue - clearly, Republicans ran with their anti-CNN line to distract, in no small measure, from an overall dismal performance by their candidates - but there is a problem here. Aside from the need for actual disclosure (which undermined, yet again, CNN's attempts to place itself beyond partisan playing), the problem here was the very nature of the questioners to not be simply "ordinary" Americans but people, like Kerr, who clearly came in with extra weight and got to the front of the line with it. That was also true at the Democratic one, and it undermines the very "real" element the YouTube debates were supposed to add. Moreover, conservatives do have a point - liberals may see no problem with the questions as asked, but so many of the questions reflected such a specific mindset - are you one of those crazy bible literalists, do you really think we should all have guns - that the charges of bias carried more weight than they otherwise might. I'm not sure how this gets fixed, but it would have been nice if CNN had even tried, or at least tried harder.

The hot-sale Ugg Boots are coming now.We offer wide range of colors and styles Ugg Boots UK and Ugg Boots Sale for you.Shopping now for your favorite!

UGG Boots |UGG Boots sale Classic Nightfall UGG Bootssale-Your toes never say lies,UGG Bailey Button boots ,they love UGG Boots uk -Genuine Sheepskin Boots by UGG Boots Australia. Love UGG Boots sale,Love WarmthClassic Nightfall UGG Boots.bailey ugg bootsClassic Tall UGG Boots From advanced running styles to the hottest retro lifestyle Classic Short UGG Boots, we have everything you need for sports, fitness and outdoor activities. Shop men’s athletic shoes, Classic Tall UGG Bootsfor top brands.Are you thinking ahead to cold weather already? Before you know it, it will be time to break out your winter bailey ugg boots. This suede button ugg boots bailey button uggfrom UGG features a crocheted shaft with a cute tassle tie. The more you wear in ugg button boots, the more slouchy the style will become. Bose headphones for sale