Look Out St. Petersburg: A Look at CNN/YouTube Debate

Her face fills the picture; a tense, weary mask relieved only slightly by a splash of lipstick and a brightly-colored scarf around her neck.

Her question is simple: "I would like to ask the candidates what they have in plan for our health care system," she says, moving back the scarf to reveal a massive scar stretching from the base of her neck to mid-chest.

"...so someone at my age doesn't have to have a heart attack and triple bypass and this scar just because I could not get any doctor to order the tests that I needed."

Her name is Kristy Ivey. And the Spokane, Wash. resident's personal, passionate plea is a prime example of the kinds of questions pouring in for the Democratic presidential candidates as part of CNN's partnership with the video file sharing site YouTube on what they're calling "the first voter-generated presidential debates," according to anchor Anderson Cooper.

"I watch (the submissions) every day...I’ve watched hundreds of them a day," said Cooper, who is helping producers select about 30 questions from the more than 1,700 videotaped queries already uploaded to YouTube for the Democratic debate, scheduled 7 p.m. Monday in South Carolina. "What’s great about them is the variety of them – the way questions are asked. Some are extraordinarily simple—its just a person sitting in front of a computer and asking a question. Some are funny and some use historical footage. Clearly, for some, they are are questions that are life or death for them. There is something very compelling about that."

When CNN and YouTube announced they would hold two debates mostly featuring questions provided by average people through video clips submitted on the Web, more than a few critics wondered if it was a cyber-centered gimmick.

But CNN U.S. president Jon Klein insists the questions, which users can submit for the Democratic debate until Sunday, are unique and revealing. They also provide a potent preview of the queries expected for the Sept. 17 Republican debate, which the cable channel is expected to officially announce today will be held in St. Petersburg at the Mahaffey theater (even after we printed a story on the debate location Thursday, CNN officials refused to comment until after a 1 p.m. press conference today)

"They're very intimate questions...(with) an earnest quality that it will be interesting to see if the candidates can match," said Klein, relaxing in a lounge at the Beverly Hilton hotel after meeting with TV critics in Los Angeles. "Somebody's asking about health care because they've got a relative who has cancer and can't pay for it. That's a lot different than a professional journalist asking the intellectual question about policy."

Cooper admitted the format does a bit of his work for him, eliminating the need to research many of his own questions. Instead, he expects to serve as an onstage traffic cop and truth squad, making sure the politicians don't shrug off the questions presented.

"My job is to make sure the politicians honor the question by answering the question," Cooper said. "It’s important, because people put time into developing these questions and they deserve straight answers. We've all seen from user-generated content that’s exploded across the Internet...people are often smart and incredibly well spoken. And even if they’re not well spoken, they ask intelligent questions that should be honored with intelligent answers."

Even a competitor, NBC News anchor Brian Williams, said the CNN/YouTube partnership has attracted his attention. "I'm looking forward to seeing the debate," he said in a separate meeting with TV critics. "Look, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. These (online) outlets are out there, and our job now is to get on whatever screens people are watching however we can."

A spin through the myriad of questions already uploaded speaks volumes. One post features a montage of black and white photos of young people, interspersed with text describing them as uncaring, uninterested and unfeeling, asking finally how would the candidates connect with this generation.

Another post features a woman standing in a refugee camp in Chad, asking about the humanitarian crisis following the genocide in Darfur. There's even an unemployed truck driver doing a George Bush impersonation, asking why Hillary Clinton won't apologize for voting to give the president authority to wage war in Iraq.

"When I first talked to the YouTube guys, what I really sparked to was their commitment to doing something that was really about the issues," said Klein, noting CNN has aired a series this week exploring the issues raised by the questions. "They could care less who's ahead in the fundraising. They and the people in their (online) community just want to know what works, what doesn't and what these candidates are going to do about real problems. I think TV viewers are going to find that very refreshing."

 

Comments

[Al Geisler]

Buyer Beware Florida NO 1

It’s been a long time since I went to school. From my memory I believe that federal government monitors state government and states monitor cities. It’s not that way in St Petersburg Florida.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled in the case of Ilkanvic v. City of Fort Lauderdale, 705 So 2d 1371 that liens couldn’t be placed on homestead property for code violations. The code compliance board does put liens on homesteads as policy and it’s broadcasted on the city’s TV station so all can see their uncontrolled power. When this policy was challenged in 2004 Assistant City Attorney Al Galbraith said in a memo dated May 17 2004 that the city isn’t responsible to give legal advice to the property owners. As it was then it is now! No member of the board has a legal back ground all they get for legal direction are the city attorneys.
Going before the codes board is like going to an incomplete court. Having an accuser (the codes cop) a prosecuting attorney that makes his own rules (city attorneys) and a jury (codes board) no judge and having predetermined guilt. The only defense is to beg for mercy. No other defense is acknowledged. No judge no defense equals no justice.
At the beginning of The Code Compliance Hearings the chairman states that the board’s decision can be appealed in court. Considering the board only rulings are complied or guilty and the guilty decision carries up $500 dollars a day fine for none compliance an appeal sounds good.
Filing an appeal for a board decision is the same as file an appeal for a court decision. To get an appeal you must get a lawyer. Four thousand was the cheapest one I found. Doesn’t the constitution guarantee me a day in court? Without a lawyer I’m given a court date for a $25 parking ticket.
At the present time almost 100% of the properties in St Petersburg are guilty of something. If courts were in the loop I’d bet that some of the ordinances would go away because 100% guilt doesn’t imply for or by the people. Some must be unconstitutional.
The state does have a law that prohibits harassing someone with a law enforcement agency. The city’s policy is to respond to all anonymous code complaints. What is there to stop a person from harassing someone for personal, racial, sexual or religious reasons with code violations?
The anonymous tipster has even created code wars in neighborhoods. They are started when someone seeks vengeance by calling the code department on their neighbors because they were violated. Two people like that in one neighborhood and a code war can last for years. In cases like mine the code department instigated the war by not enforcing rule on one person and enforcing them on all others. The codes war has been over for years but the divide between neighbors is still here.
What happened to face your accuser? When I went to school we were taught that communist and Nazi’s turned neighbor against neighbor and didn’t give you a day in court.
The city has another policy that should be illegal perhaps it is. The policy is to attach liens to the all the properties you own in the city if one has code compliance lien placed on it. You can’t pay off the lien until repairs are made and the city stops adding to your daily fine and you can’t use the equity of your other property to fix the violated one. Catch twenty two.
If you aren’t rich enough to comply the best thing you can do is to let your property go back for taxes. So the lien is taken off the rest of your properties. When someone picks the property for back taxes all liens and code violations are removed. The investor is given time to up grade the property with out code harassment. Some investors are blessed.
Some times the city condemns the building and tears it down. The cost off demolition is added to the property as a lien. These properties are given to the city when the county takes them back for taxes. The city sells these lots for less than demolition charges. Some developers are blessed to have a city that steal the land from the owner and has the taxpayer’s pay for demolition. Cheap cleared land is hard to find in St Petersburg.
In Florida land can’t be seized with emanate domain for developers. Besides it’s more practical to steal it.
I live in a neighborhood that lies between I-275 and the railroad tracks. About half of the land mass is residential the other half is light industry. A few years back the city tried to destroy the all of the businesses in the neighborhood. The businesses were told that the neighborhood association wanted them to beautify their businesses. This meant tear out their parking lots and landscape that area and other crazy demands. The Triangle Business Association was formed. They pooled their money and hired a law firm. They wasted countless hours in meetings with themselves and with city officials and thousands of dollars only to achieve a stale mate. When I found out about their problem I told them we didn’t have a neighborhood association and told him I would help them any way could. I provided them with a petition from two blocks for their next meeting. The petition was for the codes department to leave the businesses and us alone. The petition averaged one name per house. When the city saw they were caught in a lie and that solidarity was developing they backed off.
The association was dissolved and the businesses went back to making money. The solidarity broken and my hope of codes reform were gone.
At least two of the businesses are on the NY Stock Exchange and there are twenty others and they could only achieve a stale mate by themselves. How big should a business be before locating here?
Since cities in Florida are allowed to ignore federal and state law at will its risky buying or investing here.

Al Geisler
St Petersburg Fl.