College Times

Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Daily Buzz

Media Credit: The Fresno Bee

It seems as if YouTube and presidential primaries go hand in hand nowadays. I don't blame presidential hopefuls who are rightly targeting the younger crowds.

The internet activates a whole new generation's fancy with information, and the fact that immediacy is its number one boast means that decisions can be made on more than just an appearance basis.

While appearance has historically been a reason to vote for a candidate, with the access to their words and positions through the web, one is forced to make an educated decision as to whom they're voting for. It should not be based on attractiveness or who your parents tell you to vote for, but rather the matching of positions and policies.

Questions like "Did race play an issue in the response to Katrina?" and "How many more soldiers need to die?," which were asked in YouTube debates, really don't allow for the candidates to skirt around issues and give smiles and nods to avoid answering these hard-hitting questions.

With the spontaneity in the American presidential debates broadcast live on YouTube, others are taking notice and are jumping on the bandwagon to ride the wave that is young voters.

International candidates are now embracing younger generations and catering to them through this video sharing website.

As the Spanish primaries are rapidly approaching, YouTube is flooded with traffic from Spain. Many people want to get "on air," so to speak, to question the candidates on a plethora of topics, ranging from taxation to gay rights.

Australians also elected their prime minister, in part, because they were given the opportunity to download campaigning footage from YouTube.

Questions that stem from people instead of a moderator are, in my view, more raw and real. They come from the citizens that the candidates so urgently pledge to serve. Therefore, this makes for a bona fide debate between the politician and the people, rather than the politician and the pre-fabricated moderated questions from the television station.

It seems like the internet, especially YouTube, pushes the limits and candidates into a more honest position where politicking won't be tolerated.

I applaud those politicians who are taking advantage of the web spotlight. I also commend those voters who are active in their futures, rather than participating in the apathetic pandemic that has riddled the younger generations for decades.

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