Democrats face off in YouTube debate

'Progressive'
On another foreign policy topic, Biden said he would send 2,500 U.S. troops to Darfur to try to end the civil war there. It took three tries to get Clinton to answer the same questions. She finally said U.S. ground troops don’t belong in the fight because they are overextended in Iraq.

She also refused to call herself a liberal. “I prefer the word progressive, which has a real American meaning ...,” she said.

Clinton, Obama and Edwards lead in most polls of the Democratic field.

The opening question challenged Democrats to do better than the failed leadership in Congress and the White House. “How are you going to be any different?” the voter asked.

Obama, a freshmen lawmaker trying to appeal to the public’s thirst for change, replied, “One of the things I bring is a perspective ... that says Washington has to change.”

Clinton claimed she has a 35-year-record as an agent of change. “The issue is which of us is to lead on Day One.”

A turning point
The Democratic gathering marked a turning point in political communications. CNN, a landmark all-news cable network when founded 27 years ago, is now part of a media establishment coming to terms with upstarts like the 2½-year-old online video community.

The debate aside, YouTube has already left its mark on politics. Republican George Allen lost his Senate seat and a likely spot in the 2008 presidential race after a YouTube video caught him referring to a man of South Asian decent as “macaca” — an ethnic slur in some countries.

In the presidential campaign, buzz-worthy video clips have included Bill and Hillary Clinton’s spoof of “The Sopranos” finale, Edwards’ combing his hair to the tune “I Feel Pretty,” and a buxom model professing her crush on Obama.

Presidential clips
In the spirit of the era, each candidate was asked to produce his or her own video.

Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images Sen. Hillary Clinton, right, ended her video-ad with the kicker, "Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman." Sen. John Edwards video poked fun at the attention paid to his pricey haircuts.

Edwards’ video poked fun at the attention paid to his pricey haircuts at the expense of more serious issues. Set to the theme from the 1968 musical “Hair,” the video opens with several close-up of hairdos, giving way to less frivolous images including several from Iraq. It ends with a white-on-black slide: “What really matters? You Choose”

Clinton’s video-ad ended with the kicker, “Sometimes the best man for a job is a woman.”

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