The Versatile Youtube

While my blog might give you the idea that Youtube is only useful for entertainment and laughs, that would be a terrible misconception. It can also serve as a valuable source for catching up on news and other important information. You can find anything from highlights from the UConn game this past weekend to CNN reports on the current financial crisis . As a matter of fact, I recently started watching the first presidential debate since I missed it when it aired a little over a week ago. Friday night just isn't a good time to sit down and watch a debate, so obviously I had to prioritize. This is where Youtube comes in. I suddenly found myself freed from the rigid restrictions of cable programming to do as I pleased with my time. And now, a few hours before the second debate, I finally have some time to see the first one.

My first impression from seeing the two candidates on television facing off for the first time was that Obama seemed more confident and eloquent than McCain did. While neither candidate has scored significant points on any major issues as far as I can tell (I'm only about 15 minutes into the debate), the way that each appears on camera is still very influential to the way they are perceived by viewers. I don't think it would be entirely inappropriate to draw a parallel between these debates and the first televised debates between Kennedy and Nixon. This is because, just like in 1960, the viewers could easily have their votes swayed toward the candidate who is more attractive and appears more at ease and authoritative at the podium. While this may be a small part of the relevant information a voter should consider before voting, it should definitely not be the deciding factor.

Unfortunately, I think many voters will not stop to consider other, more important aspects. For example, I doubt many people have taken the time to get on each candidate's website to read about their views on some of the more important issues. While it's true that a debate should reveal each candidate's stance on issues that are discussed, it might not always happen. I know I haven't gotten too far into the video yet, but the moderator, Jim Lehrer, has not succeeded in getting Obama and McCain to actually get into an argument so far. He actually stopped Obama in mid-sentence and told him to speak to McCain rather than the audience. For the first fifteen minutes, at least, the two candidates didn't do much debating, but mainly just agreed with one another.

In this sort of debate, which is nothing like the picture at right, voters are likely to focus mainly on appearances rather than the issues. I think this would be a big mistake. Who you choose for president is a very important decision, and not one you should make without first learning where each candidate stands on the economy, health care, national defense, etc. Once elected, our new president will have to do much more than look good in front of the camera. He will have to lead the effort to fix our economy, find a way to remedy the situation in Iraq, and undertake many other projects to correct the various maladies that our country is faced with. I won't tell you who is right for the job until I have done a bit more research on each candidate's website, however. All I want is for others to do the same.