CNN and YouTube got generally good reviews for the Democratic debate they staged Monday in South Carolina, but Republican presidential candidates aren't sold. In fact, so far only two Republicans, Arizona Sen. John McCain and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, have said they will participate in the debate featuring video questions submitted to YouTube, the video-sharing website. "No GOP YouTube Debate?" asks NBC's First Read.
The Republican debate is scheduled for Sept. 17 in Florida. That's two weeks before the close of the third-quarter fundraising period. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani won't be there, the New York Daily News reports, due to scheduling conflicts. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney hasn't decided whether he's going to go, either.
The main sticking point, aside from logistics, seems to be that video of a nervous snowman asking if his "son" -- a smaller snowman -- would fall victim to global warming. "To have a question from a snowman is not frankly appropriate for a presidential debate," McCain told reporters in Boston.
Romney was also disturbed. "I think the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman," he told the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Romney knows he doesn't like the snowman, but he is apparently unclear on the difference between YouTube and Facebook. "YouTube is a website that allows kids to network with one another and make friends and contact each other," Romney "explained" yesterday in Iowa, according to The Swamp at The Chicago Tribune. Check out the rest of his comments here.