Only two Republican candidates are signed up for CNN-YouTube Debate
July 27, 2007 
The CNN-YouTube Democratic debate in South Carolina was an interesting blend of citizen-submitted questions, CNN editorial control, and all of the Democratic candidates participating.
You might assume the CNN-YouTube Republican debate in September will be similar, but that might not be the case, especially if no one shows up:
Four days after the Democratic debate in Charleston, S.C,. more than 400 questions directed to the GOP presidential field have been uploaded on YouTube — targeted at Republicans scheduled to get their turn at videopopulism on Sept. 17.
But so far, only Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) have agreed to participate in the debate, co-hosted by Republican Party of Florida in St. Petersburg.
“Aside from those two candidates, we haven’t heard from anyone else,” said Sam Feist of CNN, who’s co-sponsoring the debate with the popular videosharing site.
It seems like Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani aren’t up to the challenge of answering real questions from citizens. It will be interesting to see if Fred Thompson signs up for the debate, considering his television experience, which may help him along. That is, if he ever declares his candidacy.
Likely, we will see more candidates sign up to participate as we get closer to the debate, which, incidentally, is being held in a monster swing-state called Florida. As of now, however, the hesitancy of candidates to join in this debate now shows an overall difference between Democratic candidates and Republican candidates: their proximity to the people.
