October 29, 2007
Mitt Romney Lightens Up Slightly
The eight major Republican presidential candidates have signed on to the CNN/YouTube debate on Nov. 28. We're not going to use the F-word, but this news apparently means Mitt Romney has changed his mind about participating in the forum.
In July, Romney sniffed that "the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman." Both he and Rudy Giuliani pooh-poohed the debate, originally scheduled for Sept. 17, to the consternation of Republican primary voters and, well, us.
The question isn't what's changed since then, but what hasn't changed. With no clear front-runner and about two months left before Iowa, Romney and Giuliani still need to state their cases before as many primary voters as possible. Plus, the location in Florida means a swell opportunity to stick it to the Democrats, most of whom are abiding by a pledge not to campaign there because of the state's early primary jockeying.
You can submit questions for the candidates to CNN up until Nov. 25. We're hearing from a CNN producer that a disproportionately low number of blacks and other minorities are submitting questions. Of course, most of the GOP front-runners have snubbed those voters at several niche debates. At the same time, the CNN/YouTube debate would be a pretty high-profile way to force the candidates to address their issues. (Hint, hint.)
Billiam the Snowman will undoubtedly take credit for getting Romney on board; watch his YouTube taunt here. The Democrats' shot at the format in July had its nonsensical moments, but overall we thought it lively as well as informative.
Posted at 11:33 AM
Posted to:
Campaigns, Democrats, Mitt Romney, Republicans, Rudy Giuliani, WH 2008
Share via
