Ground Game

Last night’s CNN/YouTube Republican presidential forum was more than just another debate. It’s also illustrative of the sometimes-painful technological learning curve many of the candidates are going through.

After July’s Democratic CNN/YouTube debate included questions from a talking snowman and a man holding a semiautomatic firearm, the majority of the Republican field balked at participating in a similar format, with Mitt Romney going so far as to say, “the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman.”

Romney’s apparent aversion to pixelated questions raised a few eyebrows, including those at You Tube. “The very first Romney [YouTube] videos were pushback against allegations of flip-flopping,” said YouTube’s Steve Grove, noting that Romney’s campaign had posted more videos to the site than any other candidate (He currently has more than 400 videos posted, using what You Tube calls a “flood the zone" strategy).

In fact, critics are enjoying an “I told you so” moment this morning, after CNN’s Anderson Cooper disclosed last night that one of the debate’s more interesting exchanges, about the role of gays in the military, was asked by a volunteer to Hillary’s Clinton’s campaign who did not disclose his affiliation.

Nonetheless, blaming Hillary Clinton doesn’t negate the fact that several of last night’s questions threw the candidates off-guard: Rudy Giuliani jumbled a question about gun rights, Mitt Romney stumbled on the torture question and several candidates, including Mike Huckabee, struggled with pointed questions on immigration.

The real question facing Republicans today is not whether they should make use of emerging technology, but how the medium can be used to improve their communication skills.There’s a tendency in the media to overemphasize the real-world impact of online activism, but the danger to those who ignore the grassroots power of the internet is very real.