Dems Prep For YouTube Debate

Viral video site goes from embarrassing candidates to sponsoring debates

(NEWSER) - YouTube, the viral-video nemesis of many a gaffe-prone political candidate, will co-sponsor a Democratic presidential debate July 23rd in Charleston, South Carolina. CNN is the television partner for the debate, which will be the first of six, the DNC announced yesterday. More»

First 2012 debate for Romney, Bachmann, Gingrich

(NEWSER) - Seven top Republican presidential hopefuls will gather this month for the first New Hampshire 2012 debate. Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum will meet at Saint Anselm College for the face-off, hosted by CNN ’s John King. It's the first debate of the election for Bachmann, Gingrich, and Romney, and it will be held June 13, some eight months before the state’s primary. More»

Blue language in linked video derails Pawlenty criticism

(NEWSER) - Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is frantically apologizing after sending out a mass email that linked to a profane YouTube video, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The email, which blasted Gov. Tim Pawlenty over his economic record, was supposed to include a link to a development report. Instead, it linked to a video entitled “Chinese Grandma Learns English”—in which an elderly Chinese woman unwittingly repeats English-language obscenities. More»

(NEWSER) - A graphic video that apparently captured the death of a young Iranian woman known only as “Neda” has become an online phenomenon, CNN reports. Neda was protesting in Tehran with her father against alleged electoral fraud when the pro-government militia Basiji shot her in the heart, a blogger writes. The video shows a young woman on the street, covered in blood and surrounded by distraught protesters. More»

Tells Rush to shut up or put up after he slams colleague on stimulus

(NEWSER) - CNN anchor Campbell Brown yesterday challenged Rush Limbaugh after he slammed her colleague’s economic analysis, the Huffington Post reports. After Limbaugh called business correspondent Ali Velshi “incompetent” on his radio program, Brown stepped in: “Rush, I would love for you to come on this show and debate Ali on the issues,” she said. “What we don’t need is nasty rhetoric and useless noise.” More»