Why the YouTube debates matter

As the republican wrapped up their debate on CNN tonight, I would like to share my thoughts about the CNN-YouTube debates and how I believe debate should be conducted in the future. The CNN-YouTube debates have shown promise of letting people outside of the Iowa's and New Hampshire''s of the election cycle voice their opinions. The are halfway between fully user generated and totally up to the user. The questions seemed to force the republican candidates to talk about something other than Hillary. These debates matter because they are a voice of the internet generation. A negative side to these debates is that we see questions asked by the opposing candidates, such as Chris Dodd, and the retired general who is on a steering committee of Hillary Clinton's. This may not be a bad thing, because it will allow campaign to directly challenge their opponents, which is better for exposing the weaknesses of all the candidates.