The GOP looked like a bunch of idiots anyway for not wanting to appear at the upcoming CNN/YouTube Republican debate. No one gave a credible answer as to why and after the Dems appeared and answered the queries, how could the Republicans not?

According to the Washington Times, several are already in:

Initially, only two of the 10 declared Republican candidates agreed to participate: Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

The number is now at four and, the sources said, the full field could be announced as early as this week. The debate now likely will take place in November or December.

"The Democratic CNN/YouTube debate was a success, and we have equally high expectations for the Republican CNN/YouTube debate," added a YouTube spokesman. "We remain confident that all of the Republican campaigns will participate."

Kudos to those who were in from the beginning, but it wouldn't be much of a debate with John McCain, whose campaign died when he posed with Teddy Kennedy pushing the amnesty bill and Ron Paul who has zero shot and is polling at <1% and is predicted to finish with zero votes in the Iowa Straw Poll (second item)..

Okay, it's official, I'm not voting for Hillary Clinton come the Democratic primary. Maybe this was the case all along, but now the deal is sealed. The reason? Her supporters have decided to use Celine Dion's "You and I" as their official theme song.

Talk about pandering and playing it safe. Why not just go with some muzak? This is an affront to all people with even remotely sophisticated musical tastes. And Celine is French-Canadian, too. Good lord, this shows a serious lack of judgment. I can only hope that the website has merely been hacked, and that it's all a crazy mix-up. Celine Dion might be an automatic disqualifier for the general election, too, but we've yet to hear which Charlie Daniels or Kenny Rogers track Fred Thompson will select as his inspirational background music.

And yes, this 'Sopranos' parody starring Bill and Hill that doesn't quite reveal the song choice was, I admit, pretty funny:

UPDATE: It turns out that the Celine song was originally written for an Air Canada television commercial. Seriously. So vote for Hillary and fly Air Canada!

The Internet works in mysterious ways. I was looking at Andrew Sullivan's site this morning and came across this funny fake-ad/music video. Though fans of Barack Obama's, the video's makers -- a Temple University undergrad, a 32-year old ad executive, and an aspiring actress -- are not affiliated with Barack's campaign, and just did it for humorous effect. Have a gander:

No comment from Obama's camp. The video's producer, Ben Relles, said he's had no contact with the Obama campaign, but adds, "We hope it helps him, though." To my mind, this is the funniest political spoof in ages. Best passage of the song:

"you're into border security/let's break this border between you and me/ universal health care reform/it makes me warm."

The Web is increasingly populated by these kinds of viral videos, and the thing about viruses is that you never know how they'll mutate. Weigh in. Does this parody help or hurt Mr. Obama?

Seemingly from out of nowhere, Texas Republican Ron Paul has made a huge splash in both Republican debates. The former Libertarian Party candidate for president is a hit on YouTube. He has consistently provided some of the most entertaining sound-bites of the race thus far. Last night's performance was no exception. Here's a montage.

There's a little something in there to piss everybody off. Abolish the Department of Energy, the Department of Education (he wasn't alone in this suggestion), and the Department of Homeland Security? That's some pretty strong stuff. Right wing pundits have had enough of the side-show, however, and are massing to denounce Paul as way out of step with the party. But just why has the candidate with the coolest name (even better than Rudy McRomney) gained so much political traction? Simple, he was never for the Iraq war, and wants to put an end to it immediately. Now there's a popular message.

Democrat Dennis Kucinich of Ohio is making another run at the White House, once again focusing on the issue of Iraq. We've invited all of the candidates to deliver a tailored video appeal to all of you, our AOL users, and he is the first to do so. So, take a watch:

Almost all of the candidates are uploading video of their speeches, issue positions and campaign ads to our "Watch the Candidates" feature. Check it out here.

There's no doubt about it, the way we conduct campaigns in America is now forever altered. The decentralized Internet continues to rise as a means for news distribution while print media and television news continue to decline. Political content, in the form of blog posts, low-production news shows, cell phone video clips, and candidate web offerings, has exploded over the past six years. YouTube can take the credit for sinking George Allen's senate re-election bid in '06. QubeTV will try to do the same to Democratic candidates in '08. To be sure, there's something thrilling about stumbling onto a raw piece of footage, an outrageous gaffe, or some new bit of information that has yet to make a splash in the traditional media. There's a do-it-yourself spirit to web grazing that can make you feel like something of a detective.

But as the saying goes, everything old is new again. Witness the trend of YouTube news shows and MySpace sitcoms. These low-production value offerings are cropping up all over the place, returning us to the way news and information used to edited and packaged for our consumption, only with worse lighting. Take the following clip, for example. A top-ten round up of weekly political intrigue. Rest assured, our politicians have gotten the memo.

See the photo above on the far right? That's the face of a man who knows what's coming next. A group of Sengalese dancers had just pulled him on stage in the White House's Rose Garden to boogie down with them. And if he does join in, the resulting video will inevitably, and all-but instantaneously, zoom across the Internet and replay in an endless loop on the cable news channels.

Nevertheless, President George W. Bush gamely forged ahead, shaking and swaying to the beat with the West African Dance Company -- and busting out a few original moves of his own. But I can't do the performance justice. So take a look for yourself:

Savor the rare moment. Lately the president has reserved all public displays of dancing to his underlings (watch "MC Rove") or to his overseas destinations (watch him dancing in Tiblisi and Brazil). And it's been a while since he tried to "shake your bon bon" stateside with Ricky Martin back in 2001.

Today's event aimed to raise awareness of Africa's malaria epidemic. It's safe to say that Mr. Bush certainly drew plenty of attention to the event. Bravo for 'Happy Feet'!

More Coverage of Viral Videos on 'The Stump':
· Big Bipartisan Coalition Wants Access to Debate Video
· McCain Is a Beach Boys Fan!
· How to Say 'Oops' in Spanish

A number of leading lights of the tech world, joined by prominent righty and lefty bloggers and online orgs, are calling for the RNC and DNC to make the primary debates for President YouTube friendly. (Full disclosure, I suppose: I'm a signer of the letter to the DNC; didn't think the RNC really cared about my opinion). This really shouldn't be a tough question. The entire purpose of these debates is to inform the public. YouTube and other viral video outlets are now one of the most critical ways that some segments of the public get informed. In fact, I'd be real shocked if we didn't see a few YouTube clips of these debates linked on this very blog.

Here's the brilliance of this campaign. As long as the RNC and DNC do the right thing, they actually help their own activists avoid costly legal fights -- while increasing public interest in their own parties. It's actually a huge win-win. That's why, for the first time since defeating the Taliban and fighting al-Qaida, you'll see me in intellectual agreement with Glenn Reynolds (that's probably still an exaggeration, although only a slight one).

One last point -- it is extremely noteworthy how broad and deep the support for this is on the left, from young people's organizations like Young Voters PAC and CampusProgress to labor outfits like the AFL-CIO and SEIU to civil rights organizations like the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the National Organization for Women to multi-issue progressive groups like MoveOn and Center for America's Future to national and local bloggers from across the country. Even non-techy groups on the left understand the power of viral video to inform -- a sign that the progressive movement just gets the new tools a lot better than the right. That also puts a grin on my face.

John McCain's stand-up comedy routine rolls on through the heartland of America, where his potential supporters want to know, when are we going to get on with bombing the hell out of Iran, already? McCain doesn't miss a beat with queries like this, as is evidenced below.

I wonder what Brian Wilson thinks?

Previously on 'The Stump':
· McCain Supporters Stick
· McCain Bets on Iraq

Okay, this video is funny on so many levels that I don't know where to begin. Why on earth did Newt make it? Because he said something about Spanish being a "ghetto language." Well, as you can see from the clip below, Gingrich is getting pretty good at expressing himself in ghetto speak, though he seems to lapse into French here and there. English? Well, not so much. What's most incredible about this clip is that Gingrich made it himself in an attempt to stamp out the controversy over his remarks. I wasn't attacking your language the way it sounded like I was attacking it. Good luck with that Newt!

Just four months have passed since the Democrats took over Congress, and already we've witnessed a slew of oversight hearings on issues ranging from global warming, to the CIA leak investigation, to the Justice Department's persecutor purge. What is startling, unnerving even, about these proceedings is the realization of just how reluctant the Republican Congress was in the previous six years to fulfill its role in our system of checks and balances. Now, however, we are seeing the onion-like layers of the Bush administration's workings peeled back one by one. We are learning of an FBI that has abused the Patriot Act, a DOJ that has set out to tilt the political playing field in favor of Republicans, and a White House that has routinely suppressed scientific findings on climate change.

Well, the hits keep on coming. One of yesterday's most popular "politics and news" YouTube videos? It concerns another oversight committee, this one in the House of Representatives. Witness the day's squirming witness, General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan, as she tries to explain away the fact that her office illegally schemed how to use federal dollars and resources to insure that more Republicans get elected in 2008.

President Bush has pulled the plug on his nominee for the post of Ambassador to Belgium. You may remember the contentious confirmation hearing, in which Senator John Kerry had the chance to confront the president's man, Sam Fox. Fox, it turned out, had donated $50,000 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth back in 2004, and Kerry had a field day with him.



There was no way Fox was going to get the job. In the words of Chris Dodd:

"U.S. Ambassadors need to be both responsible and credible, and Mr. Fox's support for an organization known to have spread falsehoods illustrates neither."

Gone are the days of the rubber-stamp Congress. Good riddance.

If you haven't seen the latest political satire on the Internet, here it is.

There is no need for me to tell you we should never have invaded Iraq. I have already told you that in other blogs. I could say that we have weakened the countries surrounding Iraq but I have already said that. I could present arguments that a withdrawal will not increase oil prices as other bloggers have threatened. In fact, gas prices have increased from about $1.38 to $2.59 since George Bush took over. So, instead of me writing, watch the video.

The most popular video on the internet has been the depiction of Hillary Clinton starring in an adaptation of the movie 1984. The maker of that movie, Phillip de Vellis, was identified today. Apparently, it was Adrianna Huffington who called Phillip de Vellis and got him to admit to being the creator of the film. Until today, he was an employee of Blue State Digital Corporation.

Blue State has done work for the Barack Obama campaign.

A Blue State Digital Statement from Thomas Gensemer, Managing Director, Blue State Digital

"Blue State Digital is under contract with the Obama Campaign for technology pursuits including software development and hosting."

Politics is a tough business. This guys creates a video that people loved to watch. It's too bad that he has to get fired. I want to see Obama or Clinton stand up for this guy and tell Blue Star to give him his job back. His crime was creating a great video.

It's a simple ad. Using the classic "1984" Apple commercial, the still-anonymous creator subs Hillary Clinton into the "big brother" role, editing in footage from her announcement speech on the looming video monitor. But this little 70-second spot, uploaded to YouTube, is making big waves. It's been watched over 1 million times (as of this writing) and was picked up first on the blogs, and now in all the mainstream press.

Clinton laughed off the ad saying, "I'm just happy if it's taking attention away from my singing. My singing was bad enough." She's referring to another infamous viral video of her rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. If you haven't seen it, don't miss that gem. (Thank God a mic will never catch me singing.)

Though this clip is "credited" to BarackObama.com, the official Obama campaign denies any involvement. Even so, grassroots Hillary supporters have come up with their own counter attack, using Obama's "Monday Night Football" announcement spoof. Here it is: