In one of America’s most historical cities, Charleston, SC, and at the very traditional military college, the Citadel, the old media embraced the new.  Citadel cadets, representing the old guard, led each presidential contender on stage, in to a new world, where any American can ask the next leader of the free world what he or she will do to make the United States a better place. 

The questioners with the help of Anderson Cooper, the moderator, held the presidential contenders to the fire.  Despite all the skeptics, CNN embraced the new age of user generated media.    The debate was not just another cattle call, but it was a first in the sense that it was completely driven by user generated content.

In addition to the YouTube questions, CNN asked each campaign to create a thirty second YouTube type video.  These videos showed a lot about what each campaign understands about this new age in political media.  The Edwards campaign used their spot to challenge the old media via the new to focus on issues and not the frivolous. 

In the future, it is hard to imagine returning to presidential debates where the candidates give non-answers to questions chosen by the pundits and media elite.