Not to be outdone by the CNN/YouTube debates, the Albuquerque Journal will host an online debate with candidates for an open city council seat.  Using Forum One’s Live! Interviews Online hosted service as the debate platform, candidates will take questions from the public as well as from Journal reporter and moderator Dan McKay.  The "Race for City Hall" debate on September 12 will include all four candidates for Albuquerque’s District 6 and is the Journal’s "first online chat with candidates for City Council." 

Call them what you will – online debate, live chat, discussion, or interview – facilitated events like this one encourage participation in politics, give candidates a chance to interact with voters, and draw attention to the event’s sponsor. And, one advantage over the YouTube approach, is that you don’t have to wear makeup or create flash cards to ask a question!