McCain-Obama presidential debate group roars into the 1990s

Now that it's beginning to look like this Internet thing is going to be around for a while, the Commission on Presidential Debates has decided to try out one of these newfangled online thingies called MySpace.

The commission was formed in 1987 to organize the candidates' verbal faceoffs every four years. The commission is composed of such political relics as former Sen. Alan Simpson and Newton Minow, who worked for the last sitting senator to win the presidency, John F. Kennedy, back about the time this Obama fellow was being born.

Never exactly cutting edge, the commission announced Wednesday a partnership with MySpace. How it works is MySpace will do something called live-streaming of the debates, starting Sept. 26.

It's really amazing. You can actually watch the debates on a computer screen at the very same time as millions of other people are watching on the four broadcast television networks. No, really.

"We get blamed by people for being Neanderthals," said Janet Brown, the commission's executive director. "But just because something is new doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to include it in the debates."

Which is probably why the commission does not yet have any of those video kind of screen jobs of historic debate moments that you can watch on its website. That'll likely take another 21 years to evaluate.

But they do use microphones now.

Our LATimes.com blogging buddy Jim Puzzanghera has the incredible full story over here on the Technology blog. Will somebody please show the commission members how to click on the link and go there?

--Andrew Malcolm

Photo credit: Ted S. Warren / Associated Press

Comments

[Paul]

Maybe McCain will show up to the Debates Liquared up. Start Challenging Obama to a fist fight. He would have a better chance at winning the debate with a fist fight then with words. LOL , I read about a DUI he had gotten a few years ago and it seems that has gotten swept under the rug some how too. I think the story was at http://www.mccanes.com or http://duihelpguide.com It was at one of those sites. Im going to stay home this