The Candidates Who Couldn't Face The Internets

Remember the big stink earlier this Spring about the Democratic presidential candidates refusing to appear on Fox? Big Boss Roger had this to say, from The New York Observer (06.06.07):

"And he had some choice words for Democratic candidates who have decided not to debate on Fox.

'The candidates that can’t face Fox, can’t face Al Qaeda,' said Mr. Ailes. 'And that’s what’s coming.'"

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Fast forward. Washington Post (07.27.07), via The Carpetbagger:

"Four days after the Democratic debate in Charleston, S.C., more than 400 questions directed to the GOP presidential field have been uploaded on YouTube, as Republicans are scheduled to take their turn at video-populism on Sept. 17.

But only Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) have agreed to participate in the debate, co-hosted by the Republican Party of Florida in St. Petersburg."

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"'Aside from those two candidates, we haven't heard from anyone else,' said Sam Feist of CNN, which is co-sponsoring the debate with the popular video-sharing site."

All of which leaves Josh Marshall wondering (07.26.07):

"I'm not sure whether the resistance is rooted is the profound feebleness of the current GOP field or the fact that the current Bush Republican party is so beholden to a worldview based on denial and suppression of evidence that exposure to unpredictable questions presents too great a danger.

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And that is the heart of the matter. The GOP base is too damned nutty and unpredictable to let 'em be asking too many questions.

And as Josh asks, "(I)f [the GOP presidential candidates] can't face Youtube, how can they defeat the terrorists?"