Democratic
hopefuls prepare for YouTube debate

Campaigning by Democratic candidates was limited to brief photo opportunities Monday as their focus shifted to preparing for the first presidential debate in which the questions are posed by members of public via Internet videos.

The two-hour debate, which was set to begin at 7 p.m. EDT, is sponsored by YouTube, Google, and CNN and is the first presidential debate of the 2008 race sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee. CNN editors will select questions from personal videos delivered to YouTube, where some of the submitted videos were already posted.

''What will you do to end the spread of check centers and stop predatory lending in low-income neighborhoods?'' asks one man standing in front of a check-cashing center in Oakland, Calif. He explains that he's concerned that ''mainstream'' banks are leaving inner city neighborhoods, forcing residents to rely on more expensive alternatives.

The debate will be held at the Citadel, a military college in Charleston, S.C.

''We're making history with this debate,'' the Citadel's president, Lt. Gen. John Rosa, says in his own video posted on the school's Web site. ''For the first time you'll be able to submit questions through YouTube directly to the candidates. Technology is changing the way we do business in our lives every day, and it's certainly going to change the way we elect public officials.''

A Republican debate is scheduled for September 17, but Republican National Committee Mike Duncan tried to get in a verbal shot early, submitting a question suggesting the top Democratic contenders--senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama--have shifted their positions on withdrawing from Iraq. (AP)