Presidental Debates Come Online

Yahoo, The Huffington Post and Slate announced today plans to host two Internet only presidental debates this fall.

If you’ve long been turned off to watching presidental debates on television Yahoo, The Huffington Post and Slate are all hoping that during the 2008 presidental election you’ll get turned on to two online only debates being planned. These debates are scheduled to take place after Labor Day.

The online debates, which will be hosted on all three Web sites, will occur one for each major political party. In these debates voters will get "the opportunity to ask questions directly to the candidates, participate in the debate in real-time, and even determine which candidate is giving the best performance." Invitations will be extended to candidates who have formally announced their candidacies. These online debates will allow the candidates to participate from whatever location they choose, brought together live via the Internet, and will feature real-time questions sent in by the online audience, as well as viewer questions uploaded on video.

The Democratic debate will feature opening remarks by DNC chair Howard Dean.

"With presidential candidates announcing online and with campaign ads and fundraising increasingly online, presidential campaigns are moving to the Internet at breakneck speed. Online debates are the inevitable next step,” said Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, in a statement. "We are thrilled to be joining with Internet pioneers Yahoo! and Slate to host the first online presidential debates, and to have Charlie Rose as our moderator."

“We’re opening the doors of democracy for American voters to participate in the Presidential debates like never before,” added Scott Moore, head of news and information, Yahoo!. “Armchair politics will take on new meaning this election season, as we’re offering voters the opportunity to ask the candidates what’s on their mind.”