Worldandnation: Giuliani may skip St. Pete debate

Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani may have better things to do than answer YouTube users' questions at the GOP debate in St. Petersburg.

The news broke late Thursday that the former New York City mayor has scheduling issues with the Sept. 17 date, jeopardizing the showdown at the Mahaffey Theater.

"I think the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman," Romney told the Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader this week.

The announcement comes just a week after the debate's location was announced, and just days after Democratic presidential candidates fielded questions from citizens who made YouTube videos, including one of a snowman worried about global warming.

Elected officials touted the choice of St. Petersburg as a sign of Florida's increasing clout in the 2008 presidential contest, especially since the Legislature moved the primary to Jan. 29.

Giuliani campaign officials could not be reached late Thursday to elaborate on the specific scheduling conflicts.

Erin VanSickle, state GOP spokeswoman, said news of Giuliani's scheduling issues shouldn't become a problem.

"We look forward to working with all of the Republican presidential campaigns to make sure that this debate is as successful, compelling, and informative for Florida voters as possible," VanSickle wrote in an e-mail. "The innovative format is empowering and it offers viewers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to have their question answered by the next president of the United States."

Gov. Charlie Crist and Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer announced the debate a week ago.

"This is a testament to the leadership of the Florida Legislature, which wisely made Florida a more important player in the presidential nominating process by moving Florida's primary date forward, " Crist said at the time.

Co-hosted by CNN and YouTube and moderated by anchor Anderson Cooper, the debate will be the first time St. Petersburg has hosted a faceoff of this magnitude since the vice presidential debate between Al Gore and Jack Kemp at the Mahaffey in 1996.

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by Jon	09/01/07 09:48 AM
Mitt, the questions come from voters, not snowmen. If you want to be president, you're going to have to field a few of these... Didn't your handlers explain these things to you?

by ben	08/01/07 05:29 AM
Answer the voting public. They sure do seem to cling to their tall horses when things get heavy. If they don't show, then anyone who votes for them are "unpatriotic" in my opinion.

by Hope	07/28/07 06:51 PM
Looks like Giuliani and Romney are too scared to participate in YouTube debate. Ron Paul is so dominant on YouTube that Giuliani and Romney are scared of the home court advantage Ron Paul would have. Glad to see McCain has some courage.

by Mike	07/28/07 09:48 AM
As I do agree the you tube thing was lame, I also think a debate where the candiate knows the questions before hand is a joke. Lets face a fact, whether you vote rep- or dem- they are all a bunch of liers.

by Barry	07/28/07 12:10 AM
Face it - if they weren't afraid, they would show. They don't want to face real consituents, on national TV, because they can't rely on managing their message if they do that, and may be found out...

by Mike V	07/27/07 04:04 PM
It is a crying shame that something as important as a candidate debate has to be dumbed-down to this level.

by Eric	07/27/07 02:55 PM
@Bubba Repub , LOL HONEST and Hillary in the same sentence.. GOOD JOKE BUDDY. If any of the democrats win the election we are gonna be in a world of hurt. Hillary the socialist, Obama the muslim... Yeah 2 great traits to be president.

by Chris	07/27/07 12:46 PM
I think all the candidates should bolt if it is going to be the YouTube format; it was lame!

by Mike	07/27/07 12:46 PM
I really can't blame him. We have presidental candidates being questioned by cartoons on "You Tube" and sketch comics. Why don't we call Kermit the Frog to host the next debate?

by Bubba Repub	07/27/07 12:27 PM
Running scared... Lets be honest, Republicans have no shot next year, they are behind in campaign financing and support... I say forget the debate; they all should just drop out and we can have an honest election between Barack and Hillary...

by Tim	07/27/07 12:07 PM
LOL A generation gap? If they made it into a true debate with live internet questions (not via YouTube video cherry-picked by the networks) that applied to ALL the candidates, then it would matter. Did you even hear some of the questions? Ridiculous!

by JT	07/27/07 11:25 AM
Scrap the YouTube crap. It is not about generations anything. The Constitution and Freedom are timeless. What it is about is a bunch of silly socialist oriented "takers" pushing their particular feel good cause. Push on your time with your checkbook!

by WarFighter	07/27/07 10:33 AM
"Bush war?" People join the military for the pay and benefits. Signing bonus, good pay, housing, food and then retire at 40, $76,000 in GI benefits, health care for life, preference in jobs, etc, etc. And - no draft.

by Eric	07/27/07 10:26 AM
If the questions weren't so dumb, then it might be a good opportunity. But the whole thing was pretty lame. Be a good move to not even show up. Republicans are the reason America has not yet gone down the toilet. Get rid of them, good bye America.

by Snowman	07/27/07 10:14 AM
Romney just lost my vote.

by Tommy	07/27/07 09:52 AM
Giuliani believes he is above answering questions from the common man; hethinks he is ahead and tough questions can only hurt him.

by Holly	07/27/07 09:28 AM
It's "You Tube" garbage; as I watched the Dem debate. It was organized chaos.

by Pete	07/27/07 09:23 AM
Sounds like a major generation gap. Many of those questions were posed by young Americans. You know, the ones dying in the Bush war. Bring on the other guys.

by Rob	07/27/07 09:21 AM
Good move. We don't need any more 'Bart Simpson' politics, pandering to the lowest common denominator. Good for Rudy and Mitt.

by Paul	07/27/07 09:13 AM
Actaully thats good that Giuliani may skip our town. We have enough damm yankees here and New Yorkers can stay the you know what, out. They just stink up the place and complain about how much better it is in NY anyhow.

by SD	07/27/07 07:55 AM
Very savvy move by Mr Romney by suggesting that its not Presidential to answer stupid questions from a snowman. This IMO makes democrats look like children. And to American who is confused: No Republicans means socialism - hope you enjoy that...

by American Who Cares	07/27/07 06:04 AM
Great News, Floridians do not want any more Republicians in Florida. After 2008 they will be an endangered species.

by roy	07/27/07 02:44 AM
I agree with Romney, a lot of the youtube questions for the dems were just downright silly. "Would you work for minimum wage"? or "Should we get reparations?" I had high hopes for the youtube stuff, too bad it didn't pan out.

Politics

Giuliani may skip St. Pete debate

His schedule may keep him from the CNN/YouTube event on Sept. 17.