Most GOP candidates to debate on YouTube

It looks as if the Republican presidential candidates, at least most of them, will be participating in a YouTube debate after all. The forum is now set for Nov. 28, the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.

The campaigns of Rudolph W. Giuliani and Sen. John McCain have signed on, according to CNN, which will broadcast the event. CNN said it had not heard from Mitt Romney, who has been critical of the format, in which the general public poses questions via video sent to YouTube. Romney's spokesman could not be reached Sunday night.

The Republicans were supposed to hold their YouTube debate Sept. 17. But after a similarly styled Democratic debate in July, Romney called the format demeaning, in part because one of the questions to Democrats came from an animated snowman. In addition, he and Giuliani said they had scheduling conflicts because the date came near the end of the third quarter, when they would be focused on raising money.

That led to considerable discussion on the Internet about whether Republicans were comfortable in such an unpredictable format.

The debate will be in St. Petersburg, Fla., as originally planned.