Yahoo, Slate join Huffington U.S. presidential debate

Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:49pm EDT

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Huffington Post political blog has signed on Web media company Yahoo Inc. and online news site Slate to help host two debates among U.S. presidential hopefuls ahead of the 2008 election.

Arianna Huffington, a commentator who once ran for governor of California, told Reuters in January she was inviting candidates to hold the first online debate, a new benchmark for the Internet's political influence.

"This presidential campaign is going to happen on the Internet more than any other," Huffington said in an interview on Monday. "We have so many candidates announcing on the Internet, we have ads on the Internet that have more power and reach."

Democratic candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama used their Web sites to launch their presidential campaigns early this year.

YouTube, Google Inc.'s video-sharing site, has signed up both senators, as well as rivals such as Republicans Mitt Romney and John McCain, to launch their own Web channels.

The Huffington Post said on Monday Yahoo and the Washington Post Co.'s Slate would help it host two online-only debates, one for Democratic candidates and a second for Republicans, to take place after the U.S. Labor Day holiday in early September.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean will give opening remarks for his party's debate. The Huffington Post did not give details on which candidates agreed to participate.

Candidates will be able to appear online from any location, and will be streamed on the Yahoo Web network and the Huffington Post and Slate sites. PBS public television host Charlie Rose will moderate, selecting questions posed by an Internet audience.

The contenders "all have a different appreciation for the Web than they even did in 2004," said Cyrus Krohn, director of Yahoo's election strategy.

"In the past, candidates or consultants were just trying to hold off on the Internet as long as possible," he said. "This is a medium that can't be ignored any longer."