It all started when “Obama Girl” got more attention in the post-CNN/YouTube debate “spin room” than Joe Biden. As I stood outside the spin room, I kept asking breathless spinners who had talked to the brunette charmer, “but what could you possible ask the Obama Girl? What does she have to say about politics”? Oh well. She’s hot. Who cares. It was worse than when Sajaiya was the biggest draw at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Then, tonight at the BlogHer Conference pre-party, I spoke with Jennifer Pozner, editor of WIMN’s Voices blog . She referred me to this post she wrote:

“Even during a campaign in which a woman is, for the first time, considered the front-runner for a major party’s presidential nomination, only 12 of the 39 questions selected were asked by women, according to Macklay’s tally, men asked approx. 70% of the questions. [NOTE: I have not independently verified these tallies.]

Update/correction to Mackley’s numbers: Rachel Joy Larris, in a National Women’s Editorial Board blog post, puts the number of women’s questions at 11, not 12, as follows:

The questions women were shown asking: question #7 on race and class being a factor in the Katrina disaster, #9 on gay marriage, #13 a mother asking how many soldiers have to die in Iraq, #19 a young woman asking the candidates to name their favorite teacher, #22 a Planned Parenthood worker from Pennsylvania asking whether the candidates talk to their kids about sex, #25 about energy consumption by the U.S., #27 about whether they would work for minimum wage, #29 a quick one on paying Social Security to those earning over $97,500, #29 featuring two women and two men asking health care-related questions and, lastly, #34 a woman asking, she said, on behalf of “friends,” about whether their health care plans would include undocumented workers.”

And then I came across Jen Moseley's post on Feministing.com :

“The breathless coverage of presidential campaign “hot chick” videos continues. I really really tried to ignore the whole Obama Girl craziness, hoping it would just go away. But no, now videos of scantily clad women have somehow become emblematic of new media in this presidential election cycle. Letting anyone submit debate questions via YouTube? Oh, interesting. But damn, hot girls dancing and singing? This is groundbreaking political discourse. Oh, wait. They’re just supposed to be “funny.” Oh, I get it. Just had to take my humorless feminist hat off.

The latest in this string of videos really takes it to the next level. That’s right, folks. What you’ve all been waiting for, a cat fight. Obama Girl and Giuliani Girl get it on. And what a surprise, there’s
a pillow fight…”

WTF? I’m not saying that a woman’s presence on YouTube should consist of Celine Dion songs (sorry, Senator Clinton). But if YouTube’s continued prominence in politics continues to consist of mainly men (who aren't the majority of the electorate) submitting questions and fake-hip hopper videos with women in bikinis, this does not bode well for the future of citizen journalism.

Frankly, I didn't notice the lack of women's questions during the CNN/YouTube debate, but the numbers are stark. And if I have to watch another slutty YouTube political video, I'm going to be sick.