Responding to one of the YouTube questions, Barack Obama announced he would meet with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea without precondition in his first year of his presidency, sending oppressed people in those countries and around the world a clear message: The U.S, under a President Obama will not be worrying about them.

Senator Clinton had the common sense to say no, she wouldn't make such a commitment. She's got a lot of problems as a candidate, but always pandering to the "give peace a chance" crowd isn't one of them.

Five out of six of the questions have been idiotic, while a few have been quite good. The most disingenuous moment was when Anderson Cooper protested that the "are you authentically black" question to Senator Obama wasn't his. Yes, indeed, it was Cooper's question, because CNN's staff, with Cooper's participation, selected these questions. All of these questions are CNN's, and it is silly to protest otherwise. If any of them are inappropriate or silly, that reflects on CNN's judgment.

UPDATE: Byron York heard what I heard: an inexperienced, over-his-head rookie making a stunningly dumb commitment to meet with the world's worst thugs and dictators. So did Victor Davis Hanson (the trasncript of his reaction will be here later.) It should be a campaign-ender, but the MSM will cover for him. It makes President Ford's Poland answer look statesmanlike.

I wonder if Mugabe and Nasrallah are wondering "What about me?"