Dennis Kucinich has his wife in more and more of his videos and in this one, she just stands behind him, staring at us, hypnotizing us, like the angel on his shoulder. It’s wonderfully bizarre.

In the video, Kucinich launches his own kind of YouTube Spotlight, asking us to share our stories of courage and love and peace and flowers — no, I added the flowers — to reconnect with what’s right about America. One is tempted to look at a Kucinich production as goofy, but this one is not as wacky as it sounds: Being positive about America at a time when candidates are shouting about what’s wrong with it and how we have to have hope that they can change it is not a bad corner to claim.

Pollster reports that Janet Harris took the candidates’ words in the debate and put them through a tag cloud. Edwards’ cottony verbiage:

The rest here. (Via Techpresident)

If MSNBC had any sense, which it doesn’t, it would have taken every one-minute answer from last night’s ping-pong debate and put them up on YouTube themselves. Then, today, we’d be able to watch each one without feeling as if we were trying to count cars on a speeding train. And, more important, we’d be able to comment on them and embed them in our blogs. We’d see which clips are the most popular, the most talked about. We’d get a new sense of what the electorate thinks, which itself would be news. If NBC also made the video files available for download and remixing, we’d see the post-debate commentary not from the same old made-up faces on the networks but from the people who matter, the voters: us. MSNBC would be part of the conversation, in the thick of it, which is exactly where it should want to be. Instead, the network is acting like the bratty and unpopular rich kid who takes him marbles and harumphs home, ruining the game for everyone.

But it’s happening without MSNBC, of course. There are already loads of clips up on YouTube, put there by dastardly copyright thieves, in NBC News’ view, or by engaged voters and viewers, in my view. And as much as I’m busting them for not doing the internet right, I have to believe that even MSNBC won’t have the bad sense to try to pull those clips and send cease-and-desists to the citizens who are sharing moments from our own democratic debate. (Quick, somebody put a leash on that lawyer!)

The net result, though, is that the discussion is happening on YouTube and on blogs but not around MSNBC, thanks to the network’s rules and to the fact that its clips are not linkable or embeddable and are chosen by producers instead of voters. A true case of cutting off the nose.

The side effect is that the clips are on YouTube but they are not on other networks‘ news sites. So you could have them promoting MSNBC today along with the viewers but because MSNBC insisted on NO internet usage whatsoever, they’ve given up millions of dollars worth of free promotion and branding. Foolish.

It’s not too late to fix this, though. NBC could put the clips up on YouTube right now (later, they could do this on their new embeddable service). And they could announce right now that they will follow Larry Lessig’s advice and release the next, Republican debate under an open Creative Commons license requiring attribution and links back to the networks’ site. They could say they’re doing this in the interests of stimulating the democratic discussion. But the truth is, it’d just be smart business. If they did that, I have no doubt that they’d get more traffic and more attention and out of that, more money. Instead, they’re only engendering the animus of the voters and viewers online.

Just to show solidarity with the YouTube gang of thieves, I’ll embed two clips here, the funniest moments of the debate (and if I get a cease and desist, I’ll put it here in place of these videos):

Here is Joe Biden’s one-word answer:

And here is Mike Gravel’s insane sputtering:

The Democratic debate on MSNBC is like a game of Pong: 60 seconds “answers,” bang, bang, bang. I’m a fast talker and this is exhausting me. I tried to watch the thing on MSNBC.com but instead got stories about Hugh Grant throwing baked beans and an two Indian chickens with seven feet plus about six commercials. They have links to the debate online, but no debate. Apparently, NBC doesn’t think the internet and its millions matter.

: I got email from an NBCU vice-president, who refused to go on the record, I don’t know why. So I can’t tell you what he said. But I’ll tell you what I said back:

Well, why don’t you break that chain?
I am trying very hard to watch it online now and I’ll be damned if I can find the way. You want to send me the link?
And this is not just about watching. It is about remixing, commenting. What makes NBC think it can own this debate? That is offensive hubris. It is downright undemocratic, unAmerican. You want to mean what you say? Then open up the debates for us all to use. Now.
If it’s so “regrettable,” then change it. You can. Do it. Get on the phone with Capus and I’ll announce it and praise you for the move.
My comments are on the record.

It’s painfully clear that NBC doesn’t understand the internet and its role in in.

: I see in the comments that some can watch the debate on the internet. I have reinstalled every bit of software and can’t. They are making it damned difficult.

: The Washington Post has been liveblogging the debate at The Fix.

: AFTERWARDS: It all went by so fast, what I most want is the opportunity to watch the bits that went by in 60-second flashes with commentary from the people. That is why I want this on the internet with many perspectives.

: HERE’S what I wish NBC would have done with the debate online:

* Make every 60-second answer a separate video so we can watch and actually absorb them.

* Put everything up on YouTube so we can embed them in our blogs with our commentary.

* Enable us to download and remix the questions and answers so we can compare and contrast them.

* Create a page that has all the questions and answers organized so we can see what every candidate, Democratic and Republican, has to say.

A properly pissed off birdie forwarded me NBC News’ restrictions on tonight’s presidential debates, which are many and lead off with this: “internet use is not permitted.”

I think that’s ridiculous and so I sought to find out why they would do this. I called Joe Alicastro, producer of the debate for MSNBC, who was on site. I asked him why they were restricting use of the material on the internet. He twice didn’t answer and said “that’s our policy.” I said I know that’s their policy. I asked why. He would not answer.

I asked whether he thought the Amerian people had a right to this debate since it is our election. He said that “the American people have ample opportunity to view the debate on MCNBC and two North Carolina stations.”

Shameful. What makes NBC think it has the right to own the democratic discussion in this country?

Alicastro specifically said that we could blog the event — thank you — but could not use video. Hmmm. What do you have to say about that, bloggers? Fellow journalists?

Then Alicastro got pissed off himself and said that I had “not made an appointment for an interview” and “grabbed his cell phone number” (given to me by his colleagues at the company) and then he ended with “byeee” and hung up.

I have put in a call with Steve Capus, head of NBC News, with whom I served on a panel at the Radio Televison News Directors Association last week — where he and we discussed the wonders of the internet and remixing and discussing. I’ll ask Capus the same question: Why?

And let’s repeat Larry Lessig’s call for the parties to insist that the debates be open for use on the internet — but us, the people.

Here, for your amazement, are the myriad restrictions MSNBC put on what they think is their — but is truly our — debate:

USAGE RULES FOR USE OF AUDIO OR VIDEO OF MSNBC MATERIAL RULES FOR “THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES DEBATE” FROM MSNBC:

(The following rules apply to all media organizations that are not part of NBC)

News organizations, including radio, network television, cable television and local television may use excerpts of “The South Carolina Democratic Candidates Debate” subject to the following restrictions (internet use is not permitted):

1. An unobstructed onscreen credit “MSNBC” must appear during each debate excerpt and remain on screen for the entire excerpt.

2. Each debate excerpt must be introduced with an audio credit to MSNBC.

3. No excerpt may air in any medium until the live debate concludes at 8:30 pm ET.

4. No more than a combined total of 2 minutes of excerpts may be chosen for use during the period from the end of the live debate (8:30 pm ET) until 1:00 am ET on Friday, April 27. After 1:00 am ET, Friday, April 27, a total of 10 minutes may be selected (including any excerpts aired before 1:00AM). The selected excerpts may air as often as desired but the total of excerpts chosen may not exceed the limits outlined.

5. No excerpts may be aired after 8:30 pm on Saturday, May 26th. Excerpts may not be archived. Any further use of excerpts is by express permission of MSNBC only.

6. All debate excerpts must be taped directly from MSNBC’s cablecast or obtained directly from MSNBC and may not be obtained from other sources, such as satellite or other forms of transmission. No portions of the live event not aired by MSNBC may be used.

A feed of MSNBC’s telecast of the debate will be provided (details below), additionally limited audio/video mults will be available on site in the media center.