Rudy Giuliani continues his clueless tour of the internet with his YouTube spotlight video, in which he does nothing more than say why he put out his 12 commitments: because that’s what leadership is. He doesn’t invite videos; he invites people to go to rudys12commitments.com where you can sign a pledge (what? i pledge to vote for Rudy 12 times?), give money, or send them ideas — not post them, not share them, not discuss them, but send them. This is why Giuliani is so far behind in internet donations. Big, tough Rudy is still scared of the internet.

Chris Dodd is trying to break out of the mold of YouTube’s candidate Spotlight videos. In a video to go up today, he pushes voters to take their own video cameras and approach their senators and congressmen, asking them to talk about Iraq and to give their stand on the Dodd amendment, which would require starting to pull out of Iraq in 30 days, and then putting those videos up on YouTube.

Citizen journalism meets voter activism meets YouTube.

I just spoke with Chris Dodd’s internet director, Tim Tagaris, who said, quite rightly, that the candidates’ Spotlight videos thus far have been about nothing much more than telling everybody what you think. Or there’s Clinton’s stunt (which I’ll take over the boring, safe, ultimately pandering blah-blah of the others’).

Tagaris said Dodd’s campaign wants the voters’ videos to be more popular than the candidates’. And they want to enable voters to have direct impact on legislation and policy. And, no, they don’t know whether this will work. Tagaris recognizes that going out and approaching politicians is much more difficult than sitting down in front of your web cam and blathering.

Tagaris said it was a real challenge to cram into 2:15 the candidate’s challenge, his explanation of the Dodd amendment, some swipes at how we’re seeing the campaign through YouTube thus far (Hillary, Obama Girl, Edwards’ hair), and an explanation of how to shoot and upload videos. Sound bite: “They say they talk about haircuts instead of troop cuts, sound choices instead of energy choices, Paris instead of Baghdad because they say that’s what you want to talk about.”

Dodd has been more open and expansive with his internet video strategy than most of the candidates. They’ve webcast staff meetings. They broadcast live interaction with staffers during the debates, getting 9,600 viewers during the second debate. (By contrast, 18 Doughty Street, a nighlty, 5-hour political talk network in the UK gets a max of 2,000 viewers at a time.)

Dodd himself is also more relaxed in front of the small camera. Tagaris said he’s “comfortable in his own skin.” I asked how Dodd would react when other candidates sent citizens with cameras after him. Tagaris said it happened when Citizen Kate nabbed him in a hallway. Indeed, Dodd was relaxed and charmed and charming. Edwards, by contrast, was scared to death of Kate.

Tagaris said they’re trying to put more and more video from behind the scenes of the campaign online, much of it increasingly live. “Real and fast,” those are his bywords.

I asked whether this openness to YouTube came in part because the Dodd campaign has less money than others; it’s a way to get attention for nothing. Tagaris said that Dodd’s campaign is merely “the first one to do something everyone’s going to do, no matter how much money they have.”

Responses have started coming in to Mitt Romney’s Spotlight video on YouTube — 38 as of now.

One of them is mine. (I was about to get into high dudgeon thinking I had been excluded — the candidates can choose which videos to include — but it turns out I made a mistake uploading mine. That’s why it took a day to get linked. Nevermind.) I want to know what he thinks our greatest challenge is and what he’s going to do to fix it. And I ask him which Mitt he wants us to vote for: the one we saw from 1994, thanks to YouTube, who I think looks like a reasonable fellow, or the one we see now. When he gets to the White House, I want to know, will he be the kind of president who stands stolid on principles or who changes based on input, including that from the public? Which Mitt will we get?

What to the other YouTubers have to say to Romney?

Paperyoshi is against fat. Hartman is for trust. Absurdum is against death (and, yes, I do hope and presume that this is a rare example of American irony). I have no idea what HoodedGirl is for or against — and neither does she.

But seriously, folks…

Most of the videos are heartfelt, thoughtful, generous and all are respectful and complimentary to Romney for taking part in this YouTube dialogue. Jack says our greatest challenge is Iraq. Bubbly Moose wants alternative energy. HellJumpers wants net neutrality. Connor is against racism (and Don Imus) Gaffneyt is against poverty and for education (twice). StanBernadino is against global outsourcing and for products made in America for Americans. EvilMongrelMonkey believes education is our greatest challenge and that No Child Left Behind is a failure and wants control in the hands of parents, not government (it takes him 9:51 to say it). Stephen is against illegal immigration. Pat wants government to protect, not infringe upon, individual rights. Davidallgroup wants the Republicans to win.

Softballs, all, I’d say? I couldn’t find a tough one in the bunch. I don’t mean that we should be nasty but I’d like to see us ask the key, hard questions we’re not hearing from those wussy reporters.

Finally, if you watch one response watch this. Here’s a damned good video from Esther, who’s also turning around the question and asking Romney what he will do about what she says is our greatest challenge: restoring America’s relationship with the world. She has her prescriptions for the Middle East, with more specifics than I have heard from many of the candidates.

I want to vote for Esther.