• by Laurie Petersen , July 24, 2007

A total of 39 consumer questions were put to the Democratic presidential candidates Monday night at the first CNN/YouTube debate. While the candidates did not always give direct answers, I found the "real questions from real people" format worked.

Questions were chosen by CNN from a reported 3,000 or so total submissions.

Here were a few of the most compelling videos:

The mother of an American soldier on whether the Democrats are putting politics above conscience.

A Maryland man asks which Republican the candidate would pick as a running mate.