Less than two weeks after CNN concluded its Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas with an audience member asking Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) whether she preferred “diamonds or pearls,” CNN national news correspondent Jeanne Moos characterized some of the questions submitted by YouTube users for the upcoming CNN/YouTube Republican debate as “stunningly superficial,” “shockingly sophomoric,” “completely incomprehensible,” and “totally irrelevant.”

During her “Moost Unusual” segment on the November 26 edition of The Situation Room, Moos presented several videotaped questions submitted for the November 28 CNN/YouTube Republican debate. Moos explained, “We combed the 5,000 or so entries for questions that are stunningly superficial.” In the clip that followed, an unidentified male asked, “Do any of you wear toupees?” Other questions highlighted by Moos included: “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” “Did you see The Simpsons movie? And if so, did you like it? and ”If you could be any kitchen appliance, what would you be?"

But while Moos highlighted such “superficial” and “irrelevant” questions, at no point in the segment did she mention the question that concluded CNN's broadcast of the November 15 Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas. One questioner said, “And my question is for Senator Clinton. This is a fun question for you. Do you prefer diamonds or pearls?” As The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder first reported, the questioner, Maria Luisa Parra-Sandoval, wrote on her MySpace page that she had originally prepared two questions, but CNN insisted she “ask the frilly question instead of a pre-approved query about the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.”

In a November 16 post on the New York Times political blog The Caucus, Jodi Kantor further reported:

David Bohrman, Washington bureau chief and senior vice president of CNN, defended the network's decision. “I thought it would be a nice way to end because we had had a couple of hours of tension,” he said, pointing out that Ms. Parra-Sandoval had written the question herself. “Not every question has to deal with life or death.”

CNN later issued a statement in response to Parra-Sandoval's comments:

As a service to our viewers and the candidates, the audience questioners were encouraged not to ask questions about topics that had already been addressed during the debate. The questions, including both Yucca Mountain and the diamonds/pearls question, were entirely the questioner's own.

Yucca had already been discussed, so with less than two minutes left in the debate, CNN asked the student if she'd like to ask her “diamonds or pearls” question. The student agreed to ask her question, and it seemed like a light-hearted way to end the two-hour debate.

From the November 26 edition of CNN's The Situation Room:

BLITZER: The Republican presidential candidates are getting ready for Wednesday's CNN/YouTube debate. And our CNN producers, among others, are poring over the thousands of online entries from people hoping their questions will make the cut. Jeanne Moos takes a “Moost Unusual” look at some of the submissions.

[begin video clip]

MOOS: Remember when Mitt Romney had doubts about doing a YouTube debate because he didn't think it was dignified to take questions from a snowman? Well, how about questions from a devil? Or an Elvis wannabe?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I might look like a joke to you, but this is no joking matter.

MOOS: Or a ninja?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry, I'm just filing my nails.

MOOS: But don't worry, Mitt, CNN producers are unlikely to subject you to the chicken lady for V.P. Or the singing snake. In fact, we can almost guarantee the candidates they won't have to say yes or no to questions like this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're really drunk, would you hook up with Ann Coulter? You know, maybe you just won the election. This is the after party.

MOOS: We combed the 5,000 or so entries for questions that are stunningly superficial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do any of you wear toupees? That's fake hair.

MOOS: Shockingly sophomoric.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you could have any superpower, what would it be and how would you use it to save the world?

MOOS: Completely incomprehensible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does it feel like to be a funky fresh pimp-nizzle?

MOOS: And totally irrelevant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see The Simpsons movie? And if so, did you like it?

MOOS: Watch enough of these YouTube debate questions, and you'll fear for the future of the nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Frankenstein.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, this is me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am the ghost of Richard Nixon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, America. It's me, Christopher Walken.

MOOS: An impersonator gave Rudy a hard time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you keep bringing up 9/11 in all of your speeches?

MOOS: Rudy in particular ...

GIULIANI: Hello, dear.

MOOS: ... seemed to get a lot of jokey questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's my girlfriend. Yes, dear. Mr. Giuliani, I was wondering if you had any response to the idea that your call at the NRA speech was staged.

MOOS: Of course, comedy teams like Red State Update got into the act.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So my question to you is this -- what in the hell are we doing? Is this the best we've got? Look around up there. It's like a wax museum of failure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think it may someday be possible for humans to see, hear and send images and sounds back and forth to each other's brains without using a telephone, by just thinking back and forth?

MOOS: From rambling to concise...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe every word of this book?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you could be any kitchen appliance, what would you be?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever been in a fist fight?

MOOS: Save it for the debate. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

[end video clip]

BLITZER: Leave it to Jeanne Moos and leave it to all those YouTube guys out there. Remember, the debate Wednesday night, right here on CNN.