The Internet, that unbridled medium that brought us blogs, goofy video clips and online shopping, this week introduced something new to the world of presidential campaigning: authenticity.

CNN teamed with YouTube, the popular video-sharing Web site, for an energetic forum Monday night among the eight Democratic presidential contenders (it was billed as a “debate,” but it was really just a two-hour Q&A) featuring real people asking real questions via homemade Web videos.

Some included cheesy humor or music, but most were refreshingly unpolished and genuine. Some were sobering – a woman removed her wig to reveal a head made bald by chemotherapy; relief workers posed a question standing among children at a refugee camp near Darfur.

By and large the questions were unusually blunt, cutting right to the heart of issues and forcing the candidates to respond with more than their prepared talking points. And moderator Anderson Cooper did an admirable job of pressing the candidates to address the questions posed, trying to yank them back when they wandered off on an unrelated tangent.

With the spin at a minimum, viewers got perhaps their most honest glimpse of the candidates yet. The Republican contenders will meet in the same format on Sept. 17.

YouTube visitors submitted more than 3,000 questions via video, of which not quite 40 were chosen to air by CNN. The usual topics were covered – health care, Iraq, education, taxes, climate change, etc. But the questions were asked with a frankness and sincerity that couldn’t have been equaled by the usual panel of overly polite and deferential talking heads.

And the backdrop of realism seemed to make the candidates’ answers more relevant and, therefore, more meaningful. Connecting big issues to real people has that effect.

Giving voice to the people strengthens our democracy. This format should be repeated and built upon. Journalists’ ability to ask probing questions is overrated. Average citizens, whether via webcam or plain old text entry (a format that would allow those without cameras to participate), have shown they can do the job quite well.