YouTube’s Impact on Politics Panel, originally uploaded by Rob Bluey.

I spent lunch listening to four YouTube video bloggers who are in St. Petersburg, Fla., for tonight’s Republican presidential debate. It was a great opportunity to hear from people who live outside the Beltway about the state of technology and politics, specifically how YouTube is changing the political dynamics of campaigning.

So who are these YouTube stars? They’re people like Ray Keller (aka “plkellerap“), a teacher whose high-school students submitted questions on YouTube for tonight’s debate. Then there’s Melissa Compagnucci (aka “MelissaJenna“), who made a passionate plea to Republicans to take part in the debate back in the summer when it looked like they would bail. Two political personalities, liberal Dennis Trainor (aka “Davis Fleetwood“) and Michael Weitz (aka “ConservativeVoiceUSA“), rounded out the today’s panel.

I opted to take still photos rather than video (which you can view on Flickr), but keep an eye on ConservativeVoiceUSA to watch the highlights.