In its usual-usual write-up looking at the winners and losers of Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate, the Washington Post declared the host network, CNBC, one of the debate losers.
[A] lot of the questions the moderators asked seemed to be framed like this: “You said or did X controversial thing. Explain.” I’m all for some of that — after all, politicians need to be accountable for their public statements — but it veered occasionally into “gotcha” territory.
One other note: No one wants to hear talking heads, um, talk over the candidates being introduced on stage. (I say this as a sometime talking head myself.) The candidates and how they interact with one another is all anyone cares about. Show that and get out of the way. Period. Full stop.
The debate was a major debacle for CNBC, another black eye for NBC News, and permanently tarnished whatever legacy moderator John Harwood thought he might have.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC