John Harwood, CNBC's Washington reporter, is a typical media liberal. Smug, self-righteous and always quick to take a shot at a conservative. These qualities were on full display last night as he got into repeated confrontations with candidates, prompting booing from the audience. The other mods, Carl Quintana and Becky Quick, were scarcely better. Quintana in particular was hostile and insulting. Quick was polite but her questions were tired and predictable.
The best moment of the debate was when Ted Cruz went after the mods full bore, criticizing the tone and content of the questions and comparing them to the lovefest debate the democrats enjoyed. Marco Rubio had the second best line, declaring the media a Super Pac for Hillary.
The rest of the debate was basically a wash. All the candidates handled themselves well and made their points. The questions were generally so stupid or insipid that little real information was gained. When they did attempt to get substantive, the mods either made egregious errors, Harwood, or tried to score gotcha points rather than just tee up an issue.
This horror show should bar CNBC from holding any more presidential debates for several election cycles. Of course, it wasn't any worse that the Fox spectacle, which really set an extrememly low bar for the other networks and cable outlets.
The best moment of the debate was when Ted Cruz went after the mods full bore, criticizing the tone and content of the questions and comparing them to the lovefest debate the democrats enjoyed. Marco Rubio had the second best line, declaring the media a Super Pac for Hillary.
The rest of the debate was basically a wash. All the candidates handled themselves well and made their points. The questions were generally so stupid or insipid that little real information was gained. When they did attempt to get substantive, the mods either made egregious errors, Harwood, or tried to score gotcha points rather than just tee up an issue.
This horror show should bar CNBC from holding any more presidential debates for several election cycles. Of course, it wasn't any worse that the Fox spectacle, which really set an extrememly low bar for the other networks and cable outlets.
