Sadly, thanks to the moderators, it was very difficult for anyone to work in much discussion of substance. So kudos to everyone who made the effort to do so anyway
Candidates managed to cut through moderator nonsense to give us some substance
Believe it or not, there actually was some substance discussed during the Republican presidential debate on CNBC Wednesday night. No thanks to the moderators, of course, who asked questions that were either designed to start fights or create gotcha moments.
How CNBC even mustered the self-respect to go on the air the following morning is beyond me, so thoroughly did they embarrass themselves with that performance.
But fortunately, the candidates did a good job of what you might call pivoting, which is to say: They ignored the lack of substance in the moderator questions and discussed substantive issues anyway.