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Oct 8 2008 2:43PM EDT

Was Last Night the 'Worst Debate Ever'?

Add yet another superlative to this most hyperbolic of election seasons: It produced "the worst presidential debate ever."

That's the judgment of Politico's John Harris and Jim VandeHei. They write:

How the hell did candidates manage to be so timid and uninspiring at a time when American troops are in two problematic wars, the world financial markets are in scary free fall and the Dow has lost 1,400 points since Oct. 1? This is a moment history rarely sees -- and both men blew it.

VandeHarris (as the duo are known) absolve moderator Tom Brokaw of the blame, saying he was hamstrung by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which acceded to unnecessarily restrictive ground rules demanded by the two campaigns. "The problem is the commission that has been invested with pseudo-constitutional status to run the debates but in fact weakly defers to candidates and clings to antiquated formats."

But Liz Cox Barrett, writing on The Kicker, notes how odd it is that Brokaw, in a post-debate interview, seemed to be applauding the candidates for sticking to their talking points, even when it meant evading his questions.

At least this time the moderator erred on the side of being boring rather than getting hung up on inconsequential oppo-generated fake controversies.


Also on Portfolio: Matt Cooper's take on the debate.

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