Where Were The Policy Questions?

A reader writes:

I agree with nearly everything stated in your live-blogging as well as the reax from the right, except for this point by Jonah Goldberg that you agreed with:

Not only has Fox News — the supposed mouthpiece of the GOP — put on a far, far, far better debate than CNN did (or MSNBC could),  it has subjected the GOP contenders to tougher, rougher, questions than any debate I can remember. In fact, I don’t think Obama ever received this kind of grilling as a candidate or as president.

True, CNN and MSNBC would not have done better. But Gingrich's complaint about "gotcha" questions was, sadly, dead on.  The candidates do have a lot of answer for, and many have said or done ridiculous things in the past.  And yet with the a trailing economy and millions of unemployed, the moderators preferred to play Socratic games with the candidates rather than get some real answers on matters of substanative policy. The economy and job creation were discussed very little last night, and the moderators would have done well to spend less time seeking to embarrasing the candidates with past gaffes, and instead hold their feet to the fire on real and specific policy proposals to move the economy forward.