Risible. Dismal. Superficial. Disingenuous. Fatuous. Flimsy. Noxious. Trivial.

The Guardian's Niall Stanage on "The dumbest debate in America." He sees hope that the electorate is no longer willing to swallow this bile: And, most encouragingly of all, the public response to last night's awful performance by the debate moderators was immediate and vociferous. As heckling erupted at the debate's end, Gibson smiled wanly and said, "The crowd is turning on me." Within three hours of the debate's end, the ABC News website had received over 7,600 comments about the evening's events. The overwhelming majority were negative. Stephanopoulos and Gibson deserve every bit of opprobrium being thrown their way. They delivered a noxious blend of smear, innuendo and diversion. But it looks like the same old political junk food no longer satisfies an electorate hungry for real change.