LESTER IGNORES HILLARY'S ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Here's where the moderator ultimately fell way short. First, a clear disclaimer:

Asking Trump about releasing his tax returns or about the "birther" issue are legitimate issues to ask, and Holt was right to do so.

However, for the moderator to ignore any questions about the Clinton Foundation — which has been very much in the news lately for all the wrong reasons — and any direct inquiries about destroying evidence and deleting tens of thousands of emails, calls into questions what his aim was here. And these aren't periphery topics, the kind you can take-or-leave on such a stage. If they were ignored, it was done so purposely.

NBC's Lester Holt emerges from debate bruised and partisan | TheHill