This story is from NPR by Deirdre Walsh

1. There was a real debate

The first debate between Trump and Biden was unwatchable. It was overwhelmed by interruptions and cross-talk, disregard for the moderator and name-calling — all largely on the part of the president.

New rules imposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates included a mute button operated by a staffer for the CPD that turned off each candidate’s microphone for the first two minutes of his opponent’s speaking time at the beginning of each debate topic.

Moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News skillfully kept the conversation moving. She followed up and pressed for answers and fairly gave both candidates opportunities to respond to the other’s comments. Welker pushed back when the candidates attempted to run over time or tried to change the subject. She was firm and her no-nonsense approach held the candidates to task.

Read the full article here.