But the evening did have a clear winner
"At 12:30 p.m. Thursday they found out: 14 million people watched, easily making the much-derided debate the most-watched program in CNBC's 30-year history. Because advertisers paid $250,000 apiece, it was "also the most profitable night in the network's history," an NBCUniversal executive crowed."
The NBC bean-counters aren't talking about the debate, they're *crowing* about it. For them, the only numbers that matter are beyond great.
Edit: The network exists to suck in eyes and bucks, and the debate was clearly a huge win on both counts. How could any blue-blooded conservative take issue with such a solid business move?
From here: http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/30/media/cnbc-gop-debate-reactions-shellshocked/index.html