Cenk Uygur at HuffPost argues that Ifill failed in her job as moderator last night and here's why:

Because all she did was pose simple questions that were easily deflected with prepared talking points. That's not a debate; that's a boring, fairly useless, series of mini-speeches. If you don't probe beyond the initial non-answer, you are simply not doing your job. That's a disservice to the American people who came to find out if these people know what they're talking about and what their real plans for the country are.

Was Ifill's timidty due to the surrounding controversy regarding her forthcoming Obama book? It's impossible to say. But this we do know for sure: If every four years the Commission on Presidential Debates didn't select moderators from the same extremely small, elite circle of Beltway media insiders, than perhaps potential conflicts like this wouldn't come up.

Believe it or not, there are more than four of five Americans who are qualified to moderate a debate. It's time for the commission to branch out and tap other talent.