I will let the words from NBC’s Chuck Todd tell the story we need to hear.
After covering the craziest and most dispiriting presidential race of our lifetimes, last night’s gubernatorial debate here in one of the other key contests of 2016 was a reminder that politics can be much more civil. The debate between incumbent North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) and challenger Roy Cooper (D), which was moderated by one us, produced clashes over the state’s anti-LGBT law HB2, the state’s economy, health care, policing, voting rights, and even Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. And guess what: There were no below-the-belt insults, no conspiracies, and no pants-on-fire falsehoods. Indeed, at the end of the debate, both McCrory (the state’s governor) and Cooper (the attorney general) pledged to work together in helping North Carolinians affected by Hurricane Matthew’s aftermath. It was all a jolting reminder of what American politics can be — and usually is.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 