I haven't seen the debate, and a debate among the republicans was not something I was really interested in watching anyways. I actually favor the republican party most of the time, but the party as a whole has been tarnished by the Bush anomaly so this time around I'm not really wanting a Republican President.
Were the questions harder? Couldn't tell you, as I think that kind of thing is hard to quantify from a viewer perspective. Why didn't I slam CNN? I didn't because I haven't seen the blatant liberal reporting that Fox does on the conservative end. That doesn't mean they don't do it, just means I haven't noticed it.
I've actually stopped watching TV news for the most part. I read most of the news I am interested in now. The "Breaking News.... Someone is driving a truck fast on the interstate in California" just doesn't interest me. Nor does the story about some cop who killed his wife and kid.