——She did him a favor.——
That thought can be extrapolated into the reality of the Fox News plan for the whole show. The mods probed the weaknesses of all the candidates. By questioning the weak points the candidates were allowed to give rebuttal to the common unfavorable points constantly brought up against them.
Fox was devils advocate. The mods did their homework finding the weak points and bringing them unequivocally to the surface . Their questions showed the depth of their planning.
The debate was not designed nor carried out to be between the candidates. The debate was between the candidates and the mods.