Regardless of the silliness factor each candidate was allotted time enough to articulate his position. The commie from the Green Party snd the Libertarian both stayed on point in spite of the clowns sharing the venue. Cuomo, even though his performance was just that, a performance, did not get knocked off track. It was Paladino alone among the serious candidates who scored zero hits.
Also the newspapers that hate Paladino have all said that the debate was a lousy format.