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Debate moderator Elaine Quijano became the internet's patron saint of patience tonight

"Gentlemen, please."

Peter Allen Clark

on October 5, 2016

Many may have never heard of CBS news reporter Elaine Quijano before she moderated tonight's vice presidential debate. But many will not soon forget the way she attempted to quell the interruptions of the two candidates that vied for the nation's ear.

Quijano is the country's first Filipino-American woman to moderate a national debate. Her credentials as a digital anchor at CBSN more than qualified her for the job, but she had a tough row to hoe when Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence met his Democratic counterpart, Tim Kaine.

For 90 minutes, both Pence and Kaine regularly talked over Quijano as she attempted to corral the conversation along the line of questioning.

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She regularly resorted to calmly trying to get the pair's attention. "Gentlemen, gentlemen," she interjected while the two fought on.

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As the two men continued to argue over her, she again and again tried to bring them back to a place where the country could understand what they were saying.

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While some viewers complained that she rushed through some of the debate topics without holding the candidates to account, the internet quickly picked up on the larger symbolism of the two white men mostly disregarding the requests of a female moderator who is also a minority.

They cheered for Quijano as she made a sober case for reasonable discourse.

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Peter Allen Clark

I have done neat stuff all over these United States from sailing lessons on the Puget Sound to motorcycle maintenance on the backroads of upstate New York. My professional experience extends from newspaper reporting in the mountains of Eastern Oregon to fixing espresso machines throughout Kentucky. I also have kept a cat alive for 10 years.