It was both fascinating and disappointing that race relations in America were not directly addressed during the marathon Wednesday night Republican debate, the second round, this time at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

This is particularly baffling at this moment in the nation’s history, as issues of race consume the news and water-cooler conversations.

A Gallup poll in July found that “race relations/racism” was third on the list of things Americans considered the most important issues facing this country. The “economy in general” and “dissatisfaction with government/Congress” ranked above it, but many of the issues that received a tremendous amount of attention at the debates were below it, things like immigration, the judicial system, terrorism and foreign policy.

And large numbers of Americans see race relations as deteriorating in this country. For instance, this from The New York Times in July:

“A New York Times/CBS News poll conducted last week reveals that nearly six in 10 Americans, including heavy majorities of both whites and blacks, think race relations are generally bad, and that nearly four in 10 think the situation is getting worse. By comparison, two-thirds of Americans surveyed shortly after President Obama took office said they believed that race relations were generally good.”