Yes, presidential debate moderator Lester Holt is nervous

If you're wondering whether NBC News anchor Lester Holt was nervous before moderating the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the answer is yes. Holt took the stage at Hofstra University Monday night before the candidates joined him and promptly acknowledged some jitters as he addressed the crowd.

"That thud you heard backstage was the sound of my knees buckling when Frank [Fahrenkopf, co-president of the Commission on Presidential Debates] mentioned a potential audience of 100 million," Holt said. "But it's just us tonight, and in a moment it'll just be the three of us - and hopefully just the two of them. That's what it's all about."

The last part of Holt's comment reinforced the widely-held notion that he will act mostly as a facilitator and not inject himself into the proceedings as a real-time fact-checker.