The Beaverhausen Chronicles: How To Win A Debate

They're already laying the groundwork for Friday's spin on the vice presidential debates:

Hours ahead of the vice presidential debate, Sen. John McCain Muttley criticized the selection of PBS's Gwen Ifill as moderator because she is writing a book called The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.

“Frankly, I wish they had picked a moderator that isn’t writing a book favorable to Barack Obama — let's face it," McCain Muttley said on Fox & Friends. "But I have to have confidence that Gwen Ifill will handle this as the professional journalist that she is. ...

"Life isn’t fair, as I mentioned earlier in the program."

Ifill is moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and senior correspondent of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. She is viewed as one of Washington's fairest journalists.

The propriety of her selection as moderator for tonight's debate between Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin Anastasia Beaverhausen and Sen. Joe Biden was questioned by conservatives after the Drudge Report drew attention to her book, to be published in January.

McCain took a different tack the day before, telling Fox News in another interview: "I think that Gwen Ifill is a professional, and I think that she will do a totally objective job because she is a highly respected professional. Does this help that if she has written a book that is favorable to Senator Obama? Probably not, but I have confidence that Gwen Ifill will do a professional job. And I have that confidence.

Here's how the spin unwinds. If Beaverhausen does well, it's because she's qualified, brilliant, a maverick, and ready to lead. If she does poorly, it's because the mainstream media is out to get her.

See how easy it is to put lipstick on a pig?