GOP 'Gotcha Journalism' Charges Throw Spotlight on Debate

Sarah Palin's sometimes wandering interviews with CBS News's Katie Couric have drawn mixed reviews, even from some conservatives. (Cbs News)

Veep nominees have been embroiled in controversy before. Richard Nixon saved his place on Dwight Eisenhower's ticket with his 1952 "Checkers" speech, invoking his dog while trying to explain away a slush fund. Thomas Eagleton was dumped 18 days after George McGovern picked him in 1972 over revelations that he had received electroshock therapy for mental illness. Geraldine Ferraro spent weeks trying to explain her husband's tangled finances when she became the first woman named to a national ticket in 1984. Four years later, Dan Quayle was portrayed as an inexperienced nominee dogged by questions about his National Guard service.

Some Palin boosters have mounted a "let Sarah be Sarah" drive, arguing that McCain strategists have cosseted her, making her look like a nervous college student cramming for a big oral exam. But Wallace says Palin will do more interviews, including one with the third network anchor, NBC's Brian Williams. "We have no hesitance about putting her in front of as many people as possible," Wallace says.

The latest controversy to hit the echo chamber came yesterday as a conservative Web site challenged the fairness of tonight's moderator, PBS's Gwen Ifill, for writing a book about Barack Obama and other rising black politicians, even though the book project has long been public.

Ifill's forthcoming book, "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," was mentioned in a Sept. 4 Washington Post article. WorldNetDaily.com, in criticism that was picked up by the Drudge Report and Rush Limbaugh, questioned whether the book would be "pro-Obama" and undermine her fairness as moderator.

"The book has been out there and discussed for months," PBS spokeswoman Anne Bell said. "It's a non-issue." (World Net is offering its readers a $4.95 book titled "The Audacity of Deceit: Obama's War on American Values.")

Ifill moderated the 2004 debate between Vice President Cheney and John Edwards, and if that is any indication, she will ask both candidates hard, detailed questions. McCain told Fox News yesterday: "I think that Gwen Ifill is a professional, and I think she will do a totally objective job because she is a highly respected professional."

Howard Kurtz hosts CNN's weekly media program, "Reliable Sources."