Can you fix a debate- neutral journalism ?

The national ledge carries this story:

"Biden-Palin Debate Scandal: Gwen Ifill in the Tank, Gotcha Journalism on Deck?"

Gwen Ifill, it goes on to say has a book pending on Obama: "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.", so will have a vested interest to spear Palin.

It says Matt Drudge unearthed this partisan fact.

The book is indeed listed on Amazon, published by Random House inc saying:

Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the 1960s.

And her background is impeccable:

GWEN IFILL is moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and senior correspondent of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Before coming to PBS, she was chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News, and had been a reporter for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and Boston Herald American. She lives in Washington, D.C.

So does Matt Drudge and similarly minded thinkers have a point? Given Gwen's work with Lehrer has anyone criticised her in the past.

On Wikis Newshour site, it says the programme has run into trouble for being bias interestingly towards the Republicans:

In October 2006, a study by the left-oriented media analysis group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) accused The NewsHour of lacking balance, diversity, and viewpoints of the general public, in favor of Republican and corporate viewpoints.

Obviously Gwen will have her own personal views. It is possible to be part of a structure and nor necessarily go with its views.

In the UK where there are no prime ministerial pre-election debates, I thought how likely could it be to have a journalist of note moderate an important debate, and have a book supportive of a cause.

We might know the political persuasion of Jon Snow or Jeremy Paxman, but we'd bet their do a through job on any political head.

So is this just a political party machinery making mischief, or more so stirring a non hornets' nest to side track Palin's lack of credible international knowledge that suggests in live debate she WILL trip up on this subject.

US politics - you couldn't make it up, or could you?