Vice Presidential debate - a major problem

The debate between the Vice Presidential candidates will take place tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Gwen Ifill, managing editor of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.", will be the moderator. The problem is that she appears to have a major conflict of interest.

Ms. Ifill has written a book, to be published on January 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day). The title is "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama". Check here for Ifill's book as advertised on Amazon.com.

If Senator Obama is not elected President, sales of Ms Ifill's book will clearly be lower than if he is defeated. Why, then, is she moderating this debate when she has a financial interest in making Governor Palin look even less qualified than she is?

We rely on journalists to hold politicians to account. But journalists, if they are to be credible, must live by the same standards to which they, and we, should hold politicians. If they do not, unethical politicians, regardless of the truth, will feel free to claim that the media are biased and out to get them.

Ms. Ifill's ambitions seem to have overcome her ethics. She should, as a service to our country, withdraw as moderator of this debate.