PBS’s very capable Gwen Ifill will be moderating the vice presidential debate tomorrow night. Conservatives are now blasting Ifill’s selection because she has written a book scheduled for publication on Inauguration Day entitled Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, about the younger generation of black politicians.

I am not unbiased in this election, and perhaps that is a partial explanation of why I’ve always found Ifill to be intelligent, fair, and well-versed on issues. I like her and think she’ll be a good moderator. And it certainly doesn’t seem unusual that a black political commentator would write a book about the new generation of black politicians.

On the other hand, I can understand why people might perceive her writing of the book as evidence of bias. Perhaps she’d seem more neutral if she hadn’t written the book; I don’t know. But I can’t think of any totally impartial individual qualified to moderate the debate between Biden and Palin. Can you?