I’m not among those who thinks it should be a scandal and an outrage that Chris Matthews is moderating a Republican debate today. Is there really a profound difference between Matthews, say, and Jim Lehrer, whose hosting would provoke no outrage — save for Matthews’s unfortunate tendency to speak more words than the debaters? Events like this debate continue to make it clear that the claim of objectivity or impartiality on the part of the mainstream media is simply too fantastic for anyone to take even remotely seriously.