Last week, I wondered if I might be paranoid about tonight’s GOP presidential debate on CNBC being a setup.  The preliminary signs were ominous.  Today, the fear deepens, and it doesn't look like paranoia.  The Media Research Center has looked at the track record of lead moderator John Harwood and found a lot of signs of bias.  Why on earth did the RNC approve him?  A few examples follow.  For the rest, read the whole thing.  Geoffrey Dickens writes:

The following are just some of Harwood’s most biased moments from the MRC’s archive:

Rubio Will Look “Like a Schoolboy” Compared to Hillary

Joe Kernen, co-host: “He [Marco Rubio] looks really young too.”

John Harwood: “Well, that’s the thing. I think – ”

Andrew Ross Sorkin, co-host: “Most voters are older.”

Harwood: “New generation – you know, fresh face, that – that has some appeal and some power and Rubio has that going for him. On the other hand, you put Marco Rubio up on a debate stage with Hillary Clinton, he looks like a schoolboy.”

— Exchange on CNBC’s Squawk Box, May 29, 2015.

(snip)

Hoping Obama Breaks the Tea Party “Fever” Within the GOP

“Before the election last year, you said you thought there was a possibility your re-election would break the fever within the Republican Party. Didn’t happen. Do you see this moment as a chance, through this political confrontation, to break the fever now?”

- Washington correspondent John Harwood interviewing President Obama on CNBC’s Closing Bell, October 2, 2013.

Harwood Spins: Clinton Using Personal E-Mail May Have Just Been “Excessive Caution”

“The regulations on this have changed over time. The State Department indicated today that John Kerry was the first Secretary of State to use completely a official State Department email address. So this is something that’s been evolving and Hillary Clinton was serving during that evolution. But it is not 100 percent clear to me whether or not this was a clear violation or excessive caution on her part.”

-John Harwood on CNBC’s Closing Bell, March 3, 2015.

There is much, much more.