As we noted this morning, conservative blogger and radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt is bemoaning the fact that Republican candidates for president are participating in debates hosted by “traditional media” outlets, such as CNN because the questions, Hewitt is certain, are bound to be unfair. (Hewitt seems to know beforehand which questions will, and will not, be asked.)

The critique is a curious one because in 2007 when progressives launched a successful campaign to stop Democratic candidates from legitimizing Fox News by allowing Rupert Murdoch's channel to sponsor Democrats debates, the right-wing media went bonkers condemning the move as cowardice.

Cue Roger Ailes:

The candidates that can't face Fox, can't face Al Qaeda. And that's what's coming.

Of course, Democrats had ample reason to shun Fox News. Namely, it's not a legitimate news organization. Today however, neither Hewitt nor anyone else can make a coherent argument that that's the case for CNN. And it's not just CNN. Hewitt complains about all “mainstream media” debate questioners during the campaign season. (Instead, he prefers “GOP-organized debates with GOP-selected questioners.”)

Oh, and did I mention the right-media went bonkers when Fox News was snubbed during the last White House campaign cycle? The snub represented “a kind of breakdown in the democratic process.” It was akin to Stalinist intimidation. And poor Bill O'Reilly could barely see straight, as he wildly denounced Democrats as Nazi's for refusing Fox News' debate invitations.